(TUF 3 finalist Josh Haynes resurfaces on an episode of Cops — as a police officer, thank God. / Props: ko 86)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Jon Jones: Rashad Evans Hasn’t Progressed, Phil Davis Looked ‘Like a Sheep’ (MMA Fighting)

- Tony Ferguson Fights Dennis Hallman at ‘UFC on FOX 3′ (5th Round)

- Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit Will Save Us After UFC on FOX 2 Dud (MMA Mania)

- FTC Ends UFC Investigation Regarding Strikeforce Purchase (MMA Payout)

- Brian Ebersole Took Our Camera, Got in a Rickshaw and Gave Away Leftover Pizza at the United Center (MiddleEasy)

- UFC 143: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum Breakdown (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Lyoto Machida Eyes Jon Jones Rematch, Wants Dan Henderson Next (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- Memo to the UFC/Dana White: Try Solving Piracy Instead of Just Fighting It (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Fight Video: Badr Hari Knocks Out Gokhan Saki In Retirement Bout (MMA Convert)

- State Attorney General Admits Amateur MMA Is Not Banned in New York (The Fight Nerd)

- The Japanese Scene Is Facing Increasingly Dangerous Waters (Fight Opinion)

- Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson’s UFC 143 Blog: Week 2 (FightLine)

(“Pee Wee” and “Meat Truck” get ready to mix it up. Photo courtesy of Esther Lin for EliteXC.)

EliteXC soldiers on tonight with another installment of their minor-league series ShoXC, which will go down at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, and will be broadcast on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Headlining the event is a heavyweight match between the undefeated Dave “Pee Wee” Herman and TUF 2 castmember Kerry Schall. Ten of Herman’s 11 wins have come via first-round stoppage; his most recent fight was a TKO win over Ron Waterman in June. Schall has dropped his last two to Antoine Hayes and Shane Ott, and will most likely get creamed tonight.

Jason “Fail” Guida (17-17) also returns to the cage, taking on Mahmed “Cannibal” Khalidov (14-3-1), a Chechen fighter who has become one of the biggest MMA rising stars in Poland. Russian knockout artist Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko (21-3) will be making his U.S. debut against Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (11-4), who most recently choked out Icon Sport champ Kala Kolohe Hose in 41 seconds during a non-title match at EliteXC: The Return of the King in June. And in the Battle of the Dudes With the Shittiest Nicknames, Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm (7-0) takes on Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira (5-0); Tractor holds a win over Fabio Fabio and two wins over Big Big. At the very least, it’ll be worth a DVR’ing.

As for tomorrow night, if you’re in the Las Vegas area you’ll want to hit up the Thomas & Mack Center for “A Night of Combat II.” Co-promoted by Kim Couture, the event will feature Jay Hieron, Rick Roufus, Josh Haynes, Mike Pyle, Gideon Ray, John Alessio and more. Tickets range from $18-$53 — at those prices, you can’t afford not to go.

(That don’t look healthy. Photo courtesy of BringthePain.tv.)

On June 21st, the first “Godz of War” event goes down at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC; though the official website still loudly boasts a main event of Jeff Monson vs. Kevin Randleman, it was widely reported last week that Randleman had to drop out due to a shoulder injury, and will be replaced by YAMMA participant Ricco Rodriguez.

Personally, I’m more concerned about the featured bout between former UFC middleweight champion/PRIDE veteran Murilo Bustamante and TUF 3 finalist Josh “Bring the Pain” Haynes. Yes, you read that correctly: the Brazilian Top Team co-founder who whipped Dave Menne and Matt Lindland’s asses before rumbling with some of the best in the world in Japan is going toe-to-toe with the guy who was bounced out of the UFC after losing consecutive fights to Michael Bisping (understandable), Rory Singer (ouch), and Luke Cummo (uh-oh). The best part? Though they list Bustamante’s record accurately as 14-7-1, they inflated Haynes’s record from 9-10 to 17-8. Seriously, go to the site and see for yourself. Unless they’re crediting Haynes one victory for every 15 pounds he successfully lost after being a 300+ pound wideass, I’m gonna have to call bullshit.

Of course, Bustamante is well past his prime so this won’t be a total squash match. But I just wanted to point out that there’s a new MMA promotion called Godz of War, and Josh Haynes is one of their marquee names. Best of luck, gentlemen.

(Josh Haynes picked up six grand for “bringing the pain.”)

Since we spent so much time yesterday looking at the generally impressive bonuses and salaries for UFC 82, it seems like a good idea to check out the IFL’s payouts for comparison. MMA Weekly has obtained the salaries for Friday’s IFL season opener, which are below. The IFL event brought 4,280 people to the Orleans Arena, with only 1,606 of those people actually paying for their tickets. The total live gate was $102,120, and the total disclosed fighter payroll was $165,500.

CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS
Ryan Schultz ($26,000, including $14,000 win bonus) def. John Gunderson ($9,500)
Roy Nelson ($24,000 including $14,000 win bonus) def. Fabiano Scherner ($7,500)
Ryan McGivern ($10,000 including $4,000 win bonus) def. Matt Horwich ($12,000)

MAIN CARD
Alexandre Ferreira ($16,000 including $8,000 win bonus) def. Lew Polley ($4,000)
Jake Ellenberger ($15,000 including $7,500 win bonus) def. Pat Healy ($7,500)
Rafael Dias ($7,000 including $3,500 win bonus) def. Santino De Franco ($5,000)
Josh Haynes ($6,000 including $3,000 win bonus) def. Leopoldo Serao ($4,000)

PRELIMINARY FIGHT
Ian Loveland ($7,000 including $3,500 win bonus) def. Dennis Davis ($5,000)

What’s the sadder number — $12,000 (the guaranteed salary of the event’s highest-paid fighters, Schultz and Horwich) or 2,600 (the number of seat-fillers that the IFL had to bring in to make the joint look crowded)?

The IFL announced this morning that Xtreme Couture middleweight contender Benji Radach has pulled out of the IFL’s 2008 season opener in Las Vegas on February 29th due to injury. Replacing him in the scheduled bout against World Class Fight Center’s Leopoldo Serao is a face that’s familiar to many — particularly Michael Bisping’s fists. Radach’s Xtreme Couture camp-mate Josh “Bring the Pain” Haynes, who competed as a light heavyweight on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, will be stepping in to make his IFL debut as a 185-pounder. Haynes, who sports a Ken/Tank-esque 2-6 record in his last 8 professional fights, was optimistic about his chances against Brazilian submission-artist Serao:

“It’s a style matchup. You’ve got a jiu-jitsu guy coming in to face a standup striker and a brawler, and it’s just going to be one of those classic, who-can-impose their will kind of fights. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. I think this kid will come to bang and if he stands in front of me he’ll go to sleep. I love the opportunity and I love the matchup.”

Following his loss to Michael Bisping at the TUF 3 finale, Haynes lost a decision to Rory Singer, was knocked out by Luke Cummo, and was dropped from the UFC. His last fight was a knockout loss to Cedric Marks at XCF Battlegrounds in November. Now, for your viewing displeasure, we present Haynes’s fight against Singer, as narrated by some punk-ass 12-year-old: