Without giving away too much of tonight’s tape-delayed UFC 122 decisionfest show that went down in Germany today, we will tell you that the guaranteed slugfest between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara got yanked from the main card of the event due to Sakara pulling out of the bout today because of illness.

We’ll be "live" tonight at 9:00 pm ET to give those of you who don’t have cable, who are too cheap to go to a bar or who think we’re really your friends and want to hang out on a Saturday night a rundown of the action via the Spike TV re-broadcast.

Check out the preliminary card results and main card play-by-play after the jump:

("Fight, you bastard. If you want to have a dance-off, I’ll kick your ass in that too.")

A hot topic of debate at Cage Potato lately is whether or not the recent trend of wrestlers who are content to win fights by earning decisions via take downs and lay and pray is hurting the sport.

We asked UFC middleweight Jorge Rivera for his opinion on the subject during the latest episode of The Bum Rush Radio Show and El Conquistador didn’t pull any punches when explaining his take on the issue.

Rivera, who squares off with fellow slugger Alessio Sakara tomorrow at UFC 122 in Germany, says that he specifically asked for the fight with the former pro-boxer because he knows that Legionarius, like him, is a fighter who always steps into the Octagon to fight.

"I asked for this fight. Alessio’s a great fight. He’s tough, he’s got great stand-up and he comes forward. I asked for this fight. I always want tough fights. I know he’s gonna bring it. I know it’s gonna be a tough fight. I know it’s no walk in the park," Rivera explains. "You’re gonna see a good stand-up brawl and one of us is gonna get knocked out. I’m alright with that. I give the fans what they want. This is what we do. We both no what we’re getting into and we both agree to it, so let’s do it."

He says that guys who time and time again seem to be content to take a decision by being conservative and just doing the minimum necessary to win are in essence stealing from the fans.

"I was a fan before I was ever a fighter. I’m still a fan and I’m a fan of even some of the guys I fight against. I like watching them fight for various reasons. I hate watching boring fighters. You’re gonna pay 50 bucks to sit at home and watch some guy be boring. They build up all this hype around this guy and a guy puts you to sleep and you’re like, ‘What the fuck!?’ I’m not the only one. You’ve got ten million people who say the same shit. That’s not what I want to do. I want to be the exact opposite," Rivera explains. "When my name is called up, I want people to be like, ‘Hell yeah!’ because they know there’s going to be a fight. Even with this fight they know their gonna get a fight with me and Alessio. They know that. Everybody knows that we’re gonna fight. I know he’s not gonna run from me, he knows I’m not gonna run from him, and you know we both throw bombs. You guys know you’re gonna get your money’s worth. If all nine of the fights suck, ours isn’t going to. You’re gonna remember our fight for sure. That’s what I want."

 
(Rock beats scissors.)

Dave Meltzer from The Wrestling Observer is reporting that a number two middleweight contender match-up between Yushin Okami and Vitor Belfort is being planned for UFC 122 November 13 in Oberhausen, Germany.

According to Meltzer, the winner of the bout will likely take on the winner of the Chael Sonnen-Anderson Silva rematch some time in 2011. According to reports last week, that fight could happen as early as December, but may not take place until SuperBowl weekend.

(Can’t the Germans find room in their hearts for something besides soccer, beer and buxom women? Not that we’re against those things…)

It just wouldn’t be a new frontier for the UFC without a little hyperbolic fear-mongering from opponents of MMA.  With UFC 99 scheduled for Cologne, Germany on June 13, City Councilor Manfred Wolf (known henceforth as the German Bob Reilly) is doing his part to disrupt the UFC’s German debut with this nonsensical and factually inaccurate criticism (translated by our friend Robert K at Big Odds Mike):

"MMA is not a sport because it legitimizes death and serious injury. The only aim is to destroy your opponent." Adding further: "I personally find disgusting … Here one finds the lowest human instincts."

Dana White’s UFC 96 video blog, ep. 2 – Watch more free videos

In this edition of the UFC 96 video blog, Dana White and the rest of the traveling circus dazzle Deutschland in their promo tour for UFC 99 this summer.  ‘But wait a minute,’ you’re saying to yourself, ‘isn’t this video blog supposed to be about hyping this weekend’s event on an entirely different continent?’  To which Dana White would respond: “Fuck yourself, it’s only Wednesday you pussy.”

Highlights of this episode include a touching conversation between White and Wanderlei Silva, who displays the ability to laugh at himself and his Borat-like grasp of the English language, as well as a trip to a weirdo German talk show with a moving stage, and of course an obligatory shot at Tito Ortiz.  In other words, a good time is had by all.

After the jump, a strange, quick knockout from an amateur MMA bout in Scotland.  Dude’s going to need an ice pack when he wakes up.

(Sometimes Wanderlei uses Lil’ Wanderlei to say things he can’t, such as ‘I’m sorry,’ and ‘I love you,’ and ‘What’s this catchweight shit about?’)

UFC.com today officially announced Rich Franklin/Wanderlei Silva as the main event for UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany on UFC 99, which has been dubbed “The Comeback.”  Yes, they already used that one for a season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but so what?  It’s Germany.  They’re too busy screwing around with soccer and modernist architecture to know what’s happening on American TV.

As previously rumored, the bout will take place at a catchweight of 195 pounds, which is kind of odd since both Franklin and Silva last fought at 205 pounds.  But it only seems to make no sense because you haven’t heard Dana White’s explanation yet:

“Everyone knows Rich moved up to light heavyweight a couple of fights ago while Wanderlei is planning on fighting at 185lbs from now on, but this fight is too exciting a match not to happen and both these guys deserve a ton of credit for taking this fight at 195lbs.”

(People tell him to stop going to that damn epileptic barber, but Heath just won’t listen.)

Remember yesterday when we told you that Cain Velasquez was going to be back in action at UFC 99 in Germany, and we were hoping he’d see a step up in competition?  Well, our wish has been granted, as MMA Weekly reports that Velasquez will face noted heavyweight stepping stone Heath Herring in Cologne this summer.

Herring, who is 2-3 since migrating to the UFC, last saw action as a one-man pony ride for Brock Lesnar in a decision loss that left Herring with a fractured orbital bone and Lesnar with a title shot.  Before that Herring won a victory over Cheick Kongo, who briefly thought he was a wrestler, and lost a decision to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira despite rocking Big Nog with a head kick early on.

If what we saw in Herring’s performances against Lesnar and in his UFC debut loss to Jake O’Brien are any indication (remember what Velasquez did to O’Brien?), getting matched up with another big wrestler that the UFC has high hopes for is not a good sign for “The Texas Crazy Horse.”  Velasquez seemed to have really rounded out his skill-set in his last fight, and he could put a serious hurting on Herring. 

If he does, it’s basically Velasquez’s pass into the upper echelon of the UFC’s heavyweight class.  If he doesn’t, Herring gets to keep hanging around in his win one, lose one fashion.

No word yet on who Velasquez’s AKA teammate Mike Swick will face, but there is this:

Watch Cage Fashion Show at Mix with Randy Couture on RawVegas.tv

RawVegas.tv sent Arianny Celeste to some weirdo MMA fashion show (I’m sorry, was that one dude wearing no shirt and a backpack?  How is that MMA related?) where she talked to Randy Couture about rumors that he may face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 99 in Germany.  Despite Fighters Only reporting that Couture flat out isn’t interested, he tells Arianny it’s a “possibility” if he gets done shooting “The Expendables” in time to get a full camp in.  Now that’s…disappointing.  As awesomely clichéd an action movie as that promises to be, isn’t Couture still a fighter?  And as such, shouldn’t fighting be his priority now that time is running out on his career?

The fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver stopped by Steve Cofield’s radio show to discuss his legal troubles, and insists that these instances of assault were all misunderstandings.  You see, he’s actually the victim.  Wouldn’t be no trouble if people would stop forcing him to hurt them.  Interesting explanations.  Now what about those MySpace posts?

After the jump, “MMA Live” previews UFC 95.

(Here goes Wanderlei, telling another one of his obviously bullshit fishing stories.)

The UFC’s summer venture into Cologne, Germany on June 13 is beginning to take shape, and that shape is already pretty intriguing — much like a dodecahedron, only not as pretentious.

MMA Weekly reports that Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva are likely to meet at a catchweight of around 195 pounds or so.  While it’s not the kind of fight that would determine a title contender – and even if it did we wouldn’t know for sure which weight class that contender might be in – it is the kind of bout that is interesting just ’cause.  Franklin and Silva are both on a sort of downward slope in their careers, so why not fight each other and see how it turns out?

Also a possibility for UFC 99, at least in his own mind, is Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.  Fresh out of surgery on an injured knee, Cro Cop told a Croatian website (which was then translated by our friend Robert at Betwwx.com) that he was “very confident” he’d be fighting for the UFC in Germany this June.  As for potential opponents, Cro Cop mentioned Randy Couture and sounded pretty pumped about the idea.  

Sounds good to us.  If the UFC can add Cro Cop-Couture and Franklin-Silva to a card that already has Caol Uno-Spencer Fisher and maybe, possibly even B.J. Penn-Kenny Florian, Germany’s world will officially get rocked, as The Scorpions might say, like a hurricane.

(Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly)

For the first time since February 2006, an Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be televised in Germany, as the UFC has struck a deal to have their June ’09 card broadcast on the TV network ProSieben. Tentatively numbered UFC 99, the event is slated to go down at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. If you’ll recall, this was the card that was supposed to feature the hell-why-not fourth match between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. And although the TV deal is now in place for a visit to a new European country, the main event is less certain.

According to Franklin McNeil, bout agreements for Liddell/Couture IV have not been presented to either fighter yet, and neither of them is particularly interested in the match; it’s possible that Liddell and the German-speaking Couture will be featured on the Cologne card in separate bouts.

Of course, lack of a superfight is just one obstacle in the UFC’s quest to invade Deutschland. The reason that German PPV provider Premiere stopped carrying UFC broadcasts in 2006 is because the buy rates were so low; coincidentally, the last event they offered was UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3. And unfortunately, the German media hasn’t quite warmed up to the sport of MMA, or its central figure, Dana White. Check out these excerpts from a recent Der Spiegel profile:

(One of MMA’s greatest rivalries is about to get a completely unnecessary epilogue. Photo courtesy of ko.susumug.com.)

Bloody Elbow and The Sun are both reporting that the UFC is currently in negotiations to have dethroned heavyweight champion Randy Couture and former light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell face each other for a fourth time in Cologne, Germany, on June 13th. As BE’s Michael Rome writes:

The UFC wants to have Randy on their [first-ever] Germany show because he speaks the language and can do all the promotion. The winner of the fight would face the heavyweight champion in a big fight at the end of the year.

Couture is uninterested in moving down to 205 where Forrest Griffin is champion and Wanderlei Silva is also a contender. Both are close to him and in his camp, and weight cutting takes a toll at his age…

For Liddell, the thought is that…whereas he would have to win a bunch of fights to get back at contention at 205, the heavyweight division is thin enough where he could jump in and be an immediate contender with a win.

It is believed internally that Couture/Liddell will draw better than Silva/Liddell, and they know that a potential Liddell/Lesnar match would probably be the biggest PPV in the history of MMA.

You can’t really argue with the business logic of angling for a Liddell/Lesnar superfight, what with Anderson Silva’s disappointing PPV numbers. And if Couture vs. Liddell IV goes like the previous two installments in 2005 and 2006 (which Chuck won via knockouts), the UFC will get their wish. But where does this leave the Spider?

(Maybe the UFC can get this guy out of retirement.)

So, another thing that Dana White said during that conference call yesterday that was otherwise dominated by BJ Penn’s incredible trash-talk, was that Germany is next on the list of countries that the UFC is looking to expand into, followed by the Philippines and Australia. White also said “we’re starting to focus on doing something in Brazil…because there’s a lot of interesting economical things going on down there right now.”

Doing an event in Brazil has an obvious logic to it, given the history of the sport and the popularity it still enjoys there. But Germany? UFC 83′s incredibly positive reception in Montreal indicated that a popular local champion will get crowds fired up more than anything else — it was the missing element that recent UFC events held in the U.K. lacked, which may be why those cards weren’t nearly as successful. But UFC 75 and 80 were at least filled out with British scrappers who were somewhat recognizable. Off the top of your head, without using Google, how many Germany-based mixed martial artists could you name? I mean, I could probably name a couple guys that are German in the same way that Marcus Davis is Irish, but unless they want to re-brand Mac Danzig as “The Berlin Bad Boy,” it seems like it’ll be a hard sell, both for the local German audience, and the American fans watching at home who have to sit through a card stacked with Jerry Nobodies.