By Oliver Chan

(Full disclosure – one of the staff members of Wai Kru is a family member of mine)

By now, we have all seen the tragedy in Boston. We have all seen their faces on the news. And we have all seen the tremendous acts of heroism, patriotism, and humanitarianism that reminds us that when it comes to good vs. evil, good shall always prevail. I grew up in Massachusetts, so it’s safe to say this had a surreal effect over me.

As Seth’s piece pointed out (not that it matters) one of these d-bags had previously trained at Wai Kru in Allston Mass. While MMA gyms are popping up all over the country at an alarming rate, this one is something to note as it is where former UFC fighters, John Howard and Sean Gannon currently train. Head trainer, Kru John Allan, who is currently in Thailand, sent this statement out when reached for comment sent this statement via Facebook message:

(A week later, that thing hatched and about 30 baby spiders came pouring out. True story.)

When it comes to getting fired by the UFC, three is a magic number — as in, that’s usually the number of consecutive losses you’re allowed before they tell you to hit the bricks. Case in point, welterweight contender John “Doomsday” Howard, who was just released from his contract after seven fights in the promotion.

Howard began his UFC campaign in promising fashion, picking up split-decision wins over Chris Wilson and Tamdan McCrory, followed by knockouts of Dennis Hallman and Daniel Roberts. Then, shit fell apart. Howard got dominated by Jake Ellenberger en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO (due to the gnarly swelling of his left eye), then caught decision losses against Thiago Alves and Matt Brown. The loss to Brown was unforgivable, considering Brown was on a three-fight skid himself.

FACT: At some point tonight, someone will refer to this man as “Kongo Slice”, and consider him/herself incredibly clever for doing so. Props: MMAJunkie.com.

The UFC will be holding its fourth installment of live MMA on Versus Network tonight at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headlined by Nate Marquardt versus Anthony “Rumble” Johnson Pat Barry versus Cheick Kongo. Eh, what are you going to do? Plus, Rick Story and Charlie Brenneman battle for welterweight contendership, Matt Brown and John Howard more than likely fight for their jobs and Matt Mitrione squares off with Christian Morecraft.

The prelims are currently happening on Facebook now, so why not check them out? We’ll be here when you get back with live updates starting at 9 PM, ET. And yes, we know you’ll be back. It’s a Sunday night, now’s not the time to start acting like you have other plans. Refresh this page every few minutes for the latest results.

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Rick story, blatantly holding back his true feelings regarding Nate Marquardt.

In preparation for UFC on Versus 4 this Sunday night, Ariel Helwani has been busy interviewing fighters. Since you probably have a major concerns regarding his interviews, I’ll address it now: Nobody gets slapped. For those of you still here, Nate Marquardt and Rick Story don’t exactly speak highly of each other, Christian Morecraft talks beer and Black Sabbath and John Howard talks about the Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup.

For more of Ariel Helwani, be sure to check out the pre-fight and post-fight shows on Versus Network, beginning at 8 PM ET and 11:30 PM ET, respectively. You’ll get analysis from Ariel, Todd Harris and Stephan Bonnar. You’ll also get a special appearance by our favorite reader (No, not Cheick Kongo). And also watch the other videos after the jump.

(The worst part of dropping to 170? Not being able to eat what you want.)

As promised, Nate Marquardt will be dropping to welterweight for his next fight. The longtime UFC middleweight contender — who’s coming off a decision victory over Dan Miller at UFC 128 — makes his next appearance at UFC on Versus 4 (June 26th, Pittsburgh), where he’ll be facing Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the main event. Johnson returned to the win column three weeks ago with a unanimous decision over Dan Hardy at UFC Fight Night 24. Note to Nate: If Rumble promises to stand and bang with you, don’t believe him.

The Pittsburgh card will also feature a welterweight meeting between Martin Kampmann and John Howard — the guy who Anthony Johnson called out after his win over Hardy. Kampmann will be trying to right the ship after two very disheartening decision losses to Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez. John Howard is also on a two-fight skid, coming off losses to Jake Ellenberger (via TKO) and Thiago Alves (via decision).

(Video courtesy BREAK/UFC.com)

If you missed the Countdown to UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck show on Monday, we got you covered.

One of the most intriguing parts of the St-Pierre-Koscheck segment of the show came courtesy of Kos’ ex-college wrestling coach who said that the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter’s assholish persona is not an act. According to the coach, Koscheck who was not well-liked by his college teammates once nearly came to blows with a fellow wrestler in the change rooms and was known as a bit of a loner. He said that he didn’t bat an eye at the way his former charge was portrayed on The Ultimate Fighter, because he remembers him being a bit of a dick.

We’ll have more on Koscheck’s abrasive personality from his AKA teammate, Phil Baroni on tomorrow’s UFC 124 edition of The Bum Rush. 

It’s also worth noting from the countdown show that Koscheck, who was involved with Bobby Southworth in taunting that "fatherless bastard" Chris Leben on TUF 1 was raised very modestly by a single mother and seems very bitter as a result. Maybe Josh just needs a good hug to make him stop being such a prick. Too bad he says he’ll never fight Jon Fitch.

Check out the rest of the countdown videos after the jump.

(John Howard discusses his path from the Boston projects to the Octagon. Doomsday takes on Thiago Alves next Saturday at UFC 124. Props: FightMagazine.com)

- Scott Coker Says He’s Not Interested in Gerald Harris; Todd Duffee Turned Down an Offer to Fight Antonio Silva (LowKick)

– World MMA Awards Live Chat Tonight (Versus MMA Beat)

– Trial Begins for Man Accused of Manslaughter in Death of Tapout’s ‘Mask’ (MMA Fighting)

– Japanese Fighter Completely Botches Celebratory Backflip (MiddleEasy)

– Dynamite!! in Danger: FEG’s Future Looks Bleak Without NYE TV Deal & Investment Capital (MMA Convert)

– NicktheFace Brings the Goods with ‘Shogun vs. Evans’ Trailer (MMA Scraps)

– Five Fights To Watch For The Rest Of 2010 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Daniel Cormier Gets an Opponent for January Strikeforce bout (Five Ounces of Pain)

– SB Nation Exclusive Interview: Chris ‘Beast Boy’ Barnett Didn’t Enjoy His Trip To Singapore (SBNation.com/MMA)

(Props: GollyIE)

…and just to get the taste of vomit out of your mouths, here’s the extended trailer for UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck II (December 11th, Montreal). The supporting card looks very promising, but it’s sort of unfortunate that the other two fights being featured here are Thiago Alves vs. John Howard and Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson — considering all four fighters are coming off losses. Meanwhile, UFC 124 will also host two fights featuring guys on the upswing: Jim Miller (five-fight win streak) vs. Charles Oliveira (undefeated wunderkind) and Sean McCorkle (mouthy Internet celebrity) vs. young veteran Stefan Struve, who he’s been beefing with for months.

Still, Thiago Alves gets the best line of the video: "When you’re fighting the Pitbull, it’s over. No afterparty for you." And GSP guarantees a stoppage victory. "Get in, get out, and leave," he says. "That’s what the crowd wanna see, and that’s what I wanna do."

By now, you may have already seen that video going around of Pat Barry kicking the stuffing out of our punch-machine at the UFC Fan Expo. When KLM Vending dropped off the machine at our booth, they gave us strict orders to not let any drunken tough-guy idiot try to kick the bag. But when HD Barry drops by and starts rolling his shorts up, you’re pretty much helpless to do anything except smile nervously and move out of the way.

Of course, Pat wasn’t the only one who was drawn to the punch-machine at the CagePotato.com Fan Expo booth. As VH and ReX already explained, we had a thick crowd of participants and gawkers all weekend, many of whom turned into hooked rubes who couldn’t stop pleading for "one more turn" on the thing. And my God did they take it seriously. So here’s our video tribute to their efforts, edited by Break Media’s Matty Sumida and soundtracked by Fort Minor. Enjoy, and we hope to see you guys at the next one…

(A megamix of every amazing thing Chael Sonnen said at yesterday’s UFC 117 press conference. Listen to all of it. You will never be the same. Props: MiddleEasy)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Famed Ref ‘Big’ John McCarthy to Return to Octagon at UFC on Versus 2 (MMA Fighting)

– Top 5 UFC Fighters Who Never Became Champions (LowKick)

– Mark Munoz Preparing for Three Round Battle Against Yushin Okami (Versus MMA Beat)

– Machida upcoming, Rampage eliminates key part of gameplan (Watch Kalib Run)

– John Howard, His 1994 Accord, And Sleeping Under A Ring (Heavy.com/MMA)

– At home with Dan Hardy and his cute, tatted-up girlfriend. (FIGHT! Magazine)

– Top Secret Ubereem: Public Misconceptions of MMA Fighters (MMA Scraps)

– Video tour of Fedor Emelianenko’s "Palace of Sport" (MMA Convert)

– Grappling With Issues: Jake Shields’s title prospects, Brock Lesnar’s star power, and Ken Shamrock’s legacy (Five Ounces of Pain)

(The end of Lytle vs. Brown I, 8/11/07. Props: tapskilz)

— You might as well give these guys their Fight of the Night checks right now. MMA Fighting reports that a match between scrappy welterweights Chris "The Bonus Hunter" Lytle and Matt Brown has been added to UFC 116 (July 3rd, Las Vegas). Lytle and Brown have met once before, at a Unified Fight League event in August 2007; "Lights Out" won the fight by second-round guillotine choke. Lytle is now riding back-to-back wins against Kevin Burns and Brian Foster, while Brown is coming off his submission loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 111.

— In a matchup of lightweight grappling specialists, George Sotiropoulos and Kurt Pellegrino are also slated to tangle at UFC 116. Since his appearance on TUF 6, Sotriopoulos has built up a perfect 5-0 record in the Octagon, and recently picked up the biggest win of his career by outpointing Joe Stevenson at UFC 110. Pellegrino has also been on a tear lately, taking out four consecutive opponents, including a second-round submission via rear-naked choke over Fabricio Camoes at UFC 111 last month. The winner of this fight becomes a serious player in the 155-pound division. Who ya got?

(Anthony Johnson mugs for the camera, seemingly unaware that he’s about to lose the last member of his entourage to a sausage that has fallen on the ground.)

You didn’t think Anthony Johnson was just going to let his hated rival, John Howard, enjoy a sweet knockout victory at ‘UFC Live’ on Sunday, did you? Naw, playa. The first rule of an MMA rivalry is that you find a way to denigrate any and all of the other guy’s accomplishments. The second rule? See if you can’t find some clever way to mock his nickname. “Rumble” has at least one of those bases covered in a recent talk with FightHype.com, where he managed to make Howard’s brain-rattling knockout of Daniel Roberts seem like a narrow escape:

"Howard ain’t got no stand-up at all. He’s lucky Roberts wasn’t stronger or he probably would have gotten submitted. …Howard is soft; he doesn’t belong in the UFC. I will be glad to show him this if he’s my next opponent. But congratulations on your win. If you fight me like that, you won’t survive. You better work on that stand-up buddy!"

(Photo courtesy of MMA Fighting.)
 
So, weird night, huh? The main card of UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones gave us two fights where guys were docked points for illegal blows, two fights that ended with the losers grabbing their eyes in pain, Cheick Kongo transforming into a boring wrestler, and referees being applauded for their brilliant decisions. I’m still waiting for the hail of frogs. And here’s another bit of strangeness: The UFC decided to hand out three Knockout of the Night bonuses after the show, but no Fight of the Night bonuses. The $50,000 bumps went to the following scrappers…

Knockout of the Night #1: Jon Jones, for caving in Brandon Vera‘s head with an elbow that came from an acceptable clock-position.

Knockout of the Night #2: Junior Dos Santos, for wasting Gabriel Gonzaga and picking up his fifth-straight KO/TKO in the UFC.

Knockout of the Night #3: John Howard, for starching Daniel Roberts in the only prelim fight that was shown on the broadcast.

Submission of the Night: Clay Guida, for his arm-triangle tap of Shannon Gugerty. (Who else are they gonna give it to, Kongo for submitting Paul Buentello via leg-elbows?)

Some important notes from the press conference:

(Daniel Roberts grappling highlight reel. Props: YouTube.com/ninjaroberts)

Three hungry up-and-comers will be making their Octagon debuts this Sunday, filling some gaps on the "Vera vs. Jones" preliminary card. But who will explode on the scene, and who will blow the biggest opportunity of their careers like total losers? Read on and get acquainted with…

DANIEL "Ninja" ROBERTS (WW)
Experience: 9-0 record (7 wins by submission), mostly in Oklahoma-based promotions. Most recently scored a submission-via-punches over MMA old-schooler Anthony Macias in January.
Will be fighting: John Howard (13-4, 3-0 UFC)
Lowdown: Roberts is filling in for Anthony Johnson, who dropped off the card last month with an injury. He comes from an amateur wrestling background, and as you can see in the video above, his grappling is ferocious. Roberts currently trains at the Cesar Gracie camp with Strikeforce champions Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Gilbert Melendez. He’s thrilled to be fighting John Howard: “I have to say that if I were to pick my opponent for the UFC, it probably would be him. Not to say that he’s a bad guy or an easy win — the fact that he’s 3-0 in the UFC is actually a good thing. I checked him out, I saw what he has, and I definitely feel like my grappling is way ahead of his…if he can last through the first and second round, then he’s pretty tough, because I plan on giving it everything I’ve got…I know a lot of people like to stand up and bang, but I think I’m gonna win a lot of fans over with my grappling. I move really well on the ground and there are not a lot of people that can move like me."

(Oh. Snap. Image courtesy of twitter.com/johnhowardufc)

— As first mentioned on John "Doomsday" Howard‘s Twitter page, a scrap between Howard and frequent eye-poke recipient Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is nearly set for UFC Fight Night 21 (March 21st, Denver), which will be the UFC’s first broadcast on the Versus network. According to an MMA Junkie report, the matchup was originally planned for last June at the TUF 9 finale, but Howard’s management reportedly turned it down because they didn’t want Doomsday facing such a tough test so early in his career; Johnson has since publicly criticized Howard for the ducking. Howard (13-4) is currently 3-0 in the UFC, and most recently scored a last-second knockout over Dennis Hallman at the TUF 10 finale in December. Johnson (8-3, 5-3 UFC) had a three-fight win streak snapped in November when he was submitted by Josh Koscheck at UFC 106.

— Speaking of welterweights, Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown are set to get it on at UFC 111 (March 27th, Newark). Following back-to-back decision victories over Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove, Almeida was slated to take on Jon Fitch at 106, but had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He’ll now face off against "The Immortal," who has stopped his last three opponents, most recently TUF 9 winner James Wilks at UFC 105.

(Goodnight, sweet prince.)

I can’t decide what to make of Anthony Johnson’s public campaign to brand John Howard as a fight-ducking coward.  He says he’s just pissed off that Howard backed out of a fight with him, but that seems like a strange explanation.  And yet that’s what he told Versus.com when the subject of Howard’s potential bitchassness came up:

"He said it was his manager’s decision, but I think, at the end of the day, it’s really his decision. I don’t think your manager should make all your decisions, especially when you’re supposed to fight and if you are going to say, ‘yeah’ or ‘no.’ … I’m speechless about the whole thing … I’m going to eventually get to fight him and knock his teeth out. It’ll happen.  I want to beat him up just because he backed out."

It’s hard to see what Johnson really has to gain by fighting Howard, whose UFC debut saw him win a fairly boring split decision over Chris Wilson.  Meanwhile, Johnson has been racking up impressive wins against more experienced opponents like Luigi Fioravanti and Kevin Burns.

("Another mid-level opponent who doesn’t put me any closer to a title shot? Sweet!")

— Well, at least the UFC hasn’t completely forgotten about Yushin Okami. The perennial top middleweight contender, who has won his last three fights against Jason MacDonald, Evan Tanner, and most recently Dean Lister in December, will reportedly be back in action at UFC 98 (May 23rd, Las Vegas) against Dan Miller. In his last 10 fights, Miller has gone 9-0 with one no-contest, and has been undefeated in the Octagon, picking up wins against Rob Kimmons, Matt Horwich, and Jake Rosholt. An impressive win for Okami would further cement his case for a title shot, though we get the feeling that "Thunder" would have to rack up a few consecutive wins by stoppage before the UFC finally gives him a chance. With Serra/Hughes now official, the UFC 98 card is lookin’ stacked.

— Exciting welterweight rising star Anthony Johnson and impressive prospect John Howard have agreed to meet at the TUF 9 finale in June. Johnson is riding a two-fight win streak after his first-round TKO over Luigi Fioravanti at last month’s UFC Fight Night 17, and his highlight-reel head-kick KO of Kevin "Pokey" Burns at the TUF 8 finale in December. A veteran of the IFL and various regional MMA leagues in the East Coast, Howard made his Octagon debut at UFC 94, winning a split decision against Chris Wilson and taking home one of the event’s Fight of the Night bonuses.