(Video: YouTube/UFC)

Last night’s weigh-ins went off without a hitch. Every man made weight on the first go, and other than a few fighters finding out for certain if their opponents do indeed have stank breff, there were no real notable exchanges between tonight’s combatants.

A quick question before we get to the scales: when did the CSAC become the weigh-in Nazis? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they made Clay Harvison take off that stupid Mickey Mouse hat, but when Nevada allows Roy Nelson to weigh-in looking like the Michelin Man it seems strange that California freaks out about a bracelet or a ring. And all of that “Stand here! Face forward!” drill sergeant nonsense stopped the second “Cigano” hit the stage; it’s clear that big boy in the blazer prefers bossing around people half his size.

Now, onto the results.

Jus a friendly reminder that there are a couple things left to help waste the remaining hours of your Friday.

First off, the UFC will be holding a press conference to announce UFC 141 featuring a main event number one heavyweight contender match-up between former Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem and former UFC champ Brock Lesnar.

We’ll finally get a first hand look at Lesnar’s physique so we can see just how big of a toll his latest bout of diverticulitis took on his body. We’ll also likely get some vague quotes from “The Demolition Man” about his current lawsuit against his former management team and why he chose Xtreme Couture for this camp.

Also on tap are the weigh-ins for tomorrow night’s UFC on Fox extravaganza. It should be interesting to see if the event has a FOX spin on it and if we’ll see any FOX personalities like Gus Johnson sashaying around in the background will full make-up.

Check out the stream after the jump.

By Jonathan Shrager

Unless you’ve been locked in a closet for the last week with no internet reception, you’re probably aware that the UFC’s inaugural event on network television transpires this weekend, headlined by a gargantuan heavyweight showdown between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos.

A convincing argument could be made for JDS boasting the single most remarkable contender streak in UFC history. If you’ve failed to be impressed by Junior’s seven consecutive triumphs since entering the UFC back in October 2008 — and the level of competition they came against — then you’re evidently not a very excitable person. In fact, it’s likely that you possess the same stoicism characterised by “Cigano’s” adversary this weekend, Señor Velasquez.

You see, unbeaten runs aren’t common in the UFC. This isn’t the world of boxing, where fighters are fed 20 journeymen before they get thrown to the lions. And that’s precisely why the MMA community purrs over such immaculate resumes. So which UFC fighters built up the most impressive win streaks en route to their first title shot? These five come to mind…

It’s been a long road, ladies and gentlemen, but it seems the time of network television MMA not involving Kimbo Slice and a screaming Gus Johnson is finally upon us. UFC on Fox kicks off at 9 o’clock tomorrow night, and for those of you who are looking to get some last minute gambling in, well, allow us to help you scratch that itch. Check out the betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with our Morgan Freeman-eqsue advice on what to do below.

Main Card/Event:
Cain Velasquez (-175) vs. Junior Dos Santos (+155)

Preliminary Card
Benson Henderson (-260) vs. Clay Guida (+220)
Dustin Poirier (-300) vs. Pablo Garza (+250)
Aaron Rosa (-140) vs. Matt Lucas (+120)
Mike Pierce (-340) vs. Paul Bradley (+280)
Mackens Sermizer (-115) vs. Robert Peralta (-105)
DaMarques Johnson (-270) vs. Clay Harvison (+230)
Norifumi Yamamoto (-360) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (+300)
Ricardo Lamas (-145) vs. Cub Swanson (+125)
Cole Escovedo (-260) vs. Alex Caceres (+220)

(Video courtesy of TheScore)

Strikeforce play-by-play commentator and MMA reporter Mauro Ranallo caught up with Dana White following yesterday’s UFC on FOX 1 press conference in Los Angeles and as usual, the always outspoken UFC president had a lot to say.

Check out the brass tacks of the interview after the jump.

Last Wednesday marked the official debut of Heart, a comic-book miniseries by writer Blair Butler and artist Kevin Mellon that follows an aimless office drone’s quest to discover his life’s purpose through MMA. I read the first issue last weekend and thought it was a great story, and another positive representation of the sport in entertainment culture. (See also: Warrior, Tiki Ghosn’s appearance on Blind Date.) So pick it up on your next trip to the comic shop, okay?

The four-issue series will be released monthly through February — and we can hook one of you up with the whole thing. To get it, you’ll have to accurately predict the results of UFC on FOX‘s featured fight this Saturday (heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez vs. #1 contender Junior Dos Santos), as well as the lightweight clash between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson that will be closing out the Facebook prelims. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(A twist to the story is that they are actually brothers who used to be siamese twins.)

The UFC and FOX held a conference call today with UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC President Dana White, FOX Sports Media Group Chairman David Hill, FOX Sports Co-President Eric Shanks and FUELTV General Manager George Greenberg for members of the media who were unable to attend today’s UFC on Fox 1 pre-fight press conference in Los Angeles. Besides the big announcement that prelim fights will soon be moving over to FuelTV from Facebook, there were a few other interesting nuggets that came out of the call.

Check out the quick quotes after the jump.

Just a friendly reminder that we’ll be streaming the UFC on Fox 1 pre-fight presser starting at 4:00 pm ET, so grab somJagerbombs and get in here. Wait, your boss lets you do shots on Wednesday afternoons, right?

Ok. Just checking. We thought maybe we were the only ones.

Video stream is after the jump.

(#6: Junior Dos Santos lives in fire, and has never owned a shirt.)

By Matt Saccaro

Have you seen the commercials for UFC on FOX but are new to the whole MMA thing? From rules to history to notable figures, there’s a lot that new fans need to know in order to better appreciate the sport and not sound like a complete “noob” during the fight this Saturday.

Some of this may seem complicated and intimidating, but it’s really not that hard to understand. So what do you need to know about MMA before you watch UFC on FOX?

Visit BleacherReport.com/MMA for a helpful primer on the sport and the “Velasquez vs. Dos Santos” event on FOX.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHEAT)

The UFC held a conference call today in which Dana White and both main event competitors for the promotion’s inaugural Fox broadcast, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, fielded questions from the MMA media.

Among other topics, White addressed the possible scenario that the Velasquez-JDS fight could be over faster then the planned pre-fight extravaganza and said that if it is, then there won’t be any other fights shown on Fox, period.

“There’s only gonna be one fight. The heavyweight championship is the only fight that’s gonna be on Fox, [even if] it goes 10 seconds.”

Check out the highlights of the call after the jump.

(“Do you need a manager?”)

Anderson Silva wants Ed Soares to take his name out of his mouth — at least when talking to reporters about the career decisions of his marquee client.

Silva took exception to Soares’ recent interview with GLOBO recently during which he explained that Silva will likely retire after competing four more times in the Octagon. The usually jovial Brazilian fighter refuted Soares’ assertion and hinted that he may split with his longtime manager as a result his insolence.

“Not true. As one of my coaches, I still have many bottles to sell. I think we keep fighting for another six, seven years. Four years ago, I was a little stressed,” Silva explained in an interview with GLOBO this week. “I decided with my teacher Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira that after another year I would stop. He said he had no reason to, and then I stopped to think, I had one more fight, and then said, ‘I will postpone my retirement for some time.”

Primetime by JMMANow
(Video courtesy of DailyMotion/JMMANow)

If your wife had you finishing up some shit on your honey-do list you had better things to do yesterday afternoon than sit inside and watch the UFC on Fox 1 Primetime show, don’t worry, homies. We got you covered.

(Video: Youtube/UFC)

Just a quick programming note to everyone sitting on the couch this afternoon- the UFC’s first major appearance on the FOX network goes down shortly (exact time depends on your broadcast area, so check local listings). The Sunday afternoon timeslot may counter some NFL action, but it’s an incredible opportunity to capture viewers in MMA’s key demographic.

As readers of this site you obviously possess discerning taste and an appreciation for excellence, so check out the show and let us know your first impression of the UFC powered by the FOX production team.

UFC on Fox Primetime: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos is an upcoming special to be aired on October 30th, and features an in-depth look at the Nov. 12 showdown between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior Dos Santos. And to get you hyped for that, here is a brief preview of the special, which includes some press conference snipets ala Creed vs. Drago, some behind-the-scenes training footage ala Marciano vs. Lewis, and even squeezes in some of the lovable, rags-to-riches story of Junior Dos Santos in just over 3 minutes. Enjoy.

-Danga 

(Video props: JREYNOSO)

Does Cain Velasquez really deserve the title of “Baddest Man on the Planet,” previously vacated by Fedor Emelianenko? To make it official, he’ll have to defend his heavyweight title on November 12th in Anaheim against Junior Dos Santos, who has dominated a laundry list of contenders and veterans to get his title shot — and he’ll have to do it on network television. God damn, what a fight. And we appreciate the choice of music for the promo; they’re playing up the “MMA is the sport of Satan” angle, but, y’know, in a subtle way. Sorry Stemm, thine days are numbered.

(Look at Brock hiding out up there so he doesn’t get hit. Art really does imitate life.)

Sometimes the best highlights and promos are the ones made by fans of the sport. Promotions tend to tell you what they think you should be excited about whereas fans just seem to know what is exciting.

Case in point, the UFC 141: Overeem vs. Lesnar trailer below from our friends who produce “The Reem” documentary series. If you saw the latest episode of the show, you’ve already seen this spot, but it’s worth re-watching even if you have.

It’s a toss-up whether this fight or the upcoming championship bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez on Fox is the more heavily anticipated heavyweight tilt, but no matter which one you’re most looking forward to, this video should get you pumped for Overeem vs. Lesnar, or horsemeat vs. beef jerky as we like to call it.

Check it out after the jump.

(Full video of yesterday’s UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos press conference, via YouTube.com/UFC)

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…

- UFC 141: Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem Winner on Dec. 30 Earns Heavyweight Title Shot (MMA Mania)

- We Know You Want to Watch This Video of The Korean Zombie and Arianny Celeste on a Korean Game Show (MiddleEasy)

- Dana White: Dan Henderson Signed Exclusive UFC Contract, Unsure About Strikeforce Belt (5thRound)

- 4 Reasons Jon Jones Will Destroy Rampage Jackson at UFC 135 (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux Set for Dec. 17 Strikeforce Card (MMA Fighting)

- Exclusive UFC on FOX Press Conference Photo Gallery (LowKick)

- A Summary of Bas Rutten’s Excellent Interview With Rampage Jackson (FightOpinion)

- Will UFC 135 Be the Last Fight for Matt Hughes? (NBC Sports MMA)

- Diaz Reportedly Losing Seven Figures Due to UFC 137 Re-Booking (MMA Payout)

- Worst MMA Foul Ever – Takeo Shiina Shows Floyd Mayweather How It’s Done (TheFightNerd)

- Kenny Florian: “I Think I Do Everything Well” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Greatest TUF Contributions of All Time (MMA Convert)

(Bendo” and “The Carpenter” will be appearing alongside in Encino Man 2: The Encino Twins.)

UFC officials announced a pair of fight bookings for it’s November 12 Fox premier show overnight.

According to a posting on UFC.com, former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson (14-2) will take on Clay Guida (29-8) in a 155-pound affair and top Japanese bantamweight Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (18-4, 1 NC) will square off against Strikeforce and Shooto veteran Darren Uyenoyama (6-3) in 135-pound action on the card.

Although neither fight will be shown during the one-hour broadcast which will feature only one bout — a heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos — UFC president Dana White mentioned last week that they are looking at options to ensure fans can watch the entire card.

(“Let’s try to make this thing last at least one round, deal?”)

UFC president Dana White announced during a conference call today that a heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will be the only bout on the promotion’s inaugural one-hout broadcast on Fox November 12. The heavily-anticipated bout, which was rumored to be the capper for UFC 139 a week later in San Jose, was instead moved to the Fox show and will now be the UFC’s landmark first fight on network television. The promotion is confident that it could do for them what Griffin vs. Bonnar I at the TUF 1 finale did for the sport back in 2006.

(El Cigano manages to make Roy Nelson even uglier than usual at UFC 117. Props: 5 oz.)

Only a few months before his scheduled title fight against Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos has made a drastic change in his supporting cast, parting ways with longtime manager Ed Soares. JDS confirmed the development yesterday on Twitter, announcing that he’s now being represented by the Guedes Group.

In an interview with Tatame after the news broke, Soares says he was saddened by Dos Santos’s departure, but harbors no ill will against his former star client. Some highlights…

Dos Santos has announced you are no longer his manager. Is it true?
It’s all fine, he made his choice and it’ll be the best for his career. There was not much talking, that was it. He’s the captain of his own boat, we’re just there to help him guide it the right way. We’ve done a great job, bringing him to the place he is now in a little over two years, but it’s a matter of opinion. He wants to go a different way. If that’s how he feels, God bless him on his journey.

Did he tell you why?

(The phrase “f*cked with the wrong Mexican” comes to mind. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Lorenzo Fertitta has revealed that Cain Velasquez‘s first heavyweight title defense against Junior Dos Santos is slated for UFC 138 (November 19th; HP Pavilion; San Jose, CA), according to a new LA Times report. It would be the UFC’s first event at the “Shark Tank,” which has been the longtime home-base for Strikeforce events. It’s a natural fit, considering Velasquez’s affiliation with San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy.

(Shane may have had heart, balls, guts, and a chin, but they were no match for Junior’s elite-level anatomical-metaphor defense.)

We’re almost a week removed from the magnificent beatdown that Junior dos Santos laid on Shane Carwin, and it’s probably safe to assume that all of the post-fight articles have been written about the main event at UFC 131. Well, all but one.

This article is not specifically about UFC 131 or Shane Carwin — it’s about a certain phrase that has been tied to Carwin’s performance following his three-round beating, and that phrase is “He showed a lot of heart.”

Do a Google search on MMA “showed heart” and look at the names associated with the term: Shane Carwin, Paul Daley, Roy Nelson, and Andrei Arlovski, just to name a few. Any fighter that stood in there and took a beating, yup, he “showed a lot of heart.”

It’s time to retire that phrase, and here’s why…

(Video courtesy of YouTube/TATAMETV)

It’s interesting to see which Brazilian fighters train which whom on a regular basis before camp starts. Junior dos Santos has apparently been spending a lot of time in his area of Northeast Brazil with “jiu-jitsu playboy” Demian Maia when he’s not entrenched in training camps with the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and the Nogueira brothers.

(I’m only giving this face-off a 6 out of 10, since Velasquez didn’t have his championship belt with him, and his teammates weren’t in the background throwing middle-fingers at the crowd. Props: UFC.com)

With Cain Velasquez‘s shoulder injury taking him out of action for all of 2011 (so far), Junior Dos Santos was forced to keep busy with a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter and a #1 contender fight against Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin. Any number of misfortunes could have befallen Cigano in the interim, but he managed to keep his spot at the front of the line, and will face Velasquez later this year in the heavyweight title fight that should have happened all along. (By the way, Velasquez’s return on October 8th in Houston isn’t guaranteed yet, due to his health status.)

Between Velasquez’s long injury layoff and Junior’s outstanding body of work in the UFC — culminating with a three-round drubbing of Shane Carwin on Saturday that saw JDS out-strike and then out-wrestle Carwin — the oddsmakers are looking very kindly upon the Brazilian challenger. At this point, Dos Santos is a -120 favorite in the fight, compared to Velasquez at -110.

If you’ve ever wondered how Cage Potato sneaks into UFC events, let’s just say it involves matching black baseball hats. Props: MMAConnected.com

Look, I get it. Vancouver fans are extremely excited about their Canucks winning 1-0 at home on Friday, putting the team one win away from taking the Stanley Cup. I’m more than willing to forgive those in attendance for being less than excited about UFC 131, an MMA event absent of title fights, or even some fellow Canadians on the main card. I’ll forgive the chants of “Go Canucks Go” and “We Want The Cup” that broke out throughout the evening. I’ll even forgive them for being won over by Jon Olav Einemo’s Canucks flag. But not watching the fights you’re supposed to be judging? That’s unacceptable.

There were some downright awful decisions made by the judges last night, causing some to wonder if they even watched the fights. Fortunately for Junior Dos Santos, his beating of Shane Carwin was too lopsided to possibly mess up. No doubt, Dos Santos looked impressive against Shane Carwin. Not only did he survive some of Shane’s hardest punches, but he also displayed some improved wrestling. He even managed to make Carwin look gun-shy, which seemed unthinkable. There were numerous times throughout the fight where it seemed crazy that Junior Dos Santos was fighting the same guy that almost dethroned Brock Lesnar. Before we get too excited though, remember that Shane Carwin managed to survive all three rounds, despite being a late replacement coming off of surgery. Time will tell how Dos Santos holds up against Cain Valesquez.

At that exact moment, as he stepped on the scales, he was haunted by the thought that he’d left his oven on. And that was the beginning of the end for Shane Carwin. (Pic: UFC.com)

This card was dealt a serious blow when PPV kingpin Brock Lesnar dropped out due to his ongoing battle with diverticulitis, and the hits just kept coming. Despite the constant deck shuffling, Joe Silva’s cooked up a decent batch of chicken salad, setting up a headlining bout that in many ways is more compelling than the original and a few match-ups that pose some interesting questions. How will a Jenny Craig’d Carwin perform in his first fight back after undergoing surgery? Will Florian finally find a stable home at 145lbs? Can you even call it “ring rust” after a five year layoff?

A lot of tonight’s fights are tough to call, but we’ll call them just the same. If you tuned in to YouTube or Facebook for the pre-prelims, you were treated to copious amounts of leather (and some questionable judging). We’ll hold off on the results of those fights and the Spike undercard in case they make it to the PPV broadcast. As always, your witty and insightful comments are more than welcome. Your shitty ones, not so much.

Weigh-ins for UFC 131 are kicking off today at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT, at the Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Check out streaming video of the festivities after the jump, courtesy of the UFC. We’ll plug in the weight totals below the video player after things wrap up. How emaciated will Kenny Florian be at 145? Will Shane Carwin have the same beastly intimidation factor now that he’s slimmed down below the 265-pound limit? What does Vagner Rocha look like, anyway? All will be revealed…

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

If you missed the UFC 131 countdown show last night, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Of noting is that the UFC enlisted the help of former WWE writer Paul Heyman to help produce the Camp Carwin segments of the show, which he was likely hired for when it was supposed to be his pal Brock Lesnar fighting dos Santos. It’s likely no coincidence, though that Carwin seemed to have a lot more contrived soundbites than usual like, “I’ve wrestled since I was six years old. These hands are meant to get ahold of people. I get ahold of Junior dos Santos, the fight’s over.”

Yessir, we’ve got another $50 store credit to MMAOutlet.com burning a hole through our pants, and we’re holding another fight-picking competition this week to determine its rightful owner.

This Saturday night, UFC 131 goes down in Vancouver, headlined by a heavyweight #1 contender fight between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin, and a featherweight feature between Kenny Florian and Diego Nunes. If you want a crack at this week’s prize, post your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage (if any). Basically, your entry should be in this format:

If the fact that he has broken training partner’s facial bones with jabs, torn through expensive focus mitts with combinations and sent trainers running for icepacks after holding pads for him are any indication of Shane Carwin’s punching power, getting hit in the face by “The Engineer” might not be something Junior dos Santos should try when he heads to Vancouver next week. We’d recommend he try something less harmful to his health like a butter tart or a Moosehead lager or pale ale.