Nick Diaz is unquestionably the most gangster fighter in MMA history. This Saturday at UFC 143, Diaz will face Carlos Condit for the UFC’s interim welterweight title. It’s safe to assume that Condit will be body-shotted and called a “bitch” at least once. Here’s a tribute to some of Diaz’s most gangsterish moments, in animated GIF form. Enjoy.

Related: Lock Your Car Door When You See This Crazy Shirtless Mofo

Sometimes you gotta give it up for the third man in the cage. Other times, not so much. More GIF greatness after the jump.

(Always with the forehead contact, eh Mike?)

Staredown gif via ‘unfilter’ on the UG. The full UFC on FOX 2 press conference video is after the jump, in which Dana White clarifies that Chael Sonnen is not actually the middleweight champion, nor will he be challenging for the light-heavyweight or heavyweight titles after this fight.

(Props: MiddleEasy via FrontRowBrian)

For the 97% of you who completely skipped over our helpful Pro Elite 3 recap yesterday, let us boil it down for you: Minowaman was unable to leglock Kendall Grove, and Kaleo Gambill made the international symbol for masturbation after getting knocked out by Brent Schermerhorn. A GIF of that second thing is above.

Watch as Gambill eats a lights-out left hook, then reverts to pure muscle-memory, his arm and hand instinctively doing what they usually do when he’s in that position. As long as he’s not breaking the universal rules of the jerk-off gesture, we see absolutely no problem with this.

Guillard choking, in every sense of the word. (Photo: UFC.com)

While the ‘UFC on FX’ debut may have lacked the big names of UFC 142, the fights themselves packed just as much fire-power. For the second straight week, six fighters were able to put away their opponent and double their earnings in less than a round. Punches, chokes, and a torrent of brutal hellbows were all used to send grown men into la-la land, and we’ve got the GIF’s to prove it.

(Thanks to Zombie Prophet for the GIFs)

He has a black belt in intensity, a complete disregard for his opponents’ ankle-bones, more muscles than a seafood platter, and an unpredictable streak that borders on the insane. He is middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares, and he’ll be fighting Mike Massenzio on the main card of UFC 142 in Rio this Saturday night. Re-discover Toquinho’s body of work with some hand-picked animated GIFs, which continue after the jump…

(Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman)

With knockout power in all four limbs, Anthony Johnson is one of the most athletic and explosive fighters in the UFC. (He said it, so it’s okay for us to say it too.) Now testing his fate at middleweight — arguably a much more natural weight class for him — Rumble will face Vitor Belfort in the co-main event of UFC 142 this Saturday. Will his power be even scarier at 185? Check out some animated highlights from his UFC career, which continue after the jump, and let us know what you think.

In honor of this Saturday’s Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine event, here are 10 of our favorite GIFs of co-headliner Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal kickin’ ass and struttin’ like royalty. Lawal will face undefeated prospect Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin in his first match since knocking out Roger Gracie in September. More amazing King Mo GIFs await you after the jump…

(Thank you, Internet. You never fail us. Dancing Gina Carano GIF via MMAConvert)

UFC 141‘s best moments, boiled down to 12 animated gifs. Check out the rest after the jump. Special thanks to IronForgesIron, Chas, and Unfilter on the UG.

(UFC 141 weigh-in highlight video via MMAFighting.com)

Come back to CagePotato.com tonight for our liveblog of “Overeem vs. Lesnar,” beginning with the Spike TV prelims at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT; the pay-per-view card kicks off an hour later at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. UFC 141 weigh-in results are below. After the jump: GIFs of Brock Lesnar’s post-weigh-in rage-pose and Joe Rogan‘s search for meaning in the eyes of the main eventers.

MAIN CARD
Brock Lesnar (266) vs. Alistair Overeem (263)
Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Nate Diaz (156*)
Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Jon Fitch (171)
Alexander Gustafsson (203) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205)
Jim Hettes (145) vs. Nam Phan (146)

SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Ross Pearson (145)
Anthony Njokuani (154) vs. Danny Castillo (156)

FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Sean Pierson (171) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)
Efrain Escudero (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Luis Ramos (171) vs. Matt Riddle (170)
Diego Nunes (145) vs. Manny Gamburyan (146)

* Diaz originally weighed in at 157. From Cagewriter: “Diaz missed the lightweight limit at 155 pounds and then cut to within one-quarter pound. Instead of taking 20 percent of Diaz’s purse, as is normally mandated by state commissions, Cerrone agreed to re-work the contract. He also said Diaz didn’t have to cut any more weight. Cerrone’s camp told its fighter to pipe down and asked Diaz to go lose the weight. After two tries Diaz got it done and the most heated fight at UFC 141 is a go.”

In honor of Brock Lesnar‘s return to action at UFC 141 this Friday — yes, Friday, make a note of it — we put together a gallery of our favorite animated GIFs of the wrestling/MMA superstar, which you can find after the jump. Welcome back, you scary son-of-a-bitch.

Highly related: 11 GIFs of Alistair Overeem Being Awesome

#10: Not everybody was prepared for the intensity of the UFC on FOX promo trailer.

Damn we love us a good GIF. 2011 provided us with dozens of memorable ones, but these ten stood out a little more than the rest. If we’ve left out one of your favorites, shoot us a link in the comments section. Props to ZombieProphet, Gordo on the UG, and everybody else who spends time making these things.

#9: Honey badger don’t care.

(I’m just gonna pull this dude’s turd-cutter directly over my neck, brb. / Props: ZombieProphet via Crooklyn)

Whether you’re drinking Tom Erikson’s sweat or staring into the abyss of Dennis Hallman’s balls, MMA can put its competitors in some rather uncomfortable positions. This horrifying clip comes to us from Legacy Fighting Championship 9 on Friday night, during which Rakim Cleveland accidentally came face-to-face with Derrick Lewis’s bare ass. Not cool, bro. Lewis went on to win the fight by third round TKO.

All nine stoppages from Saturday’s action-packed “Jones vs. Machida” card, in convenient animated gif form. Props to IronForgesIron and the UG; lots more after the jump.

(Once again, “elusive” trumps “explosive.” Lots more giffy goodness after the jump.)

Unlike our previous GIF galleries, this one will not feature any shuffling or bumping bitches out of the way. Instead, we’ve got 14 examples of Lyoto Machida in the cage doing what he does best — beating his opponents to the punch and foot-sweeping them into a living death. The question is: Will any of it work against Jon Jones at UFC 140 this Saturday?

By the end of this gallery, you’ll remember why you either love or hate this guy. Lots more Mayhem after the jump.

(Ryan Bader has so much power in his hands, he only has to punch in the general vicinity of your head to knock you out. / GIFS via IronForgesIron)

All the knockouts and submissions from UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson, in animated GIF form. Lots more after the jump.

(Leben gets his cut checked out by forensics investigator Vince Masuka. Gif via IronForgesIron)

We knew something was up. After the first five minutes of his UFC 138 main event battle with Mark Munoz on Saturday, Chris Leben already looked like he was heading into the championship rounds — sucking deep breaths, his body drifting towards a Pudzianowski-esque shade of crimson. And according to a Fighters Only report, it wasn’t just trans-Atlantic jet lag or a post-Halloween candy hangover:

Chris Leben cut nearly 21 pounds in 24 hours to make weight for his fight with Mark Munoz, Fighters Only was told ahead of last night’s bout. The 31-year old middleweight had “a terrible weight cut” and was in such bad shape before the weigh ins that medical staff were keeping a very close eye on him.

Now that Georges St. Pierre is booked to face Nick Diaz on Super Bowl weekend, we thought it was time to put together a moving-picture tribute to the French-Canadian UFC superstar. Lots more brilliant GSP gifs are after the jump.

Previously:
Gallery: 11 GIFs of Alistair Overeem Being Awesome
Gallery: 10 GIFS of Joe Rogan Being Awesome
Hump Day Gallery: 20 GIFs of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Being Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson

(Punch-face: Where ‘herp’ meets ‘derp’. Photo via Cagewriter.)

Of the 11 bouts hosted at UFC 136, eight went to the judges — which made the other three seem even more special by comparison. In case you missed ‘em on Saturday, take a look back at the two dramatic submissions and one classic knockout from “Edgar vs. Maynard III.”

GIFs are after the jump, via IronForgesIron.

(Sometimes these things happen in MMA. RouseyGifProps: Fightlinker)

Ronda Rousey (3-0) — the badass Cali chick and Judo champ who has submitted her three professional opponents in a combined 99 seconds — will make her next appearance at a November Strikeforce event, likely a Challengers card in Las Vegas. Rousey last competed three weeks ago, earning a somewhat controversial technical submission win over Sarah D’Alelio. During the fight, Rousey shouted at referee Steve Mazzagatti that D’Alelio had verbally tapped from an armbar, while D’Alelio claims that she was only screaming in agony.

Rousey will be facing Canadian striker Julia Budd (2-1), who most recently outpointed Germaine de Randamie at Strikeforce Challengers 16, but is perhaps more famous for getting dummied by Amanda Nunes. No other bouts for Strikeforce’s November card have been announced yet.

(Props: IronForgesIron via MMAMania)

If you missed the UFC 134 Spike TV Prelims broadcast on Saturday, then you missed Rousimar Palhares act as judge, jury, and (almost) executioner against Dan Miller. Near the end of the first round, Palhares landed a huge head kick that flattened Miller, and followed it up with some nasty punches from the top. And then he raised his arms in victory and strolled off to jump on the cage, as if the fight had been stopped, which it definitely hadn’t.

Herb Dean was forced to corral Palhares and tell him the fight was still going on. When the action was re-started, Miller immediately floored Palhares with a punch, but Palhares quickly recovered and did enough through the rest of the match to earn a comfortable unanimous decision win (29–27, 30–27, 30–25).

For ‘Toquinho’, it’s just the latest chapter in a controversial UFC career that has already included a 90-day suspension due to brutality, and an epically failed attempt to file a greasing complaint against Nate Marquardt while Marquardt was beating the crap out of him. But Palhares says the Miller non-stoppage was just a simple misunderstanding:

A moving-picture tribute to the UFC’s deep-thinking, pot-smoking, foul-mouthed color-man. More great Joe Rogan gifs after the jump…

(Props: ArielHelwani)

When Swedish light-heavyweight prospect Alexander Gustafsson (12-1) stepped into the cage against Matt Hamill at UFC 133 on Saturday night, he was already carrying UFC victories over Jared Hamman, Cyrille Diabate, and James Te-Huna, all by stoppage. But his savage second-round TKO of Hamill (gif after the jump) represented his first big-name scalp, and now sets the 24-year-old on a steep upward trajectory.

Asked about his improvements since his sole career loss to Phil Davis in April 2010, Gustafsson said, “I see myself like, I want to beat the Alex who was fighting against Te-Huna. Next fight I want to beat the Alex who fought Matt Hamill. I want to be better after every practice, and evolve, progress.”

Hamill came in as a short-notice replacement for Vladimir Matyushenko, and said after the fight that not having a full training camp led to him feeling fatigued and weak against Gustafsson. Though the UFC gave Hamill credit for stepping up, his future in the UFC is somewhat uncertain. Meanwhile, Gustafsson is a new golden boy in the 205-pound division. Any suggestions on who he should fight next?

(Props: ‘DamnSevern‘ on the UG)

After a pleasant afternoon of trash talk at today’s UFC 135 press conference in Denver, headliners Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson got in each other’s faces for their first officially-sanctioned staredown. Jones was clearly trying to do that thing where he looks off to the side like his opponent isn’t even in the room. Rampage responded by turning his back to Jones and pointing at nobody in particular, politican-style. Round one goes to Rampage?

After the jump, some highlights from their verbal exchanges at the press conference, via MMAMania and MMAFighting…

(Props: IronForgesIron via Fightlinker)

So this little gem went down during the Honggang Yao (black trunks) vs. Nam Jin Jo (white trunks, swishy hips) match at Legend Fighting Championship 5 in Macau on Saturday. Yao wisely backs off, wanting no part of what Jo is offering. Despite his fabulous moves, the South Korean fighter lost a unanimous decision.

Previously: GIF of the Year Candidate: Drunk Broad Almost Touches Diego Sanchez

(I dare you to find me a better GIF than this one. Yeah, that’s what I thought.)

“I really believe zombies are a realistic possibility. Patient zero will start out of someone’s gym. A guy has their dog in the gym, the dog gets a staph infection, the dog gets bit with rabies, some type of cross breeding with the staph and rabies happens and then the dog bites the person because the dog goes crazy. The person goes to the hospital and this crazy strain of staph/rabies turns them into a zombie and it all started right there in somebody’s gym…

“You can’t armbar a zombie. You try to armbar a zombie and it will bite you on the leg. You can’t do jiu-jitsu with a zombie. Kickboxing might help a bit. At the same time, I’m a ‘germaphobe’. I’m afraid I’ll get scratched and infected. I could kick the zombie in the head and his head explodes and I’ll get zombie juice on me and I get infected because I have a scrape somewhere. It’s kind of scary.”

— Yves Edwards (40-16-1) explains to UFC.com why you should never bring your dog to the gym. The “Thugjitsu Master” is 2-0 in his latest UFC stint, most recently choking out Cody McKenzie at Fight for the Troops 2 in January. He’ll try to make it three in a row against Sam Stout tomorrow night on the Spike Prelims Live portion of UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin.

(GIF is after the jump, courtesy of IronForgesIron via MiddleEasy.)

“I figured him to be tough, but I did hear his arm pop three times when I had the deep kimura. I was trying to finish or break his arm, and I was telling the referee, ‘Hey, it’s broke, it’s broke’, but he is a tough guy. It didn’t really surprise me, but man, props to him.”

- So says Jeremy Stephens (to HeavyMMA) who nearly went home with the arm of Roufusport lightweight prospect Danny Downes during the second round of their preliminary card bout on Saturday night. Stephens eventually gave up on the kimura when Downes wouldn’t tap, but continued to beat the tar out of him en route to a unanimous decision. (30-26 x 2, 30-27)

Well, they can’t all be homeruns — but mad respect for trying. Gif courtesy of IronForgesIron.com.

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com. Gif is now after the jump.)

Already a fixture on the UFC highlight reels of Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve became the victim of another first-round knockout tonight at UFC 130, succumbing to what might be the most devastating superman punch ever thrown inside of an eight-sided cage. The victorious Travis Browne increased his MMA record to 11-0-1, and was awarded UFC 130′s Knockout of the Night bonus for his efforts, picking up an additional $70,000.

UFC 130′s other performance bonuses went to Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago (Fight of the Night) for their two-round bang-up that kicked off the pay-per-view broadcast, and Gleison Tibau (Submission of the Night) for his rear-naked choke of Rafaello Oliveira during the prelims; it was the only fight on the card that ended via submission.