(Keep in mind that Rashad makes $300,000 to show. Flowchart rules are officially in play. / Photo via USA Today Sports)

As confirmed by UFC president Dana White, the UFC will make its first visit to the Canadian province of Manitoba for UFC 161, which is slated for June 15th at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. Two big-name light-heavyweight bouts are already tied to the card.

First up, Dan Henderson will try to bounce back from his split-decision loss against Lyoto Machida with a match against Rashad Evans, who could also use a little redemption following his own low-energy loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156. That defeat made it back-to-back losses for Suga, who previously fell short in his title challenge against Jon Jones. (Fun fact: The “Blackzilians” team that Evans belongs to currently holds a record of 12-15 in the UFC, with only Michael Johnson batting above .500.)

Speaking of Lil’ Nog, the Brazilian vet will be carrying a two-fight win streak into the Octagon with him at UFC 161 when he faces Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who’s coming off his defeat against Alexander Gustafsson. The fight will come eight years after Rua won a decision against Nogueira in their first meeting at Pride Critical Countdown 2005, during the quarterfinals of PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix — and apparently, these guys have been jawing about a rematch for some time now. But of course, Shogun isn’t the young phenom he used to be, and Nogueira definitely has some miles left in him. Any predictions for the rematch?

(Trunchface: When a troll face meets a punch-face, the result is always legendary.) 

You see, this is what we love about “old school” fighters like Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. They don’t give a shit about rankings (probably because they know the UFC’s official ones are shit anyways), the easiest path to a title shot, or sponsorship deals with anyone not named Praetorian. They only care about scores, and specifically, settling them. It is for this reason alone that Lil’ Nog — the same one currently riding a two-fight win streak including a win over Rashad Evans at UFC 156 earlier this month — recently stated an interest in a rematch with Rua — the same one who has gone loss-win in his past 7 contests and is on the heels of a UD loss to Alexander Gustafsson in December. That is of course, according to UFC President Dana White:

(Shogun vs Evans) is a fight, yeah. That is a fight that could happen, yeah. But I keep hearing this thing that Nogueira and Shogun want to fight each other, they want to do the rematch. I don’t know how that makes sense for Nogueira, but that’s what they want, that’s what I’m hearing they want. Far be it from me to not give somebody what they want. 

Let’s just act like that last sentence never happened for a moment and focus on the potential matchup at hand. Rua and Nogueira first met back at PRIDE FC – Critical Countdown 2005, where Rua emerged victorious by way of unanimous decision in a fight that became an instant classic amongst fans of the sport. The rematch (and a TUF: Brazil coaching gig) was first suggested by Nog back in August, and while circumstances have surely changed in the time since, we can’t imagine there would be a lot of resistance to the idea from a fan’s point of view. Clearly White agrees, but how about you Taters?

Now break out your foam fingers and chug some Yunker Fanti, because we’ve thrown a full video of Rua/Nogueira 1 after the jump to get you amped for the all but inevitable rematch. PRIDE NEVA DIE!!!

(I had to downgrade from my platinum toothpick for this shit?!) 

The UFC recently released the figures for UFC on FOX 5, and suffice it to say, it pays much better to be a fading legend than it does a rising star, or a lightweight champion for that matter (Author’s note: I guess Bisping was right after all *dials revolver*). Check out the full list of figures below, then get our thoughts on the matter after the jump.

Benson Henderson: $78,000 (includes $39,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Diaz: $50,000

Alexander Gustafsson: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Mauricio Rua: $175,000

Rory MacDonald: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus)
def. B.J. Penn: $150,000

Matt Brown: $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Swick: $48,000

Yves Edwards: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Jeremy Stephens: $24,000

Raphael Assuncao: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Easton: $14,000

Ramsey Nijem: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Proctor: $8,000

Daron Cruickshank: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Henry Martinez: $8,000

Abel Trujillo: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus LeVesseur: $8,000

Dennis Siver: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus)
def. Nam Phan: $10,000

Scott Jorgensen: $41,000 (includes $20,500 win bonus)
def. John Albert: $10,000

Thoughts…

(Look Dana, if his knee was really still injured, would he be playing in a professional baseball winter league?)

By Elias Cepeda

After earning a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, Alexander Gustafsson said Saturday night that he won’t wait around for the winner of champion Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen to fight again. Jones and Sonnen are currently slated to face one another for Jones’ belt after the season of The Ultimate Fighter that they are currently coaching on finishes.

The Swedish contender put himself in line for a shot with a dominant unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at Saturday’s UFC on Fox card but at the post event press conference said that he would be happy to risk his title shot by fighting again in the interim. “I want to fight for the belt, and if they give me one before that, it doesn’t matter. I’ll fight whoever the UFC gives me,” he said.

“I want to stay active, and I want to fight.” The young kickboxer has no interest in waiting another half year or more to fight.

“I’ll fight whenever. I was away for a long time. The last time I fought was in April, and that was too long. To wait till summer again, that would be too long.”

UFC President Dana White seems to be in accordance with that thought. “If I was [Gustafsson], I’d want to get another fight in before taking on Jon Jones,” he said.

“He could fight again. I’m hearing Dan Henderson’s knee isn’t better, so maybe Gustafsson should fight Machida next,” White continued.

Henderson’s poor health status is evidentally news to the fighter himself. The former Pride champion was scheduled to fight Jon Jones earlier this year but pulled out after he injured his knee in training camp. He is now scheduled to take on former UFC champion Lyoto Machida in February at UFC 157: These Chicks Can Fight.

On his twitter account, Dan reacted incredulously to White’s supposed inside information on his knee. “Not sure where @danawhite thinks he’s hearing that my knee isn’t doing ok. It’s doing great. Slowly picking training up just like I do for every training camp,” he tweeted.

(Sometimes I look at Nate Diaz and think, “y’know, there’s a guy who probably hasn’t heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Old legends and young lions. Guys with angel wings on their backs and guys with middle fingers in your face. Hot-headed blood lickers, and reasonable folks who understand the health risks of such behavior. It’s UFC on FOX 5 — a card so good that you don’t even need lazy storylines to sell it.

On the menu tonight: Benson Henderson looks for his second lightweight title defense against Nate Diaz, Alexander Gustafsson makes his case for #1 light-heavyweigght contendership against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and BJ Penn will go to the death — or pretty damn close — against Rory MacDonald. Plus, a MySpace grudge-match nearly eight years in the making!

Running our “Henderson vs. Diaz” liveblog is New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee Jim Genia (congrats Jim!), who will be throwin’ down live results from the FOX main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and toss your own thoughts and observations in the comments section.

(Oh yeah, they’ll be plenty of this. And we definitely don’t mean the “thoughts” part.) 

With a lineup that would challenge any UFC pay-per-view event in recent memory, UFC on FOX 5: Henderson vs. Diaz will come storming into your living rooms tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST. You know what that means for tonight — some dudes are going to mean mug and possibly shove some other dudes that hopefully weigh-in at the same weight as the first dudes. Confused? Then join us after the jump and we’ll sort this all out for you, and make sure to swing by tomorrow at 8 p.m. to catch our liveblog of all the action!

(Staredowns from yesterday’s press conference, via MMAFighting. BJ is in amped-up savage-mode, and Bendo is just *daring* Diaz to pull some of his crazy shit again.)

By George Shunick

UFC on Fox 5 is one of the most stacked cards of the entire year, and it’s free on network television. It contains a pseudo-grudge match between the only man in UFC  history to hold the lightweight and welterweight titles, and a rising star who trains with his greatest rival. The co-main event sees a PRIDE legend and one-time UFC champ looking to reclaim his former glory in yet another epic war against a rising contender from a burgeoning MMA scene in Scandanavia. And in the main event, you have the two best lightweights in the world (besides Frankie Edgar) going head to head in the toughest division in the UFC. What more could you ask for?

Well, if the answer to that rhetorical question was “the most brilliant predictions/pre-fight analysis column ever,” then you are in luck, my friend! And because this card is so stacked, there will be not one, not two, not three, but…actually no, there will be three predictions. (Sorry Mike Swick and Matt Brown.) Logophobes, you’ve been warned.

The first of the big three fights on the card is the highly anticipated matchup between a returning BJ Penn and wunderkind Rory MacDonald. Penn’s seeking to reinforce his legacy as one of the best ever in the sport, and Rory’s been giving him even more motivation recently, claiming he’s coming to “hurt [Penn]” who he believes is “fighting for the wrong reasons.” Bold words, but MacDonald’s the type of fighter who’s capable of backing them up. He’s only lost once in his career — a TKO loss to Carlos Condit, in which he won the first two rounds before getting stopped in the waning seconds of the final round. But he holds wins over Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle, and aside from the former, all of MacDonald’s victories have come by stoppage.

It should be noted, though, that aside from Condit, Penn is a stronger fighter at this weight than any of the other fighters mentioned. He presents a greater knockout threat than any of them, has better wrestling, and has one of, if not the, best top games of any grappler in the UFC. However, Penn has historically been weak in the cardio department, particularly at welterweight. Even though he looks to be in excellent shape, he’s still carrying more weight than usual, and he’ll be forced to carry MacDonald’s weight as well. While Penn’s revamped his training camp, it’s unlikely he’ll have been able to fix a career-long deficiency, particularly after returning from “retirement.”

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

This may be the 5^th installment of the UFC on FOX, but somehow it feels like the very first time the UFC will be showcased for the mass cable viewing audience. With a card that far and away surpasses any previous cable-accessible card in the sport’s history, FOX has dubbed this week “Fight Week” and rightfully so. Both parties seem to be maximizing their potential for UFC on FOX 5, but we’ll have to wait until Saturday to determine whether or not the key to success on network television is having both title fights with a solid supporting card and the steady promotion FOX has offered for this event in the days leading up to it.

With a 3-3 record over the past 6 UFC PPV’s, it’s time for The Gambling Addiction Enabler to sink or swim (or specifically, find ourselves at the bottom of the ocean with a fancy matching pair of cinder blocks for shoes). So Join us as we highlight some of the undercard and all the main card bouts in the hopes of bringing you Taters some early holiday funds. All the betting lines come courtesy of BestFightOdds, per usual.

(Final thoughts? Well, he still thinks you’re a bitch, and he’s not trying to shake your hand, homey.)

We might bitch about UFC pay-per-view cards being watered down, but fans are definitely going to get their money’s worth on the next free UFC on FOX card. As first reported by MMA Junkie, the December 8th event (venue TBA) will be stacked with three must-see showdowns, headlined by Ben Henderson‘s second lightweight title defense against Nate Diaz.

Diaz has earned his shot at the belt with three consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi (first-round armbar), Donald Cerrone (gangsterish unanimous decision), and Jim Miller (second-round guillotine choke). Meanwhile, Henderson is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, and just beat Frankie Edgar for the second time last weekend at UFC 150. Will Diaz be the one to stop Bendo’s juggernaut-like momentum?

In other UFC on FOX 5 booking news…

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

-J. Jones

(Mike Swick and DaMarques Johnson combine their efforts to create not only the greatest punchface of 2012, but perhaps the greatest punchface of all time.) 

Aside from the disappointing and sudden end that came during the Phil Davis/Wagner Prado fight (which is tentatively being rescheduled for UFC on FX 5), last Saturday’s UFC on FOX event delivered in spades, featuring a main card that not only provided four highlight reel finishes for the night’s big winners, but a quartet of great fights that mainstream audiences had yet to witness on a FOX card. It more than likely came as a surprise to most of us that the card was as successful as it truly was, so with that in mind, we decided to dust off our beloved Armchair Matchmaker and pre-determine the fates of the aforementioned winners and losers from last weekend’s action. Enjoy, and let us know of any other possible matchups you’d like to see in the comments section.

Mauricio Rua: Despite smashing Brandon Vera’s title aspirations in rather brutal fashion, there is no denying that Shogun had some rather dicey moments leading up to the fourth round finish (that guillotine, for instance). After controlling Vera on the ground for the majority of the first, Shogun looked like he was fighting underwater by the end of the second. But as was the case in his previous loss to Dan Henderson, Shogun proved that what he lacks in cardio he more than makes up for in heart.

Still, it will take at least another “impressive” finish over an upper-echelon opponent before we are convinced that Shogun deserves another title shot. His total unwillingness to fight Glover Teixeira causes some pause for concern, and since it appears that Rashad Evans might be headed for 185 in the near future, we are left with only one suitable fit: Alexander Gustafsson. Last weekend basically cleared out the list of potential contenders at 205, and although we’d rather see Shogun and Lyoto Machida complete their trilogy for the right to take on the Bones/Hendo winner, we can’t hate on Dana White for following through on his promise. So if Rua/Gustafsson is all we’re left with, we’d be more than willing to watch these two throw down for a #1 contender spot. Let’s just hope Shogun packs his oxygen tank this time.

(Brandon Vera: Willing to take his licks in victory or defeat. Mainly defeat.) 

After collecting the top eight comments from last week and allowing you, the Potato Nation, to determine who was the funniest son of a bitch amongst you, it looks like we have a winner. With an astounding 38.5% of the votes, none other than Mr. Misanthropy’s Brandon “The Aloe” Vera comment ran away with the victory like it had just drank an entire crate of Powerthirst energy drinks. Although Vera’s fighting style was anything but soothing in his fourth round knockout loss to Mauricio Rua this past weekend, it was comments like that one that managed to finally light a fire under Vera’s ass, so an extra congrats is in order for Mr. Misanthropy’s last minute motivation.

Misanthropy (that is how you pronounce it, right?), please e-mail feedback@cagepotato.com with your real name, address, and shirt size, and we’ll get you hooked up ASAP. You can also rest assured that your comment WILL be carried over to next week’s competition as the reigning champion, but it’s looking like it will already be facing some stiff competition. Thanks to everyone who voted, and make sure to get in on the action by voting next week or, God forbid, coming up with something funny of your own!

(“Then it’s settled. I’ll crouch behind him, and you push him over.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

I’ve got an idea: Instead of obsessing about who really deserves the next shot at the light-heavyweight title, let’s just kick back tonight and enjoy some free fights on FOX, two of which happen to feature former 205-pound champions (both Brazilian) facing off against hungry contenders (both American). Throw in a lightweight feature between Joe Lauzon and comeback kid Jamie Varner, and Mike Swick‘s first Octagon appearance in two-and-a-half years, and you’ve got a lineup that should hopefully take some of the sting off that $55 you blew on UFC 149.

The UFC on FOX: Shogun vs. Vera main card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and our man Elias Cepeda will be guiding you through the play-by-play after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and give us the play-by-play for your own lives in the comments section.

(“You know the deal, guys. Whoever puts on the most impressive performance tonight gets the title shot.” [*unzips*] / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

By Ryan Sarr

Who is going to win the “Jon Jones Sweepstakes?” That is the big question heading into the UFC’s fourth venture onto network television tonight. Dana White was so pissed about the boring, lackluster abomination that was the UFC 149 main card, that he decided to award a light-heavyweight title shot to the man who wins the “most impressively“ among the four main and co-main event participants. (Yes, even Brandon Vera)  The only problem with this scenario is that all four men — Shogun, Vera, Machida, and Bader — have each been decisively destroyed by Jon Jones in previous fights.

Nonetheless, this fight card is still very intriguing and offers many reasons to tune in.  First of all: It’s free on Fox. Second, all four main card bouts are likely to be exciting, fast-paced battles. It also marks the return of the very talented Mike Swick to the Octagon, who hasn’t fought in over two years. Finally, we have a chance to see a true Cinderella story play out once again as Jamie Varner gets a chance to take another huge step up in his comeback by fighting on a main card on network television. So, join me as I break down the main card for UFC on Fox 4 and offer my predictions as to who will emerge victorious.

Mike Swick (14-4, 9-3 UFC) vs. DaMarques Johnson (15-10, 4-4 UFC)

DaMarques Johnson said in the fight promo, “There’s a 50% chance I’m gonna win this fight, there’s a 100% chance that somebody’s taking a nap,” and Johnson has the track record to back it up: None of his fights in the UFC have gone the distance. The Jeremy Horn protégé has slick submission skills to go along with his heavy hands. We know Johnson will bring a fast-paced, exciting style into the Octagon, and his opponent Mike Swick will almost certainly do the same.

UFC president Dana White and the four headliners for Saturday’s UFC on FOX 4 event — Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Brandon Vera, Lyoto Machida, and Ryan Bader — will be in attendance today for the “Shogun vs. Vera” press conference in Los Angeles; you can watch it live in the player after the jump beginning at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. We expect each man to make a perfectly logical and well-reasoned argument why he should be the next light-heavyweight title-contender. Personally, I think Jon Jones should just go down the row elbowing each fighter in the nose at full strength, and the last guy to start crying earns the shot. But what do I know — I’m just an unappreciated promotional visionary.

(If you must ask, Dana, I believe my hype train was headed in that general direction. Then again, it’s been so long since I’ve seen it…) 

If you’re anything like us, you’ve more than likely spent your weekend drinking either Budweiser or Miller High Life cans in front of your television whilst watching various Olympic events and screaming “America!” on loop until your Canadian or Russian neighbors got jealous and called the police, who in turn tried to claim that you are somehow at fault if you like to watch TV in the nude and can’t afford curtains. And indeed, the Olympics have successfully managed to captivate and connect its viewing audience as it always does, uniting entire communities over a common passion. Except, oddly enough, in the case of this year’s host country, wherein failure apparently opens you up to disturbingly hateful critiques from your own countrymen.

Switching gears, it seems that one thing we can all agree on, regardless of our cultural divisions, is the inherent ridiculousness in the possibility that Brandon Vera could somehow receive a title shot if he is able to defeat Mauricio Rua in impressive fashion, or vice versa. We know we’ve been a little hard on him today – it’s not like it was his decision to overhype a fight by implying title implications only to be reamed out by fans for doing so shortly thereafter, that was Dana White — but on the short list of contenders currently in the Light Heavyweight Division, Vera is just a step above Mostapha al-Turk, whom you may recall is a retired heavyweight who was released from the UFC over two years ago. And he’s fighting Shogun f*cking Rua, aka the man who ended The Machida Era. Arguably twice. 

Spoiler: There is no way in hell that Vera is beating Shogun this Saturday, and we’d be willing to wager a bottle of ipecac on it, if you know what we mean. So in honor of what has been a highly competitive Olympic games thus far, and what will surely be a one sided ass whooping at UFC on FOX 4, here are 10 things, ranked in no particular order, we will more than likely see happen at this year’s Olympics than “The Truth” beating “Shogun” on Saturday.

And yet he STILL hasn’t learned that only tools wear Affliction…

We’re just a few days away from UFC on FOX 4, which will be headlined by arguably the most confusing contender fight in modern UFC history. While most fans can kind of justify Shogun earning a title shot with a victory given his track record (especially if Hendo manages to put away Jones at UFC 151), Brandon Vera remains a gigantic question mark. With his most notable victory being a TKO over heavyweight Frank Mir back in 2006, it’s hardly a surprise that most fans and pundits are completely unable to make sense of this bout even headlining the card, yet alone being for a title shot.

If Brandon Vera attempted to justify all of this through his appearance on “Inside MMA,” he ended up just raising even more questions. Case in point: Vera talked about his training camp leading up to his bout with “Shogun” Rua. Aside from bringing back his Muay Thai coaches and sparring with Alexander Gustafsson, Vera commented that he was ”doing the things he should have been doing since day one.” Specifically, he’s actually caring now about his career. As he told the “Inside MMA” crew:

It’s good to know that we weren’t alone in our confusion when it was announced that the winner of either the Mauricio Rua/Brandon Vera or Lyoto Machida/Ryan Bader bouts, specifically the former, would be in line for the next title shot at 205 lbs. Given that current champion Jon Jones has walked through all four of those gentlemen before, we struggled to find the reasoning behind the alleged title shot that supposedly awaited the most impressive winner from this weekend’s UFC on FOX 4 event. Then again, Rich Franklin has decided to chase after middleweight gold and revenge for a third time (which totally wont end in his untimely death), so maybe we were too quick to write off these former champions, TUF winners, and hype machines. In either case, Bones took to his Twitter account to voice his frustration, sending out the above tweet yesterday which simply states “Scratching my head.”

But perhaps even more confounding than the UFC’s apparent apathy in regards to JBJ was the realization that the light heavyweight division, one of the most stacked and competitive divisions in the UFC for some time, has nearly been cleared out in a little over a year. If Jones gets past Dan Henderson at UFC 151, something he obviously feels he is going to do as evidenced by the above tweet, there will arguably be only two viable candidates left for him to face: Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira.

Dana White has teased that the man known by the Potato Nation as “Bjones” is “ready for a big fight now”, leading us to believe that a meeting with Rashad Evans could be on the horizon. A victory over the former champ would all but cement the Swede’s position atop the division. As for Teixeira, it’s simply too early to tell. He looked great in his debut victory over Kyle Kingsbury, but needs to face at least one of the upper echelon fighters before we are convinced he is ready for a title shot. But for the moment, it appears that the LHW division needs an H-bomb like Nick Diaz needs a clue.

In other, alcohol-related Jon Jones news…

Over the last ten years, we’ve watched Mauricio “Shogun” Rua go from young phenom to living legend. Though injuries and and controversial judging have occasionally slowed his momentum during the second half of his career, Shogun enters next weekend’s UFC on FOX 4 matchup with Brandon Vera as a standard-bearer for his generation of fighters, and is still considered among the elite of the light-heavyweight division.

In honor of Rua’s continuing legacy, we’ve picked out the 16 videos that best summarize his journey as a fighter — from the past to the present, from his most unforgettable triumphs to his most crushing defeats. Enjoy, and pay your respects in the comments section.

Mauricio Rua vs. Rodrigo Malheiros de Andrade. Shot in 1998 when Rua was just 16 years old, this footage shows the future PRIDE/UFC star competing in a Muay Thai smoker in somebody’s house in Curitiba, Brazil. Though Shogun shows flashes of his trademark aggression, his technique hasn’t quite blossomed yet, and he winds up getting head-kick KO’d at the video’s 7:15 mark.

Mauricio Rua vs. Rafael Freitas, Meca World Vale Tudo 7, 11/8/02. Rua was 20 years old when he made his official MMA debut against Rafael “Capoeira” Freitas, who was tenacious in his attempts to put Shogun on his back. But Freitas couldn’t keep him there, and the standup exchanges were lopsided in Rua’s favor. After a few minutes of abusing his opponent with knees, punches, and stomps, Shogun finally puts Freitas out cold with a head-kick.

(Props: SUPAFIGHTLEAGUE)

“They brought me into this fight as a fish for Shogun to eat.”

So said Brandon Vera during yesterday’s hour-long “UFC’s Road to the Octagon” special on FOX, which previewed next weekend’s UFC on FOX: Shogun vs. Vera card in Los Angeles. Vera is well aware that few people are giving him a chance in the night’s headliner — especially considering that he hasn’t had an impressive victory in over three years — but the opportunity to fight Shogun and return to elite-fighter status has given him new motivation for training.

As you can imagine, Shogun has no interest in becoming the co-star in Vera’s Cinderella story. “I’m not going to be the one to bring Brandon Vera back,” he says. And if Rua wins, he’ll likely get another shot at the light-heavyweight belt, where he’d either fight a guy who already crushed him, or a guy who beat him up for the majority of a five-round war. I know, don’t get us started.

(Mike Tyson, Urijah Faber, and Snoop Dogg discuss the influence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Props: RootsofFight. From now until Sunday, you can get 15% off their new Helio Gracie shirt — or anything else in their store — by entering Coupon code FD2012JB when you check out.)

-  Knockout of the Half-Year: Edson Barboza Banishes Terry Etim to a Lifetime Highlight Reel (MMAFighting)

- Scoring Error Corrected for UFC on FX 3; Mike Pierce Now Unanimous Decision Victor (MMAWeekly)

- ‘Shogun’ Rua Says He Would ‘Gain Nothing’ Fighting Glover Teixeira (Fightline)

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(Shogun, seen here at his all-time favorite vacation getaway.) 

Not many of us could make sense of how Mauricio Rua wound up paired against Brandon Vera for the main event of UFC on FOX 4, especially when considering that a fighter of equal to greater relevance in Glover Teixeira had been favored as a replacement against Rua in Thiago Silva’s absence. “The Truth” has not fought since eeking out a decision victory over the now retired Elliot Marshall in October of 2011, and hasn’t looked like his aggressive, take no prisoners self since UFC 65. Teixeira, on the other hand, is on a 16 fight win streak, and although he is of lesser name value, would surely make for a better fight against Rua in our opinion.

Dana White initially reported that when offered the fight, Shogun’s camp wanted “nothing to do with” Teixeira, a claim that was almost instantly rebuked by Shogun’s camp. Oddly enough, after his camp rebuked such a claim, they immediately accepted a match against Vera, leading one to believe that maybe DW wasn’t bullshitting us as he’s been accused of doing before.

Well during the UFC on FX 3 post fight press conference, White divulged into the “he said/she said” speculation a little further, stating that Shogun was so against fighting Teixeira that he was willing to be cut before taking a fight with him.

A full video of the interview and transcription await you after the jump. 

Man, this ain’t even funny anymore. After a brutal two-week period that saw the injury withdrawals of Vitor Belfort, Chad Griggs, Thiago Silva, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Brian Stann (as well as supporting players like Pablo Garza and Edwin Figueroa), news broke late last night that UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is out of his meeting with Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) due to an undisclosed injury.

Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?

With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…

(Photographic proof that Mayhem Miller stole his idea to give C.B. Dollaway a noogie just moments before doing so.) 

Call it “The Curse of the 140′s,” because it appears that yet another big fight in what has been a goat rope of a month in MMA matchmaking has been scratched from the books. Those of you expecting a sure-to-be-slugfest between former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and noted brawler Thiago Silva at UFC 149 are going to be more disappointed than a CagePotato contest winner, because word broke this morning that Thiago Silva has been forced to withdraw from his co-main event matchup due to a back injury. Go fucking figure. At this point, it seems the only thing that can save Silva’s spine from shattering into a million pieces would be the back brace that Sweet Dee Reynolds wore to her high school reunion. Or perhaps he just needs to find the David Dunn to his Mr. Glass.

But fret not, Potato Nation, for every shit-filled tunnel has a light at the end of it. In Silva’s absence, the UFC has called upon fellow Brazilian slugger Glover Teixeira to step up and fill the void. Here’s where things get a little muddy, so to speak. It was initially reported, by none other than Dana White, that Shogun had apparently turned down the fight. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie:

With Thiago hurt, we turned to Glover and asked him to go right back in to fight ‘Shogun’ at UFC 149. But ‘Shogun’s’ people are adamantly refusing to take the fight. They want nothing to do with Glover.

Shogun’ wants nothing to do with Glover. But that’s the fight Lorenzo and I are trying to put together.

According to members of Shogun’s camp, however, White’s claims are just a bunch of profanity-ridden malarkey, as they had not even been made aware of the fact that Silva was injured, let alone of a potential replacement.

(Rua slugs Dan Henderson during their epic bout in November. / Photo courtesy of Heavy)

A matchup between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva is likely for July 21st’s UFC 149 event in Calgary, according to a new report on MMA Junkie. UFC president Dana White tweeted yesterday that the two light-heavyweight strikers would face one another, but didn’t confirm the date or venue.

Silva is coming off of a one-year suspension and a decision loss to Alexander Gustafsson. Winless since his 2009 knockout of Keith Jardine, Silva’s contract may very well be on the line here. Shogun’s last bout, a five-round war/decision loss to Dan Henderson, was widely considered to be the greatest fight in MMA history until this past weekend.

(God damn…Randy Couture is looking ROUGH these days.) 

It’s kind of a shame that we’ve barely managed to touch upon the aftermath of what was a fantastic UFC on FUEL event this past weekend, but simply put, UFC 145 has so much more on the line in terms of hype, hatred, and championship gold that the Swedish card can’t help but be placed on the back burner. The light heavyweight championship bout pitting Jon Jones against Rashad Evans has torn fans, friends, and even training camps apart before our very eyes, and we are just a business week away from finally being treated to its conclusion.

And among those divided by this match-up are the very fighters who once ruled the 205 lb division with an iron fist. Everyone from Chuck Liddell to Vitor Belfort to even Frank Shamrock (who was king of the division back in its “middleweight” days) recently weighed-in on the fight, and needless to say, they have it a lot closer than the bookies do at this point.

Let’s start with the division’s very first champion, Frank Shamrock, who was finally able to speak without unknowingly blinding his audience with the illuminating power of his braces:

This fight has a tremendous story behind it, with it having grown out of a friendship that went sour back when these two were teammates. The drama that’s fueling this is incredible. Fans can expect a fight that, stylistically, will be extremely challenging for Jones to overcome, and he’ll have fits with Rashad’s wrestling if he’s able to put Jon on his back. But ultimately, I see Jones being able to inflict more damage and walk away with the belt still in hand. This will be a fight that will not end as easily and devastatingly as Jones’s others have, but rather one of those moments in his career where he’ll have to pull himself up and battle until the final bell. In the end, this fight will help Jon become a better fighter and a better champion, and will endear himself to fans for years to come.

Join us after the jump to hear what the rest of the light heavyweight elite have to say about Bones/Suga.

(That moment you realize you are a fraction of the man Dan Henderson is.) 

Few, if any, will ever be able to forget Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s epic battle at UFC 139. It was like that time you watched your dad and your friend’s dad argue over a garden hose at your local pub when you were 12, an argument that quickly devolved into chair throwing, bottle smashing, and frequent use of the “n-word” despite the fact that both participants were white. You and your friend would never be the same again, but to be fair, his dad did say he would return the hose over a week ago, so fuck him.

Now swap your friend’s dad/Shogun with Dana White, and your dad with Dan Henderson, and you’ve pretty much got the gist of these two’s ongoing series of misunderstandings. They’ve butted heads over money before, but now it seems they’ve moved into the territory of straight up verbal warfare. At yesterday’s Calgary press conference, White informed Mauro Ranallo that he had attempted to secure a rematch between Henderson and Rua, but was met with firm opposition by the inventor of the H-bomb:

Yeah, I was trying to put together Dan Henderson vs. Shogun II and Henderson doesn’t want to do the fight. Henderson wants to wait for the winner of either Jonny “Bones” Jones or Anderson Silva. He wants Anderson Silva, if Silva wins, he will make that cut. Otherwise, he wants to fight the winner of Rashad and Jones.

After hearing the above snippet, Henderson took to his Twitter account to respond, where he promptly slayed DW in less than ten words.

Join us after the jump for those ten words.

(“Also? I think my nuts be all hyperextended and shit.”)

In today’s installment of “God damn it, Rampage,” the PRIDE fanboy wet dream rematch between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has been canned just as quickly as it was announced, due to Jackson needing surgery on both of his knees. As Jackson tweeted (and keep in mind that “2″ = “to”):

“2 keep it real,the Shogun fight will have 2 wait,I just found out that I have 2 get surgery on both knees, but I heal fast don’t trip…John Jones fucked the left knee,n my sparing partner @antiheromma fucked the right 1,thanks guy!! But I’m not worried I got the best docs”

Surgery? Just rub some testosterone on those creaky knees and get back in the game, homey! There’s no current timetable for Jackson’s recovery and return, but it’s certainly bad timing for Rampage to be dealing with such a major procedure before his final fight with the UFC. As Shogun could tell you himself, your first fight back after knee surgery doesn’t always go so well.

(The calm before the soccer kicks.)

Quinton Jackson will be getting his wish to leave the UFC — but not before fulfilling the final fight on his contract. It was announced on last night’s episode of UFC Tonight that Jackson will be facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at an event to be named later. A follow-up statement on UFC.com described Jackson as “disgruntled,” and confirmed that the bout is the last of Jackson’s UFC contract and that he and the UFC are expected to part ways afterwards.

Jackson and Rua’s upcoming meeting will be a rematch of their PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 fight, which Shogun won by vicious first-round knockout. Jackson has lobbied for a rematch ever since, and Rua recently expressed interest in the matchup as well. Rua most recently competed at UFC 139, losing a decision to Dan Henderson in what was widely considered to be the 2011 Fight of the Year, while Jackson is riding the first two-fight losing streak of his career, with losses to Jon Jones and Ryan Bader.

After the jump: The full fight video of Rampage vs. Shogun 1.

CagePotato Roundtable is our new recurring column in which the CP writing staff and some of our friends all get together to debate an MMA-related topic. Joining us this week is former CagePotato staff writer Chad Dundas, who now writes for an up-and-coming blog called ESPN. If you have a suggestion for a future Roundtable column, send it to tips@cagepotato.com.

CagePotato reader Alexander W. writes: “The Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall fight inspired my suggestion: Greatest robberies in MMA history. I’d be curious to hear the variety of opinions out there. Surely that fight was a top ten.”

Chad Dundas

There are a lot of things about Pride Total Elimination 2003 that don’t make sense when viewed with modern MMA sensibilities. How to even comprehend a world where a skinny, haired-up, suit jacket-wearing Dana White could bet Pride bigwigs $250,000 that Chuck Liddell was going to win that company’s 2003 middleweight grand prix? Or comprehend that a bizarrely dangerous and clearly-enunciating Liddell showed up in the first round of said tournament and KTFOed an impossibly svelte Alistair Overeem? Or that Overeem had an old dude in a robe and shriners hat accompany him to the ring while carrying a big foam hammer? Or that on this night somebody got tapped out with a sleeve choke? Or that Wanderlei Silva fought Kazushi Sakuraba and it didn’t just make everybody feel sad and empty?

No sense at all.

What does still sort of make sense is this: After watching Liddell sleep Overeem, there was no way on God’s green Earth that Pride judges were going to let another UFC emissary walk out of Saitama Super Arena with a win*, so they conspired to pull off one of the greatest screwjobs in MMA history when they awarded Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira a unanimous decision over Ricco Rodriguez. The indisputable fact is, Ricco whipped Big Nog good that night, taking him down, brutalizing him, shaking off his feeble submission attempts and controlling pretty much the whole affair. At least, that’s how I remember it. Unfortunately, due to Zuffa’s ongoing war on Internet piracy it seems their bout will only be remembered by history and by the creepy old man who answers the queries you submit to the Sherdog Fight Finder.