(Video courtesy of IronForgesIron)

Our friend ZombieProphet from IronForgesIron.com always comes through with videos of shows and events we forgot about and the UFC 137 countdown show that aired last night is no exception.

Cesar Gracie has some interesting observations about BJ Penn and he refers to the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champ as “Superman,” but says that his protegee Nick Diaz is the Hawaiian scrapper’s kryptonite.

I don’t know about you guys, but this fight gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Check out part two after the jump so you can hear MMA JayT mancrush, Cheick Kongo talk about how he wasn’t out in his last fight with Pat Barry, in spite of his trainer’s assertion that he lost consciousness at least once in the bout.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/JayT 1976)

If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you may recall this dude JayT, who was making a push to become the third man on the UFC broadcast team. Well, apparently MMA’s version of Antoine Dodson realized that Zuffa wasn’t returning his calls for a reason and that his chances of becoming a legit MMA reporter were about as slim as Kenny Florian’s chances of becoming a UFC reporter, so instead “Hotsauce” decided he would head up the Tito Ortiz/Team Punishment fan club. It makes sense, when you think about it since there likely wasn’t a line-up of people wanting the gig.

Anyway, the self-proclaimed Toronto night club pioneer, who says he has “deep roots” in MMA, which, as far as we can muster means he makes his own hats and travels on his own dime to support fighters he likes, is now predicting that our old pal Cheick Kongo will one day be UFC heavyweight champion. He also has some harsh words for Matt Mitrione, who insulted Tito’s (ex?) girlfriend Jenna Jameson. We won’t spoil the surprise, but let’s just say that “Meathead” better hope that he doesn’t run into Jay-T this weekend. And Ben better hope that he doesn’t run into JT “Jiggly Titties” Warsh or “Cup ” Cheick Kongo any time soon, or else his baby-making days may be numbered, nawmsayin?

Check out more from this trainwreck, including an MMA fight challenge he issues to a member of Jersey Shore after the jump.

 
(Not yet………………………………..getting warmer…….)

UFC 137 is just around the bend, and since the lineup has made more changes than a MTV awards show host, we figured we’d lay out the current odds before something else horrible happens. So, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com, check out the sweetest lines available, along with our time tested advice below.

PPV Main Card
B.J. Penn (-115) vs. Nick Diaz (-105)
Matt Mitrione (-135) vs. Cheick Kongo (+115)
Roy Nelson (-290) vs. Mirko Filipovic (+245)
Hatsu Hioki (-330) vs. George Roop (+270)
There is no line yet available for the recently bumped up Tavares/Jacoby fight.

Spike TV Prelims
Donald Cerrone (-225) vs. Dennis Siver (+185)
Tyson Griffin (-290) vs. Bart Palaszewski (+245)

The undercard odds have yet to be released as well, but we only bet big here, so forgeddaboutit!

The Main Event:

UFC 137 is just over two weeks away, so to get your blood pumping, check out the recently released extended trailer, which features not only a look into the upcoming welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, but a welterweight clash between B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz and the heavyweight slug fest between Cheick Kongo and Matt Mitrione. Featuring 12 fights including Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson, Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver, and Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran, UFC 137 is looking like on hell of a card, barring any last minute injuries.

A few notes:

By CagePotato guest contributor Mike Schmitz

(Meathead says he and HD will throw down if it makes dollars and cents.)

Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry are a one-of-a-kind duo. The former training partners turned close friends are two of UFC’s most likable fighters, as goofy as can be while still possessing lethal knockout power.

They enjoy their jobs, carry a demeanor unlike most into the Octagon and definitely have fun outside of the UFC (maybe Barry more than Meathead, see Barry underwear pic).

“Pat and I really sincerely enjoy our positions,” Mitrione pointed out in an exclusive interview he did with TapouT’s Virtual Training Center on behalf of CagePotato.com recently. “We understand that it’s a job, it’s a very, very tough boat. You get in, you earn your money or you get your ass cut and we understand that so we both respect the grind, we respect the sport, but I feel that as a result of that we enjoy it.”

VidProps: WorldMartialArts/YouTube

Duke Roufus knows a thing or two about kicking. Also about punching. Oh, and knees and elbows, too.

Hmmm. Let’s start over…

Duke Roufus knows a thing or two about striking, and since his retirement from kickboxing competition, he’s passed along his knowledge to fighters from the Roufusport Martial Arts Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pat Barry, Danny Downes, Matt Mitrione, Anthony Pettis (and his little bro Sergio), Alan Belcher, Ben Askren, and Eric Koch (and more) have all spent time with Duke sharpening their stand up skills, and Roufus has been credited with pushing innovation in MMA striking. Belcher’s cage-spring superman punch and Pettis’ Showtime Kick were both attributed to training with Roufus, because they apparently practice that kind of crazy stuff over there.

But we must remember the words of Mr Miyagi: “first learn stand, then learn fly.”

Watch this video of Roufus breaking down technique for Thai-style low kicks. Watch it twice, then go find a bamboo tree. Kick that bamboo tree until it falls. You’re now halfway to being a Roufusninja, and don’t leave us comments about how bamboo is technically grass. That’s bullshit. No one ever became a ninja by kicking grass; that’s clearly a moronic idea. You think Tony Jaa took a level in badass by kicking over blades of grass? Absolutely not. He kicked down trees and made friends with elephants.

As far as we know, Duke Roufus does not have an elephant friends. What he does have is this video of kicking technique, and you need to quit arguing and watch it.

[RX]

By CagePotato Guest Contributor Mike Schmitz

For over a year and a half, Matt Mitrione has been all smiles.

After debuting against Marcus Jones at the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale on December 5, 2009, he has racked up five wins – with four knockouts – while becoming a fan-favorite along the way. Despite the football mileage on his 32-year-old once injury-riddled body, Meathead is on the rise in the world of mixed martial arts. Mitrione will finally face his first big test at UFC 137 where he’ll take on 6-foot-4, 230-pound juggernaut Cheick Kongo.

Like Meathead, Kongo is coming off of a knockout victory at UFC on Versus 4 where he pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks in UFC history by knocking out Mitrione’s training partner Pat Barry. Although both fighters won their last respective bouts and will be riding the momentum into their match-up, Mitrione isn’t nearly as experienced or tested as Kongo, which could play a factor.

(Cheick Kongo: Dangerous even when he’s counting baguettes in Le Dreamland.)

As first reported by ESPN, a heavyweight meeting between undefeated rising star Matt Mitrione and veteran striker Cheick Kongo has been slated for UFC 137: St. Pierre vs. Diaz. Both fighters are coming off of KO victories at UFC on Versus 4 on June 26th; Mitrione dominated Christian Morecraft for two rounds before ending the bout with a stunning walkoff knockout, while Kongo pulled off one of the greatest comeback wins in MMA history against Pat Barry, surviving two knockdowns before landing a Hail Mary shot that turned Barry’s light out.

Mitrione vs. Kongo is a booking that immediately made sense in the aftermath of that night. Mitrione deserves a step up from the kind of entry-level competition he’s been getting so far in his UFC career — and the fact that Mitrione and Pat Barry are training partners at Roufusport gives the Meathead/Kongo matchup a nice little revenge hook. So who takes this one: The rapidly-improving rookie, or the resilient veteran?

Seems like you should be able to predict the fight based on the shorts alone. PicProps: MMAJunkie

It happens everytime. You write off a UFC card as uninteresting and decide to paint along with Bob Ross (or whatever it is you do with your personal time), and the fighters get wind of it and take your lack of interest personally.

They get in to the Octagon and perform stupifying acts of athleticism and heartitude, Dana White gets a huge boner at the press conference, and now you have to read recaps and watch GIFs to catch up on the action. Sucks to be you, we guess.

Frankly, you need to be making better choices in your life — you cannot paint those happy little clouds and friendly little mountains like Bob Ross — no one can. Frodog himself couldn’t even paint like that; all of Bob Ross’s shows were actually produced by Industrial Light and Magic. There, the secret is out, and we can die in peace.

For those dedicated souls that tuned in, hey wow, how about that show, huh? Like you, we had some thoughts during the fights, and unlike you, we wrote some of these thoughts down during and after the fights. Come on in and let us tell you how you’re feeling right now.

All hail Zombie Prophet!

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.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

While we all wildly speculate what exactly caused Nate Marquardt to be pulled from tonight’s card and ejected from the UFC, we can likely eliminate one potential reason. As seen in the NBC Sports video above, the weight cut looked extremely smooth for Marquardt as he made his first drop down to welterweight. Incidentally, his replacement Charlie Brenneman says that he was notified Friday that he may be stepping in to take on Story.

Perhaps the cutting of Marquardt reminded the rest of tonight’s cast just how fickle a UFC career can be, but something seemed to light a fire under the asses of several fighters at yesterday’s weigh-ins. Weigh-in results and videos of tense staredowns await you after the jump.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

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.

(Bader beat him. K-Sos beat him. Lawlor beat him. Now he’s one of the toughest prospects in the light-heavyweight division — proving once again that shaving your head is always a good career move. Photo props to UFC.com)

Not to pee-pee on Tony Ferguson‘s parade, but winning The Ultimate Fighter is no guarantee of success in the UFC. On the other hand, getting eliminated while in the TUF house is no guarantee of failure either. In fact, some of today’s most dangerous UFC contenders are guys who entered the promotion through the reality show, but didn’t even get to fight for the glass trophy. In the wake of Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale, here’s how I’d rank the Top 10 non-finalists from The Ultimate Fighter, based on their current standing in the promotion…

#1: Gray Maynard

On TUF: Was choked out by Nate Diaz in the semi-finals of season 5.
These days: Drew with Frankie Edgar in his first lightweight title challenge in January, but will get another crack at the belt later this year. His pair of title fights against Edgar follow an eight-fight win streak in the Octagon, which included a decision win against Diaz in a rematch last year.

#2: Josh Koscheck

On TUF: Lost a split-decision to Diego Sanchez in the semi-finals of season 1.
These days: A perennial top contender in the welterweight division, Kos will be one of the front-runners for the belt if GSP ever leaves the division; until then, he’ll just have to be content with being “right up there.”

(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)

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…

- BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)

- Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)

- Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)

- Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)

- Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)

- This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)

- Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)

- Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)

- Going Medieval: MMA’s 20 Worst Beatdowns (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MrPromoMma)

If you didn’t catch the Mitrione Minute above from The MMA Hour back in March where Matt Mitrione poked fun at Jenna Jameson, watch it so the video you’re about to see makes sense.

(And if they touch chins? Forget it, bro. Total chaos.)

Despite an official 4-0 record in the Octagon, TUF 10 vet Matt Mitrione won’t be getting a big step up for his next bout. The UFC confirmed yesterday that ‘Meathead’ will be taking on fellow heavyweight Christian Morecraft at UFC on Versus 4 (June 26th, Pittsburgh). Morecraft tasted victory last month with a technical submission over Sean McCorkle, but was knocked out by Stefan Struve in his UFC debut last August. Mitrione last competed at ‘Fight for the Troops 2′ in Janaury, where he scored a first-round TKO over Tim Hague, but injured his left hand during the fight.

Also announced for the UFC on Versus 4 card was the return of Joe Lauzon, who will be trying to bounce back from his kimura loss to George Sotiropoulos at UFC 123. J-Lau will face British lightweight prospect Curt Warburton, who recently outpointed Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127, following a decision loss to Spencer Fisher in his debut. The current list of matchups for the UFC’s first trip to Pittsburgh is after the jump…

(We don’t really have to crack a joke about this position, do we? PicProps: Yahoo Sports)

Credit where credit is due: Melvin Guillard absolutely steamrolled Evan Dunham last night. He came out and simply blitzed the former lightweight golden boy with his speed, clipping him with an early right hand that Dunham never appeared to recover from. By the time Guillard put a fork in him a couple minutes later with a trio of knees along the fence – the last, clearly illegal one “just a technicality” the broadcast team immediately assured us – he’d managed to further scramble the already muddy lightweight ranks. Now watch Anthony Pettis lose to Clay Guida at the “TUF 13” finale and George Sotiropoulos lose to Dennis Siver at UFC 127 and we’ll really be in trouble.

However — (*clears throat*) – let’s not get carried away here. Let’s not get too crazy. Let’s not do the thing we seem to always do when a guy wins a big fight and start to completely overvalue Guillard based on this one performance. What he proved with his beating of Dunham on Saturday night was either one of two things. One, it could be that Greg Jackson is helping him to finally harness the physical tools he’s possessed from the beginning and has Guillard on the verge of becoming something special in the lightweight division. Or two, he was just a terrible match-up of styles for Dunham.

(Creepiest job shadow ever. PicProps: UFC.com)

The fighters are locked and loaded. We can only assume that by now Evan Dunham has eased off the bender he no doubt went on after his beloved Ducks shit the bed in the BCS championship. Obviously, Melvin Guillard has found a suitably enormous wristwatch to complement his main event status. The troops have surely been drinking all day and we the audience have once again collectively decided to ignore the obvious irony of benefitting the survivors of traumatic brain injury with a show where the desired outcome often includes closed head trauma. In other words, as Bruce Buffer might say, it’s time.

We’ll be live starting at 9 p.m. EST. Be sure to hit refresh early and often for the latest updates.

(What Leonard lacks in striking technique and conditioning, he more than makes up for with his unshakable sense of humor.)

Despite coming off a disappointing performance at WEC 51 in which he was outstruck to a split decision loss against Mark Hominick, former featherweight title contender Leonard Garcia will be one of the first 145-pounders to debut in the Octagon, when he meets Tyler Toner at the TUF 12 Finale (December 4, Las Vegas). The match will be Garcia’s first in the UFC since his 1-2 stint as a lightweight in 2007. Garcia is 1-2-1 in his last four fights in the WEC, with his only victory coming in a very questionable decision against Chan Sung Jung. Tyler Toner most recently dropped a decision against Diego Nunes at WEC 51. The TUF 12 finale takes place four weeks before the "official" debut of WEC talent at UFC 125, and 12 days before the WEC’s last event.

Speaking of the TUF 12 Finale, our guest-blogging friend Rich Attonito will reportedly take on Renzo Gracie product Dave Branch in a middleweight contest on the card. After being forced out of the competition on TUF 11 due to a broken hand, Attonito came back to shut Jamie Yager’s big mouth at the TUF 11 finale, then outscored Rafael Natal at UFC Fight Night 22. Branch was the victim of a Gerald Harris body-slam KO in his Octagon debut at UFC 116, but rallied back to win a decision over Tomasz Drwal, also at UFC Fight Night 22.

In other booking news…

(Seriously Mirko, you didn’t miss much. We’ll tell you about it later. PicProps: Vancouver Sun)

There were times during UFC 119 when it felt like everyone involved spent Saturday afternoon chugging tons of codeine cough syrup. Everybody looked just a little slow, a little out of it. It sure didn’t help that the two main eventers were totally sleepwalking during the first 14 minutes of their fight before Mirko CroCop ended things with his vicious head butt to Frank Mir’s knee. The “co-main event” was also entirely forgettable, as Ryan Bader outpointed Roger Nog to reportedly win the Jon Jones Sweepstakes. Guess we’ll have to check in with him in six months, find out how that worked out for him …

This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a great effort from the world’s largest MMA promotion. It also wasn’t quite as bad as a lot of people are saying. We’re not talking “worst show of all time” territory here. Credit local boys Matt Mitrione, Sean McCorkle and Chris Lytle for salvaging what they could of the day. Also, Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk’s back-and-forth battle was by turns exciting and totally bizarre. Too bad it was marred by a shaky judges’ decision. And hey, the good news is, if you liked UFC 119 you’re gonna love Oct. 16’s UFC 120, which looks just as terrible on paper but at least airs for free on SpikeTV.

(VidProps: YouTube/Heavy.com)

Gotta be honest, Joey Beltran is not at all what I expected.  The gentleman who appears in the above video seems far too sensible, far too well-adjusted and far too agreeable to multiple wardrobe changes to also be a guy called “The Mexicutioner” whose calling card is that he likes to knock his opponents’ jaws into the third row. In fact, the Beltran we meet in this interview with Heavy.com seems to be a pretty fun-loving dude. Even when the topic turns to his fight with Matt Mitrione at UFC 119 this weekend, Beltran takes on a friendly, matter-of-fact tone while explaining how badly he plans to whip that ass.

(Hopefully the governor of Indiana can grant Meathead a stay of mexicution. / Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

As first reported by MMA Junkie, the UFC is preparing to make its first-ever stop in the state of Indiana, as UFC 119 is on the docket for September 25th in Indianapolis. The Hoosier State began regulating mixed martial arts last year, and is finally being rewarded for their good behavior. At this point, the only rumored matchup on the card is a heavyweight tilt between Matt Mitrione and Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran, who were both victorious in their bouts at UFC 113. The show is expected to take place at the 18,000-seat Conseco Fieldhouse. As Indianapolis is dead-center in the middle of a state that’s sandwiched between Illinois and Ohio, you can expect to see a lot of Midwest talent on the card. However, Indiana-bred UFC standouts Jon Fitch and Chris Lytle would be unlikely to compete at the event due to prior engagements.

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC.com)

Okay, I made the quote up, but this short clip of K-Ferg talking about all of the bodily fluids and waste products he’s going to beat out of "Meathead" Saturday night is an instant classic.

After watching the clip at the press conference yesterday, Lyoto Machida’s dad raised a glass of piss and toasted Kimbo’s prediction. According to manager Ed Soares, the senior Machida is purported to have said, "I’ll drink to that," but Shogun’s translator informs us that the translation was not correct.

He revealed that he actually said something to the effect of, "I am interested to know what the sap of a black oak tastes like. Will the athletic commission be handing out samples of the leftover specimens?"

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

First, there’s the Matt Mitrione you thought you knew from TUF 10: The house snitch, the crazy guy, the brain-damaged faker, the unbearable heel of a TUF season in which we all expected Wes Sims to be the unbearable heel. In this promo for Saturday’s UFC 113 event in Montreal, Mitrione (who will be facing Kimbo Slice) acknowledges that most people who watched him on the show think he’s a "straight douchebag." However: "I’m misread quite often…I’m probably a little bit cooler than most people give me credit for." Sure Meathead, it was just the editing, right?

It seems like the UFC wants Kimbo to be the good guy in this matchup. Slice has given up sex, smoking, and drinking for his training camp, which makes him as good a role model for the children of the world as anybody else. But then there’s this video profile from IndySportsNation, which reveals a few things we didn’t know about Mitrione…

Putting recent speculation to rest, the UFC officially announced yesterday that Kimbo Slice will indeed face off with his TUF 10 castmate Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 (May 8th, Montreal). Slice is coming off a lackluster unanimous decision win against Houston Alexander at the TUF 10 finale, while Mitrione made his professional MMA debut at the same event, knocking out Marcus "Big Baby" Jones in the second round of their fight.

The fact that the Slice/Mitrione match was briefly removed from the UFC’s website, as well as the UFC’s previous vagueness with Mitrione, makes it seem like the UFC was actually considering Kimbo as an opponent for James Toney, but that freak-show will have to wait for another day. At the moment, Toney’s first opponent in the Octagon and the date of his debut are still question marks.

UFC 113 will be headlined by the light-heavyweight championship rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua; the current lineup is after the jump.

(Striking fear in the hearts of buffet owners everywhere.)

Now that James Toney has signed with the UFC and hired a trainer known primarily for his boxing expertise, you might think he’d be hard at work trying to get a feel for this MMA stuff. If this were a movie, this is the point where some inspiring, upbeat music would accompany a training montage that shows Toney’s rapid improvement in the span of just a few minutes. But this isn’t a movie; this is real life. And in real life, “Lights Out” isn’t really that worried about anyone taking him down and laying on top of him.

As Toney told MMAFighting.com, he still has yet to do any actual MMA sparring, but has been shown some “basics” by Juanito Ibarra. He’s also “tried a little kickboxing and wrestling,” but isn’t too concerned since it’s “all hand-to-hand combat.” In other words, don’t even trip. Toney has got this under control, playa.

(Former internet brawler vs. former NFL bench-sitter. Who ya got?)

UFC head honcho Dana White got down to business with reporters after today’s UFC 109 press conference and told them, among other things, that Kimbo Slice‘s next opponent will indeed be fellow TUF 10 contestant Matt Mitrione.  According to White, the fight is going down at UFC 113 in Montreal, and you know what that means, right?  The Miami Pound Machine is finally going international, playa!

From where I sit, which is on my front porch whittling away at a stick and keeping an eye on those no good neighborhood kids, it’s a matchup that makes sense.  It pits Slice against another foe who can throw them things, so to speak, and hopefully without any weird catchweight stuff to try and tip the scales in his favor.  It also lends him the appearance of fighting a credible UFC heavyweight, because at least Mitrione was on TV acting crazy quite a bit and is coming off an impressive KO win over Marcus Jones on the finale.  The fact that it was his first professional fight and now he gets Kimbo, well, what did you expect?  They aren’t feeding ‘Ferg to the wolves until they’re sure he’s served his purpose.

Speaking of guys who have served their purpose but continue to hang around, DW spoke about Tito Ortiz‘s claim that Chuck Liddell had recently licked alcoholism thanks to an intervention by White himself.  You’d better sit down for this one, because it sounds as if Tito might have been fudging the truth just a bit:

After his latest “Do you wanna be an [expletive] fighter” speech on the last episode, Dana White is surprised that nobody is stepping over Matt Mitrione to take his spot, which is strange because Scott Junk made it very clear that he’d just do that, wrecked eye notwithstanding. One guy who definitely isn’t down to fight is (wait for it) Kimbo Slice, who’s concerned about his arthritis-stricken knee and starts throwing out excuses. Bottom line is, he won’t be able to perform at full strength, and he can’t stomach another loss, so he’d just rather not fight, if that’s cool.

“I am in no position to fight a kickboxer like James McSweeney at this point,” he says, adding that it would “demise” him a little bit taking the fight knowing he wasn’t healthy. Dana White is a little taken back; he didn’t expect this from Kimbo, whose gameness was supposed to be his best quality. But that’s the situation. The season’s poster boy turns out to be a total bust. I demand a refund.

Luckily, Matt Mitrione feels healthy again. He tells Rashad that he’s been cleared to fight, and Rashad tells us "I bet he called the doctor and the doctor said ‘listen kid, I told you two days ago you could fight,’” which is hilarious because that’s pretty much exactly how it went down. Finally, Mitrione admits that his head injury story was exaggerated to mess with James McSweeney and keep himself entertained. Ohhhhh, now it all makes sense…

(Props: MrBavers)

This Wednesday’s season finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights will be a two-hour mega-episode featuring four fights — the last two quarterfinal bouts and both semifinal matches — along with some heated emotions courtesy of Marcus "Big Baby" Jones. As you can see in the above preview, the eye-pokes that Scott Junk sustained in his fight against Matt Mitrione turn out to be career-threatening. When Jones hears the bad news about his friend, he gets way up in the face of the meatheaded culprit and promises him death. Mitrione figures if he keeps quiet and doesn’t make eye contact, the Babystorm will eventually drift away. Does it work, or does Matt catch a beating that knocks them both out of the competition? And how anti-climactic will this "final twist" be? Only three more days until all the questions are answered and we can finally put this awful season behind us.

After the jump: Speaking of finales, DWtS had theirs on Tuesday, and they brought Chuck Liddell back for a martial arts-themed dance showdown with Mark Dacascos. It was everything we hoped it wouldn’t be, and so much more…

(Schaub vs. Madsen stoppage, via bothmiddlefingers)

Matt Mitrione is still bitching about his alleged brain damage. He says a doctor’s visit revealed that he has some minor swelling in the brain, which turned into a migraine. As a result, he’s a little slow and it’s taking a little longer for him to say things. Trevor Wittman calls horseshit — swelling of the brain is life-threatening, and the doctor wouldn’t just send him back to the house. Coach Rashad still can’t get a clear read on if Mitrione really wants to continue fighting; he has to want it for himself more than his coaches want it for him. James McSweeney — who’s scheduled to fight Mitrione in the third quarterfinal match — feels that Mitrione is just playing games, and in his book, Meathead just went from "rat" to "two faced little bitch without a heart."

While rolling with Demico Rogers, Kimbo Slice tweaks his knee. He’d obviously be the first fighter to return if Mitrione has to withdraw from the competition, but Coach Rampage is worried that McSweeney would focus on the bum joint with kicks. (In Kimbo’s charming personal dialect, McSweeney is a "tree chopper.") Later, a doctor tells Kimbo that he’s missing some cartilage, but Kimbo won’t get a cortisone shot because big needles freak him out. He suffers through an ice bath outside the TUF house, while his housemates laugh at his agony.