(Can someone say SUPERFIGHT?!!!) 

It’s a new year, Potato Nation, and aside from an endless number of Mayan-themed jokes that will undoubtedly punctuate most of our content, we’ve decided to kick off 2012 with you, our esteemed followers, in mind. And while we had more than our fill of exciting brawls in 2011, things like injury curses, excessive title shots, and sudden desires for film careers left us with hunger pains that could only be satiated by the announcement of another marquee match-up. That, or one of your wife’s famous steak sandwiches.

Call us greedy, call us insensitive, but we’re the type of fans that simply must have our every fantasy fulfilled, and it is with that in mind that we ask you, our fellow fanatics, to join us in a discussion of the five fights we NEED to witness this year, if only to end a few of the never ending arguments that constitute the CP comments sections. Here are our picks…

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Why?: Because if we have to hear how lucky Silva got one more time, we are going to round up all of our writers and perform a full reenactment of Death of a (Real Estate) Salesman. Goldstein will play Willy Loman, the elderly and dillusional salesman (Obvs.). CrushCo will play Biff, the former football star who yearns for a life as a farmhand, and Seth will play Happy, the slacking womanizer, leaving none other than myself to play Linda. What can I say, it sucks being the new guy.

(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)

2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.

In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.

#10: Jacob Volkmann vs. Antonio Mckee

We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.

(The question is, whose wife cooked him the steak?)

If you were busy getting hammered off of rum and egg nog and exchanging token gifts with annoying relatives you thankfully only have to see once a year, you may have missed Chael Sonnen’s second appearance on TSN’s “Off the Record” show Friday night.

Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered after the jump, homies.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)

When fans criticize fighters for shoddy performances, they often forget that the men and women who compete in the cage and often display superhuman feats of strength and resilience are human beings and not just machines that are packed away in the closet between fights. They have problems just like everyone else.

Even though some of us realize this, it’s always surprising to hear stories about things these tough guys (and girls) can’t do or are afraid of.

#10: Not everybody was prepared for the intensity of the UFC on FOX promo trailer.

Damn we love us a good GIF. 2011 provided us with dozens of memorable ones, but these ten stood out a little more than the rest. If we’ve left out one of your favorites, shoot us a link in the comments section. Props to ZombieProphet, Gordo on the UG, and everybody else who spends time making these things.

#9: Honey badger don’t care.

No, that’s not a photo of Stephen Hawking in bed, it’s actually Georges St-Pierre already rehabbing his reconstructed knee just five days removed from ACL surgery.

(Hey amigo, don’t forget to bag the stool. I’ll be making salad as a side tonight.) 

One minute it’s an emergency NSAC meeting, and now this. Don’t worry folks, the charges facing former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will not affect his December 30th battle with Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, but Lesnar is now a fugitive in a country where sodomy is legal nonetheless. The charges aimed at Brock stem from a recent hunting trip he took to Alberta; I’ll let CJCYFM.com explain:

A recent hunting trip to Alberta has landed former WWE and Ultimate Fighting Champion Brock Lesnar in some trouble.

Fish and Wildlife officers confirmed the international celebrity has been charged with three counts in contravention to the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Act.  The charges came before Medicine Hat Provincial Court Thursday morning and include improper affixation of tags, spoilage of skin and edible flesh and possession of a controlled animal.

Neither Lesnar, nor his co-accused Chad Stryker, appeared in person in court.  Their matter has been put over until January 19th.

Phew. At first, the charges don’t sound that bad. That is, until you consider the fact that the controlled animal in question was a Garthok.

You know, with all the…let’s call it bravado, that seems to come hand in hand with a fighter’s success and/or popularity these days, it is nice to see that a veteran like Kenny Florian has managed to remain so humble despite it. In the above video, we get a first hand glimpse at the newly minted lightweight’s Fedor-like courteousness to the up and coming fighters that he not only trains with, but now shacks up with thanks to TriStar Gym’s new dormitory set up. Aside from letting these newbees train, cook, and clean for him, KenFlo even allows them to watch him eat when he is feeling so generous. What a class act.

(“Do you mind if I test this thing out? First, get into a fetal position on the ground…” / Photo via @GeorgesStPierre)

After blowing out the ACL of his right knee in training and withdrawing from his scheduled title defense against Nick Diaz, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre successfully underwent surgery yesterday in Los Angeles. As he tweeted: “Dr. ElAttrache says my surgery (ACL patellar tendon autograft) was huge success! Ligament very strong. Tks for support!”

St. Pierre wrote last week that he expects to make a full recovery from the surgery in six to nine months. We don’t have an e.t.a. on exactly when he might return to face the winner of Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit, but after two knee injuries and more than a year on the sidelines, it could turn out to be the toughest fight of St. Pierre’s career.

After the jump, more details about GSP’s knee injury from a conference call St. Pierre held last week with his doctor, Sebastien Simard:

(Mike who? Well, if there’s an ass that needs motorboating, I’ll be there.) 

When Carlos Condit was called up to face Nick Diaz for an interim title shot at UFC 143 in the wake of Georges St. Pierre’s knee injury, one person who felt left out of the mix was none other than former title challenger Josh Koscheck, who was originally scheduled to face Condit at the same event. Kos later tweeted that he would indeed be fighting at UFC 143, possibly as a middleweight. But now it seems that the TUF 12 coach will be fighting back at welterweight against up-and-comer Mike Pierce, who recently announced the match-up via his Twitter.

Pierce is coming off an entertaining three round shellacking of Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX 1, and is perhaps best known for actually managing to mount some offense against Koscheck’s AKA teammate Jon Fitch in their battle back at UFC 107, a feat that has been deemed nearly impossible at this point in Fitch’s career. Pierce is 5-2 in his octagon run thus far, including the aforementioned loss to Fitch and a split decision loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 133, as well as wins over Brock Larson, Amilcar Alves, and Kenny Robertson.

(I am not empressed wid my physical therapist’s performance.) 

Well son of a bitch. The UFC injury curse has officially become a plague of biblical proportions. Word just broke that UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre has suffered another knee injury, described as a “blown ACL,” in training and has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled contest against Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Fear not, UFC 143′s main event has already been replaced by a welterweight interim championship bout between Diaz and former number one contender Carlos Condit. A poor turn of luck, no doubt, but it could be worse for those of you who’ve already purchased tickets.

(When is Nick going to start playing the game and hit a tanning booth and wear a little lip gloss for photo shoots?)

Frank Shamrock spoke to FightHubTV recently and former UFC light heavyweight and Strikeforce middleweight champion gave his thoughts on the upcoming UFC welterweight title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.

Shamrock, who admits he underestimated the Stockton native when they squared off back in 2009 in his final bout, says that he feels that St-Pierre is in for a rude awakening come February 4.

(*crickets*)

From the Toronto Sun via BloodyElbow:

Just eight months after 55,000 fight fans filled the Rogers Centre for the mixed martial arts company’s first ever Ontario show, Toronto will host UFC 140 on Saturday night. The fanfare for the event has paled in comparison to last April’s spectacle when the city had been buzzing for months about UFC 129, which was headlined by Canada’s own Georges St. Pierre. But this time around, it is being held at the much smaller Air Canada Centre…Despite the great line-up, there’s been little hoopla over the city’s second ever UFC event, which still has tickets available.

What the hell happened, Toronto? How did you go from a record-destroying immediate sellout in April to a “Good seats still available!” situation in December? On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense. So let’s throw some excuses around…

“The Stoic Russian” is a hurtful stereotype, so we didn’t include it.  The more you know…..

People complain about “pro-wrestling bullshit” invading MMA, but it’s been demonstrated over and over again: personality will get you places in the fight game.  We’ve pointed this out before, like when we advised Jon Fitch on how to ensure a title shot.  Some fighters are talked about incessantly on forums, at lunch tables, and in interviews because they’ve managed to capture the interest of fans, and many times it is because of things that they have done or said while not in the cage.

Come on in and let’s talk about archetypes, drama, and personality.  Because there’s only so many technique videos out there.

(Rumble poses next to a normal-sized human being. Photo via KnoxxGear.)

By Ryan Ventura

For a long time, many fans have felt that Anthony Johnson was too big to be playing around in the welterweight jungle. But now they get their wish and he is making the jump to the middleweight division to face ‘The Phenom’ Vitor Belfort at UFC 142, January 14th in Rio. “I still want to fight at 170,” said Johnson “but I’m excited about making the jump to 185 and we’ll see what happens after this fight is over.”

In a way, this opportunity to fight the legendary Vitor Belfort is coming full circle for Anthony Johnson. The two first met after Anthony’s very first professional Mixed Martial Arts bout back in 2006. “I knocked out my opponent in one minute and nine seconds. Vitor happened to be in the crowd, Shogun Rua was too. After the fight, Vitor gave me props and shook my hand. I never thought I’d be fighting a man who I shook hands with many years ago. I’m a fan of Vitor Belfort and always will be. It’s going to be fun fighting him.”

Continue reading this interview on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com

If you’re like me, when you see that Joe Rogan or Mike Goldberg are about to launch into one of their interview segments during the Spike prelims, you likely use the opportunity to grab a beer, take a piss, or switch over to Comedy Central to re-watch the end of last week’s Workaholics episode (the exception to this is of course,when Jason Mamoa is around). Because let’s be honest, who wants to listen to Dana White scream over a blaring DMX song about how great the upcoming card that you can’t afford is going to be?

But in the case of last weekend’s ProElite 2-Big Guns event, Michael Schiavello’s interview with B.J. Penn felt like the first breath after awakening from a seven year coma. Penn, who has apparently mastered the technology behind Wolverine’s healing powers, showed few signs of the damage Nick Diaz inflicted upon him just over a week ago. At the event to support his brother Reagan, “The Prodigy” discussed how retiring had been on his mind for some time:

(Yeah…whatever happened to that guy, anyway?)

Carlos Condit is going to have to re-earn his title shot the hard way. After his slated fight against George St. Pierre went up in smoke as quickly as it was handed to him, Condit is now likely to return at UFC 143: St. Pierre vs. Diaz (February 4th, Las Vegas) against perennial welterweight contender Josh Koscheck. UFC president Dana White discussed the matchup at the Leben vs. Munoz post-event press conference:

“Right now, Carlos wants to fight. He wants to fight on the same card as GSP and Diaz, so we’ll see what happens. Koscheck has been offered (the fight).”

If you thought something smelled fishy when Carlos Condit simply stepped aside from his title shot with Georges St. Pierre for Nick Diaz, then perhaps it’s time you used that nose to fight crime. On a very special Halloween episode of Inside MMA, it was revealed by “The Natural Born Killer’s” agent and President of First Round Management, Malki Kawa, that Condit was not given an option to back out of his welterweight championship bout, saying:

Contrary to what has been stated, Carlos did not step aside and allow this to happen, and would not just hand over an opportunity for him to achieve his greatest career goal, one that he has earned through his strong performances in the octagon. No option was given to him. 

Now that Georges St. Pierre is booked to face Nick Diaz on Super Bowl weekend, we thought it was time to put together a moving-picture tribute to the French-Canadian UFC superstar. Lots more brilliant GSP gifs are after the jump.

Previously:
Gallery: 11 GIFs of Alistair Overeem Being Awesome
Gallery: 10 GIFS of Joe Rogan Being Awesome
Hump Day Gallery: 20 GIFs of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Being Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ProMMANow)

You would think that Nick Diaz’s camp would cool it with all of the accusations about Georges St-Pierre being scared or faking an injury to get out of fighting their boy now that they got the desired result, but that’s not how they do things in Stockton, evidently.

Dring a media scrum after the UFC 137 presser, Cesar Gracie was asked, in a somewhat baited way if he thought GSP’s injury was legit and he didn’t hold back, although he made about as much sense as his protegee.

“He ran past me earlier. I mean, he literally RAN past me, so… Look, he’s a great guy. He’s a black belt under [my cousin] Renzo Gracie. I don’t know the guy that well, personally, but I’m gonna tell you guys something right now… Nick Diaz missed a press conference and he’s here and [he] fought,” Gracie sort of explained. “The guy that went to the press conference didn’t fight. That’s all I gotta say about it. Nick…Yeah, he got kicked out, he’s this…he’s the bad guy… We didn’t go to what Nick called, ‘the beauty pageant,’ but come fight night you guys saw what he’s made of and he showed up and he did everything he had to and the guys that made the press conference, they weren’t here tonight, so you be the judge. You know what I mean?”

No, we don’t know what you mean since it makes no sense. So let us get this straight, somehow GSP faked an injury to get out of fighting Nick, even though he was scheduled to face Carlos Condit when the injury occurred. Wait, what?!

Check out “Dapper” Roy Nelson in the three piece! (Video: Youtube/UFC)

“He’s the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever met, and I’m going to put the worst beating you’ve ever seen on him in the UFC.”

With those uncharacteristically aggressive words, Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre verbally accepted the bout against Nick Diaz in a backstage conversation with Dana White.

And just like that, Carlos Condit’s “guaranteed” title shot went up in smoke faster than a fatty in the 209. All of the events surrounding GSP’s next challenge have been bizarre, but that’s what happens anytime you’re dealing with the “Pride of Stockton”. Just last weekend, MMA’s least credible source, Chael Sonnen, predicted that Condit would get bumped back in line should Diaz get past Penn, and he was right on the money.

(Hey, it’s that thing from my nightmares! So weird seeing you during the daytime! / Photo via @bjpenndotcom)

It’s been a while since we’ve tried to convince you fine people of something totally ridiculous. But looking through Saturday’s UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz card, I feel like playing devil’s advocate on a few things. So keep an open mind, and read on…

Donald Cerrone Should Drop to Featherweight

Donald Cerrone has recently claimed that he’d like to face Nam Phan in his next fight, because Phan beat up his best friend Leonard Garcia earlier this month then allegedly said that if Garcia’s coaches were any good they would have taught him how to throw straight punches. Now, the average observer might say, “Look Donald, you’re on a five-fight win streak — shouldn’t you be more concerned about challenging for the belt at lightweight than chasing personal rivalries with unranked dudes at 145?”

But I say screw it, Cowboy, you do you. Not for the revenge aspect, which is completely silly. But because the lightweight division has too many contenders to the throne, and the featherweight division doesn’t have enough.

(Well sure, compared to Guy On The Right, *everybody* looks like a lightweight.)

by Sal DeRose

With the news that Georges St-Pierre could (and is better suited to) drop to 155 pounds and further make the UFC’s lightweight division even more stacked, it gave fans more doubt that a mega fight with Anderson Silva will ever come to fruition.

So if GSP were to drop to lightweight, here are five fights for him to take to get him adjusted to the lightweight waters…

Visit BleacherReport.com to check out GSP’s potential lightweight hit-list.

(And for my next trick, I’ll make my transcribed threats disappear.) 

Who didn’t see this coming? Though we’ve long questioned/marveled at Chael Sonnen‘s mental stability, or lack thereof, his recent appearance on the Jim Rome Show has more or less confirmed or suspicions that most of what comes out of his mouth is utter bullshit. For instance, when asked if the “loser leaves town” scenario that he proposed to Anderson Silva during his post fight interview at UFC 136 was still valid, Sonnen, like a typical politician, said that the offer had expired. We’ll let “The Oregon Wankster” explain:

(“I am not impressed with the UFC’s injured champions statistics.”)

Add Georges St-Pierre to the list of UFC champions who have been sidelined by injury in the past year.

According to a tweet by UFC president Dana White, the 30-year-old French Canadian has been forced out of his scheduled UFC 137 title defense against Carlos Condit.

With the injury, St-Pierre brings the UFC’s injured champions list from the past year to 100 percent. Each of the promotion’s title holders from bantamweight up to middleweight has been on the DL list in the past 365 days.

Check out the injury curse list as it stands today after the jump.

UFC 137 is just over two weeks away, so to get your blood pumping, check out the recently released extended trailer, which features not only a look into the upcoming welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, but a welterweight clash between B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz and the heavyweight slug fest between Cheick Kongo and Matt Mitrione. Featuring 12 fights including Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson, Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver, and Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran, UFC 137 is looking like on hell of a card, barring any last minute injuries.

A few notes:

RVCA | BJ PENN THE ROAD TO UFC 137 from RVCA on Vimeo.

It’s always a good sign when you see BJ Penn with his head down toiling through a training camp like he is in this nifty little “Road to UFC 137″ video released this week by RVCA.

The former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion explains during the video that he was a bit put off by the UFC’s decision to switch opponents on him less than two months out from UFC 137 and that he didn’t want to have to fight his friend and sometimes training partner Nick Diaz, but says he relented when he realized that there weren’t any other opponents for him to fight. Their friendship will likely go out the window with the first fist to face contact in the bout.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

In his most recent UFC 137 hype video, Georges St-Pierre has some interesting words for his upcoming opponent Carlos Condit. As per usual, the polite French-Canadian UFC welterweight champion says that Condit is the toughest opponent he has faced yet, but goes on to predict that he will finish the Albuquerque, New Mexico native, who hasn’t been stopped since 2006 — a lofty goal for a guy who has gone the distance with each of his opponents since January 2009.

“In the rankings, I believe Carlos is the number one contender. In the eyes of everyone in the UFC Carlos Condit is the one who deserved the shot. I believe that Carlos poses more problems to me than I have ever seen. I’m going to have to deal with a guy who has knockout power, very technical striker and a great ground game as well. [He's an] unpredictable fighter. I’ve seen a lot of improvement in Carlos’ game, but I believe I’m a more improved fighter than he is,” St-Pierre explained. “I have a gameplan to take care of Carlos and I will execute it. He’s not my friend and I don’t put any emotion in but I believe I will have the key to victory. I do believe I will be able to knock him out or submit him. I will remain the welterweight champion.”

It’s pretty appropriate that UFC 137 is transpiring Halloween weekend. Not only will Mirko Cro Cop and Brandon Vera attempt to bring their respective careers back from the dead, but the card also features a cowboy, a French zombie, and a Hawaiian vampire. The main event pits Nick Diaz Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit against long reigning champion George St. Pierre in what should be his toughest test to date (seriously this time). So, to determine exactly how well each fighter will do, we’ve compiled a list of empirical and infallible data that would make Gil Grissom blush with envy. Of course, if you feel the fight will end differently, be sure to let us know in the comments section.

HEIGHT
Condit: 6’1″
GSP: 5’10″
Advantage: Condit

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Latest odds for UFC 137‘s headliner and co-main event:

Georges St. Pierre (-365) vs. Carlos Condit (+370)
BJ Penn (-113) vs. Nick Diaz (+108)

On October 29th in Las Vegas, Georges St. Pierre will attempt to make his seventh-consecutive welterweight title defense against a challenger who’s far more multi-dimensional that the grapplers and strikers GSP has run through recently. Can the dangerous-in-all-positions Carlos Condit turn this into a battle, or is he going to get blown out like the others who came before him? And should BJ Penn be considered the slight favorite over Nick Diaz, or should it be the other way around? Let us know who you’re pulling for in the comments section…