(Look, he killed that thing fair and square, and whatever he decides to do with it is his business. / Props: The UG)

- UFC 146 Heavyweights Predict Strikeforce Grand Prix Final (Fightline)

- Bob Sapp Continues to Find New Ways to Embarrass Himself (BleacherReport/MMA)

- Three Guys Fighting MMA Inside a Pit Makes No Sense, But We Still Have Video of It (MiddleEasy)

- Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, and the Video Game Showdown That Wasn’t (MMAFighting)

- ‘Inside the Cage’ Unscripted #2: Casey and Cyrus Interview Pro Wrestling Legend Ricky Morton (MMAInsideTheCageTV)

- A Weird and Nasty Shin Break During a Muay Thai Fight (BloodyElbow)

- Fighter Babe Lauren Sugihara Returns to the Ring Tomorrow (Babes of MMA)

- The All-New “F*ck You” Pizza From Pizza Hut (WorldWideInterweb)

- Huey Lewis Is Not “Punk,” You Idiots (HolyTaco)

- The 7 Most Comfortable Cars to Have Sex In (MadeMan)

- Sugar Makes You Stupid (MensFitness)

- Diablo 3′s Botched Launch: 3 Reasons Gamers Should Care (GameFront)

(My qualifications? HERE’S my stinking qualifications!)

It looks like we’ll have to start drafting up new t-shirts to falsely promise you guys, because according to a recent interview with MMAFighting, UFC President Dana White was rather frank about his desire for both former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and former lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn to be placed in the UFC Hall of Fame in the near future. Though the jury is still out on whether or not Penn will return to the octagon following his hasty retirement in the aftermath of UFC 137, DW had nothing but positives to say about “The Prodigy” when asked on the possibility of his placement in the HOF:

Definitely. The thing about B.J. Penn is that what he brought to the lightweight division, there was a point in time when we first bought this company when people thought guys in the lighter weight divisions couldn’t be stars and couldn’t see pay-per-views and couldn’t cross over. B.J. Penn was definitely that first crossover guy for us. He’ll be back. It’s tough, when there are 16,000 people in the arena chanting your name, it’s tough to walk away from that. B.J. Penn is a fighter. You hear some of these guys, and Tito was one of these guys, he said he wanted to be famous. B.J. Penn is a fighter.

So there you have it, Penn will join long-time rival Matt Hughes, as well as Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, and Tapout co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis in that deluxe octagon in the sky. After a pair of unsuccessful title bids at 155, Penn won the welterweight title in his welterweight debut by defeating the then untouchable Hughes by first round rear-naked choke at UFC 46. Penn would vacate the UFC shortly thereafter, citing a lack of challenging fights, and would not taste UFC gold again until beating the ever-loving shit out of Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to claim the vacant lightweight strap. He would defend the belt three times until being upended by Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.

When addressing the possibility of Tito Ortiz joining those illustrious ranks, White did not shy away from the pair’s well-documented rocky history, and in fact stated that, in retrospect, it helped make the UFC what it is today.

Hear more from The Baldfather after the jump. 

(Don’t forget: Submissions for our Urijah Faber t-shirt design contest with Punch Buddies must be sent to contest@cagepotato.com by the end of today. Good luck! / California Kid action figure via Ben S.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- TUF 15: Number One Pick Justin Lawrence Looks to Back Up the Hype Against Cristiano Marcello (MMA Mania)

- Inside Dominick Cruz’s Training Camp for UFC 148 Fight With Urijah Faber (Video) (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- Dan Hardy Wants To Fight ‘That Blood Thirsty Kill Freak’ Matt Hughes (MMA Convert)

- Remember the Guy Who Got Choked Out by a Girl? Tosh.0 Is Giving Him a Shot at Redemption (MiddleEasy)

- Jon Jones On Rashad Evans Having His Number: ‘He Doesn’t Even Have My Area Code’ (FightLine)

- Bryan Caraway Wouldn’t Be First Guy Ronda Rousey Has Beaten Up (Video) (5th Round)

- Jose Aldo Says He Will Move to 155 Pounds If Frankie Edgar Doesn’t Drop Down (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Josh Barnett Feels TRT Exemptions Don’t Make Sense (The Fight Nerd)

- Cameras Follow “Mayhem” Miller for Morgan Spurlock Documentary (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Hitman-TapouT Lawsuit Heating Up (MMA Payout)

- Mike Kogan Has Had Enough of Rampage’s UFC Complaints (Fight Opinion)

CagePotato Roundtable is a new recurring column in which the CagePotato writing staff (and some of our friends) share their opinions on an MMA-related topic, and hopefully inspire some discussion among our readers as well. For the inaugural installment, we took inspiration from Joe Rogan’s enthusiastic crowning of last weekend’s Tim Boetch vs. Yushin Okami fight as “the greatest comeback in the history of the UFC.” That’s debatable, to say the least — but isn’t everything? So what *was* the greatest comeback fight in MMA history?

Seth Falvo
When Joe Rogan first called The Barbarian’s victory the greatest comeback in UFC history, my first thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only MMA fan who hasn’t seen Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp?” That comeback exposed Sapp for the overhyped freak that he was while establishing the legend of Big Nog and his ability to come from behind to win fights. Hell, we at Cagepotato consider it to be the best freak show fight to ever come out of Japan. But in fairness to Joe Rogan, that fight didn’t take place in the UFC. So my second thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only UFC fan who hasn’t seen Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee?”

What makes this comeback so great was the fact that Todd Duffee and Mike Russow were essentially photo negatives of each other. Before this fight, Duffee was destined to be the next big thing in the UFC’s heavyweight division, having just tied the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history in his promotional debut against Tim Hague. Duffee was on the cover of Muscle & Fitness, the poster boy for Muscletech and seemingly in every men’s magazine on the planet — no matter how loosely the content was related to sports. Meanwhile, Russow was quietly coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Justin McCully in his UFC debut and had more fat in his left bicep than Todd Duffee had in his entire body. Everything about this fight seemed like it was a squash match.

When you see it, you’ll shit poi. Props: Reddit MMA.

Related:
- Couture and Cozad: True Players
- God Made Two of ‘Em

Part 1

Part 2

(Props to Allfreefightvideos for the…uh…free fight videos.) 

The sixteenth of December in the year 2000 marked the last time the UFC made an appearance in the Land of the Rising Sun, and to celebrate, we’ve managed to pull some strings and dig up the entire pay-per-view event for your viewing pleasure. Because here at CP, we like to consider ourselves the cool step dads of the MMA blogosphere. Though we may not be around as much as we should, when we show up, you best believe we bring the nudie mags, cigarettes, and that funny smelling water that makes you all giggly and tired. Sure, your mom says it’s evil and thinks it killed your old dad, and sure, when you come to there’s change missing off the dresser, but at the end of the day, you’re just happy we brought you a gift, right?

(We know Dan, he watches over us all.) 

It looks like Dan Hardy won’t be getting that fight against Matt Hughes he was angling for. And thank God, because we hear Hughes’ country breakfasts consist of Ovaltine and Total these days (we kind, we kid; they consist of grilled bobcat).  

After going 0-4 through 2010 and 2011, Hardy has been matched up with a perfect opponent to kickstart 2012, when he takes on UFC veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 146. Hardy, who has not fought since falling to a third round guillotine choke in Chris Lytle’s retirement bout in August of 2011, took some time off to refocus, train, and get pestered by drunken fans. Ludwig also saw his last fight end by way of guillotine, only he chose to adhere to the “tapping is for bitches” rule when he was choked out by Josh Neer at UFC on FX. The loss snapped a two fight win streak for Ludwig, his first since 2008, which included wins over Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah.

Although this wasn’t the match Hardy wanted, you gotta imagine he’ll be stoked knowing he’s taking on a fellow slugger with a limited ground game. But it will be interesting to see if Hardy follows a more subdued gameplan here. Like we said, the man’s dropped 4 straight, and another loss could mean his Zuffa career. Then again, the only reason that he is still in the UFC is thanks to his consistently exciting performances, so a snoozer against Ludwig seems unlikely. Let’s just sit back and enjoy what is sure to be a war, ladies and gentlemen.

In other UFC 146 news…

(DO NOT run an unfiltered image search for ‘Matt Hughes’. EVER. This photo is nothing. Learn from my mistake, kids.)

Just four months after putting himself “on a shelf”–a euphemism for the dreaded ‘R-word‘–Matt Hughes is ready to glove up once again. After suffering back-to-back first round knockouts to BJ Penn and Josh Koscheck, the UFC Hall of Famer made a non-committal pledge to walk away from the sport, a move he’d pondered openly while winding down his career.

As we’ve seen time and time again, getting your head bashed in is surprisingly difficult to walk away from. Hughes has undoubtedly made enough money to retire comfortably, has plenty of hobbies to occupy his time, and with nine UFC titles to his name he has nothing left to prove. But Hughes didn’t start his MMA career in search of fame or fortune; the man simply loves to compete, and pounding his brother behind the barn just doesn’t cut it these days.

Ultimately, his fate lies in Dana White’s hands, not his own, and most certainly not his wife’s. During an interview on FUEL last night, Hughes established the pecking order in his household: “I think Dana could be the final decision maker. My wife’s a great lady, but she’s not going to tell me when Matt Hughes retires.” Well, I guess we know who’s cooking up the country breakfast this morning.

(Molon Labe)

By Jason Moles

(First off, let me just tell you that I fought the urge to use a “Business as usual” headline. You’re welcome.)

News trickled down last week that Zuffa has instituted a sponsorship ban on all firearm, ammo, hunting, and knife companies. Essentially, no more Matt Hughes. Starting January 23rd, Ammo To Go and The Gun Store, among others, will no longer be able to sponsor fighters. When contacted by CagePotato in hopes to better understand the reasoning behind the less than popular decision, the UFC said only that “These are rules set in place by Fox” — who declined to comment.

Not satisfied with that answer, I called up the man himself. And by “called up,” I mean tweeted. And by “the man himself,” I meant Dana White – not Sheik Tahnoon. His answer only raised more questions, primarily why doesn’t the UFC President know that some of his fighters will soon receive one less paycheck courtesy of FOX? Talk about bad timing, too. Wasn’t it just a week ago that Lorenzo Fertita was touting to ESPN the significant amount of money to be made in sponsorships?

(Nah, he’s just sleepin’.) 

Well, at least he attained the proper tags. None other than former UFC welterweight champion and avid hunting afficionado Matt Hughes tweeted this picture early today, which was taken on a recent hunting trip he made to the Midwest. After more than a few of his followers had something to say about it, Matt responded with the following tweet:

Perhaps you guys remember a time…oh, let’s say around 9 months ago, when former welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy had just dropped his third straight match to Anthony Johnson. In desperate need of a win, Hardy decided that he should call out a fighter by the name of Chris Lytle. You see, Lytle was on the tail end of his career, and plus, Hardy knew that “Lights Out’s” style would play perfectly into his strengths. Hardy claimed however, that he chose Lytle out of the need for “an old school shootout with a guy that wants to throw down.” We saw through the bullshit.

But then, after getting his wish and finding himself on the wrong end of a good old fashioned Lytle ass-whooping, Hardy dove in for a takedown at the end of the third round, and was promptly submitted. He claimed he needed some time off to think about his future, even though he knew it was safe in the UFC.

Well, it seems that Hardy has spent a good deal of time thinking about a solid, game opponent for which he should begin his comeback. A young, feisty up and comer by the name of…Matt Hughes? Hardy told ESPN:

(“Master Seagal says that nobody can defend this kick if you do it with your tongue out.”)

In a series of tweets he posted today in response to the news today that his upcoming UFC 143 opponent Carlos Condit would be stepping in for an injured Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz on the card, Josh Koscheck proved he hasn’t lost his place as one of the UFC’s greatest heels.

The always outspoken American Kickboxing Academy fighter directed his first message on the subject at Condit, inferring that “The Natural Born Killer” dodged a bullet by not having to face him and, “get [his] ass beat.”

(Pulver for UFC HOF 2011)

On this day 37 years ago, a boy named Jens Johnnie Pulver was born into a tumultuous household in Sunnyside, Washington.

Jens escaped from the violence and psychological abuse he, his sister, two brothers and mother endured daily from his namesake father who was a hard-drinking horse jockey, by dominating on the wrestling mats on weekends. It was there that his family would pretend they didn’t have a monster waiting for them back at their house and where they would escape from the sad reality that was their home life.

11 years ago this winter Pulver picked up and made the trek from California, where he had lived since moving out in his teens, to Davenport, Iowa with only a suitcase and a bag of change. He was put up by his soon-to-be manager Monte Cox when he showed up on his doorstep to ask the powerful agent to represent him. The Cox family took him in and treated him as one of their own children, while he set up shop training out of the fabled Miletich gym alongside some of Cox’s other marquee stable fighters like Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia and the team’s leader, Pat Miletich.

By Mike Russell

We caught up with Carlos Newton briefly over the weekend in Toronto at the MMA Expo and the former UFC welterweight champion surprised us with the news that he has retired.

“I’m retired,” Newton explained. “The sport just isn’t as competitive as it used to be.”

Instead of focusing on preparing to fight inside the cage, “The Ronin” says he has turned his focus on fighting for proper regulation by the people who officiate both inside and outside of it.

“I’m just concentrating on helping to improve the regulation of the sport and I’m looking into becoming a judge. I think that as fighters we have a lot more knowledge and insight into the intricacies of what’s going on in a fight than someone who has never competed. MMA judging needs fixing and I’m hoping I can help do it.”

(We’re all going to ARBYS!!!!)

Well, at least we can say he’s consistent. In what has been the most detrimental factor in Thiago Alves‘ career, the former welterweight title challenger once again showed up to a weigh-in overweight, just barely tipping the scales yesterday at 172 pounds, or a pound over the limit. Though not nearly as bad as his previous entries, the fact of the matter remains that this marks the third time in Alves’ last seven fights that he has initially failed to make weight. Aside from showing up heavy to his fights with Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch at UFC 85 and 117, respectively, Alves was also busted for using a banned diuretic to make weight for his match against Tony DeSouza back at UFC 66. MRuss would not approve.

“The Pitbull” was given an hour to drop the pound, and did so successfully.

Join us after the jump for the full weigh-in results and the intense Leben/Munoz and Alves/Abedi stare-downs:

(Ah, 2007. A very fine year for gogoplatas. / Photo via Sherdog)

By Ben Goldstein

Over the last two decades, MMA has evolved so consistently that fighters are still finding new and unexpected ways to destroy their opponents — while causing fans to spit their beers in shock. We decided to take a lil’ spin through MMA history and identify the single most awe-inspiring technique from each year since the sport’s modern inception. We expect you to disagree with us; there’s a comments section just for that purpose. And away we go…

1993: Royce Gracie’s Rear-Naked Choke
vs. Ken Shamrock @ UFC 1, 11/12/93

(Fight starts at the 3:54 mark)

You have to remember that in the early ’90s, a well-placed roundhouse kick to the head was considered the pinnacle of martial arts. What Royce Gracie introduced to fight fans in his early UFC run was something much more practical, less flashy, and a little bit scary. Gracie’s submission of Ken Shamrock — and the similar hold he used to stop Gerard Gordeau in the finals — proved that skill beat size, and pajamas beat man-panties.

1994: Dan Severn’s Suplexes
vs. Anthony Macias @ UFC 4, 12/16/94

DW’s infamous vlog’s are back ladies and gentlemen, and it seems his aforementioned pattern of showing loads of footage from the previous UFC event is holding true, this time with UFC 135. It’s hard to even call these Danavlog’s anymore because besides his introduction, The Baldfather doesn’t even make an appearance until 7 minutes into the video. Though I must admit, it is pretty interesting to see the post fight medical examinations, especially Aaron Riley’s, who, after spitting up as much blood as he can manage, declares he’d rather not have his jaw wired shut again. As a fan of solid food, I can’t really blame the guy.

If you’re too busy to watch the entire video, come check out a few of our notes after the jump:

(“Dust in the wind / All we are is dust in the wind.” Photo via MMAFighting)

When Dana White first attempted to end Chuck Liddell’s MMA career in 2009, the move was met with mixed feelings by the MMA community. Though it was admirable to see a fight promoter put his friend’s health before profits, it seemed unfair that Liddell had no say in his own retirement. After all he gave to the sport, didn’t he deserve to go out on his own terms?

At the time, Liddell was riding back-to-back knockout losses against Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua. He had reached the end of the line as a top competitor, and didn’t need any more concussions in his life. And yet, he convinced White to give him one last dance against Tito Ortiz. Then, Ortiz pulled out of their fight, and Rich Franklin stepped in and knocked Chuck out again.

In a way, it was the saddest knockout of Chuck’s career because of how well he was doing up until he lost consciousness. He was clearly motivated and in great shape — but after 12 years of standing and banging, it only took a single off-balance hook to shut his brain off.

I’m sure Dana White regretted the way the situation turned out, and the role he played in allowing Liddell to suffer another head-trauma. And I hope he learned a lesson that he can now use in dealing with Matt Hughes.

(Mess with a bull and you’ll get the horns; mess with a Diaz and you’ll get a Stockton Slap.)

By Jason Moles

It’s time once again to examine your portfolio now that UFC 135 is in the books. Take this opportunity to maximize your ROI by heeding the advice below. Keep reading to find out if you’re sitting on a gold mine or if you need to take that dog to a nice farm where he can roam. You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs so lets play another game of Buy, Sell, Hold.

Jon “Bones” Jones: Buy! Buy! Buy!

Last night Jonny “Bones” Jones did what no fighter has done since 2007 — successfully defend the UFC light heavyweight championship. (I don’t care what you say, Shogun won that fight!) I know I’m supposed to tell you to “Buy low, sell high”, and Jones is at an all-time high right now. Just know that the champ’s stock is as low as it will ever be for at least the next ten or so years. Crisp, unorthodox striking combined with superb, tactical grappling contained inside a combat vessel in its prime — need I say more?

“No, your breath does not smell like doodoo. Don’t say that, Quinton”. (Photo: UFC.com)

There are some folks who believe that you’re not really a champion until you successfully defend your belt. For those of you who agree, meet Jon Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

“Bones” did whatever he wanted from the opening bell, starting the fight crouched in a Bloodsport-inspired fighting stance (and yes, Steven Seagal is a little butthurt over that). From that moment his unorthodoxy never waned. Spinning elbows and kicks are common weapons in his arsenal, and he seemed as comfortable throwing them as ever. Jones shows no fear of what his damage his opponent might do should he miss or leave himself open, and at this point it looks like we may never find out. According to FightMetric, Rampage failed to land a single power shot to the head. We’re all eager to laud Jones as the future of his division and the man to bring stability to 205lbs, and with good reason, but dammit I still want to see him get popped in the jaw a few times before we weld that belt around his waist.

(At first I was like…)

(…but then I LOL’d. / Photos courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Tonight’s kind of a big deal, you guys. UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a chance to establish his legacy by defending his belt against former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. And when you look at the supporting card, you’ll notice a similar theme: Between Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck, Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz, and Mark Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell, UFC 135 is all about the old guard making one last stand against the scrappers who came up behind them. Do the old dogs still have some fight left, or will tonight represent a brutal changing of the guard?

Handling play-by-play for CagePotato.com once again is Matt Kaplan, who will be delivering updates on the “Jones vs. Rampage” pay-per-view main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Join the party after the jump, and refresh your page every few minutes for all the latest.

(Video: Zee2tehPee)

Throughout their co-appearance media blitz, Quinton Jackson and Jon Jones looked angry, annoyed, and eager to punch each other in the face. Now with their fight just around the corner, the two appear at peace, joyful, and eager to punch each other in the face. Jones opted to forgo his usual ‘staring off into the sunset‘ routine for the obvious reason. Even though Koscheck suppressed his inner smug and Nate Diaz kept the safety on his double-barrel “Hey Buddy”, more than one person left the weigh-ins with the feeling that his personal space had been violated.

Join us after the jump for a highlight of the proceedings and the full results from the scales.

(Rampage cutting the the last few ounces with Cheick Kongo.)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be showing the weigh-ins at 6:00 pm ET tonight for tomorrow night’s UFC 135 event at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.

Will Rampage give us more GIF fodder?

Will Jon Jones continue to lose fans for being cocky?

Will Josh Koscheck be the first opponent of Matt Hughes’ that the fans root against?

Will “Big” Ben Rothwell’s nickname be changed to “Medium” Ben Rothwell?

Will Nick Diaz show up to support his brother?

These questions and more will be answered after the jump.

(Simon Cowell said they sucked. L.A. Reid said they sucked. Nicole Scherzinger said they sucked. Paula Abdul said they should keep practicing and never give up their dreams. / Props: jessektabor2)

UFC 135 goes down tomorrow night in Denver, and as always, it’s incredibly important that you hear our opinions about it. Fresh off his controversial split-decision victory over Seth Falvo, CagePotato staff writer Jared Jones returns for another head-to-head column against founding editor Ben Goldstein. Can Rampage pull off an upset? Is Matt Hughes on his way to retirement? Whose new screen-name will be more humiliating? Read on and get yourself educated…

Is there a part of you that wants to see Rampage get his belt back? How likely is that to happen?

JJ: There will always be a small part of me that wants to see Page with a belt again, if only so I never have to watch that same clip of Rampage exclaiming just how much he wants it back in every pre-fight commercial he’s been in since losing it. On the other hand, I fear for the lives of Southern California if he does win the belt and then loses it again.

As far as the likelihood of Page being the champ again, I’d say it’s better than those bookies would have you believe, but not much. Let’s face it, Rampage earned this title shot with a razor thin decision over Lyoto Machida and an unimpressive decision over a now retired Matt Hamill. Yes, he seems incredibly focused and in shape and yes, Bones’ chin has yet to be tested, but Jones is simply too quick, diverse, and smart to get caught by a straight boxer like Rampage.

BG: First off, no, I don’t want to see Rampage get his belt back. Not even a little. Dude gives me a headache sometimes. Like Nick Diaz, he’s a paranoid weirdo with a persecution complex — everybody’s cocky, everybody’s fake. Look, if you’re one of the hordes of eCritics that have emerged since Jones beat up Shogun, I’m sure you have your reasons. But to me, Jon Jones represents the latest step in MMA’s evolution, and it would feel like a regression if he were unseated by a guy who pretty much just throws hands these days.

The odds on this fight are so inflated because as loud as Rampage’s supporters can be sometimes, nobody’s actually betting money on him. Why would they? Jones has an 11.5-inch reach advantage, he’s far more athletic, and he’s unpredictable. Bones might beat up Rampage standing just to prove a point. After Saturday, we can stop calling Jones the “future of MMA.” He’ll officially be the present — a defending champion. Now what will that make Rampage?

(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)

(The old dude at the top who hasn’t figured out the fist pose just wandered out from the sauna and got in the photo. Thankfully, he put his clothes on before he did. -photo courtesy of Matt-Hughes.com)

Matt Hughes has apparently gone back to his roots training with longtime coach Pat Miletich for his upcoming UFC 135 bout with Josh Koscheck.

The former UFC welterweight champ, whose three-fight winning streak was snapped by a knockout at the hands of BJ Penn in his last fight also flew “The Prodigy” into Hillsboro, Illinois to help him get ready for the fight, which speaks to how seriously he’s taking his training.

Check out an excerpt from the blog after the jump.

(…and THAT’S what the Kos has cookin’.”

When Josh Koscheck mentioned back in July that he was interested in taking at least one fight at 185, speculation ran rampant about who the American Kickboxing Academy fighter wanted to face. We reported that there were early discussions with the UFC and Chris Leben’s camp for the two The Ultimate Fighter nemeses to square off at UFC 138 in San Jose, but the fight never materialized for various reasons and now Koscheck is slated to face former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes at UFC 135 on September 24 as a last-minute replacement for Diego Sanchez.

According to Kos, he asked for either Leben, Rich Franklin or Wanderlei Silva for his first bout back since losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124. A broken orbital bone he suffered in the opening minutes of the bout required surgery and left him sidelined for the better part of the past year. The reason for the jump back up to middleweight — the class he competed in on The Ultimate Fighter — he says was because anyone of relevance in his own weight class was already tied up.

(“I’ve always wanted your autograph.” Alistair Overeem signs his new UFC contract in Lorenzo Fertitta’s office. Props: bawzzzz)

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…

- Alistair Overeem Was Offered Immediate Title Shot Before Accepting Brock Lesnar Fight (MMA Fighting)

- UFC 135: Matt Hughes vs Josh Koscheck official for Sept. 24 in Denver (MMA Mania)

- Top 10 Worked Shoot-Fights in Japanese Pro Wrestling (TheFightNerd)

- MMA Comedy Gold: Interviewer ‘Skippy’ (AKA Ed Bassmaster) Discusses UFC 133 Experience, Shouts Out CagePotato (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- American Top Team Offering a Year of All-Expenses-Paid Training for Middleweights and Above (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto Meets Octagon Newbie Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX 1 (5thRound)

- WWE Network coming in 2012 (MMA Payout)

- Dan Henderson Wants Jones vs. Rampage Winner, Says Rashad Evans Can Wait (LowKick)

- Your Cubicle Desperately Needs a Foot-Tall ‘MMA Alien’ Collectible (MiddleEasy)

- Lorenzo Fertitta on UFC Fighter Salaries: “All These Keyboard Warriors Have no Idea What They’re Talking About” (FightOpinion)

- Book Review: Stitch Duran’s ‘From the Fields to the Garden’ (MMA Convert)

- Ariel Helwani’s Official MMA Rankings (NBC Sports MMA)

According to former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes he has accepted the challenge of Josh Koscheck to face him in the place of his original UFC 135 opponent Diego Sanchez, who pulled out of the bout due to a broken hand. The only problem is, the UFC brass haven’t decided whether they want to see “Country Breakfast” possibly have his lights and his career turned out by Kos or have Bob Arum telling Dana, “I told you so!” until the day he dies (some time soon by the looks of it) thanks to a potential 15-minute wrestlefuck session with Jon Fitch.

Either way, Hughes is fighting on September 24, so at least there’s that.

(Listen to the first thing that Diego says in this video. Is it just me, or is the dude starting to sound like Kevin from ‘The Office’?)

Less than three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage (September 24th, Denver), Diego Sanchez was pulled from the event yesterday due to a broken hand suffered in training. Coming off back-to-back decision victories over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann — both of which netted him Fight of the Night awards — Sanchez released a statement explaining just how bummed he is:

“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month. I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me. While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100-percent healthy.”

But in the distance, a savior appears…