(Excellent use of Le Tigre, Mr. Silva.) 

Whether you’re referring to his antics in or out of the cage, to describe UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva as anything less than an enigma would be a massive understatement. Aside from his appearances in some of the most bizarrely entertaining commercials this side of Japan, “The Spider” has willingly spent time around Sensei Seagal, a man so off-the-wall insane that he will literally threaten you with a lawsuit if you attempt to poke fun at his massive ego. 

*looks over shoulder*

Apparently not satisfied with the amount of verbal attacks being lobbed at him by Chael Sonnen recently, Silva sat down with Brazilian news outlet Globo magazine, who referred to an interview the champ did with Istoe Gente in which he described himself as both a metrosexual and a user of Victoria’s secret products. Thank Christ, it wasn’t the lingerie.

Check out an excerpt from the interview after the jump. 

(Props: facebook.com/frankshamrock)

Congrats Frank, they’re lookin’ great. I guess we’ll just go back to making fun of Mauro’s bald head…

(in b4 shitstorm)

Is Jon Jones the “Greatest of All Time”? The latest issue of UFC Magazine might be trying to drop a subtle hint in that direction, with their Bones-in-a-pool cover taking inspiration from a classic photo of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. As Cagewriter explains:

Though it may seem early in Jones’ MMA career to make comparisons to Ali, it’s not too early for this picture. Flip Schulke took this iconic picture of Ali in 1961. It was just a year after Ali, still called Cassius Clay, won Olympic gold in Rome. He was a young man who was astonishing the boxing world with his power, speed and footwork. At the time, he was like no other boxer. In the early 60s, he won 19 straight bouts and seemed invincible. Does that remind you of anyone?

An apt comparison, or more fuel for the haters?

(Don’t play that shit around Senator Harry Reid. This is the man who *invented* invisible lat syndrome.)

As the editor of an MMA website, I’m constantly bombarded with images of tattooed skinheads engaged in gay foreplay. And yet, there are times when I’m faced with an image that even makes me uncomfortable. Check out 25 of the most chillingly awkward MMA photos in the gallery after the jump, laugh nervously, then avert your eyes in shame…

(Gentlemen, THIS is what happens when you refer to Ronda as “sugartits.”) 

Well, here you have it, Potato Nation: photographic proof that Bryan Caraway‘s days are numbered.

After nearly taking Miesha Tate’s arm home with her on March 3rd, newly crowned Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champ Ronda Rousey will be featured in the April issue of FitnessRX magazine, a health and fitness publication devoted entirely to the ladies. Being that Ronda considers herself the most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet (with an emphasis on the “unarmed” aspect), she seems as good a choice as any. Just ask Nick Diaz.

Check out a few more photos of Ms. Rousey after the jump, along with a video interview in which she recalls how she beat up a crew of dudes in a movie theater in full, gory detail. These are the pitfalls of universal suffrage, my brethren.

By Anton Gurevich

One of the fighters testing his skills at UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Overeem will be Jason “Mayhem” Miller, fighting the Octagon veteran C.B. Dollaway. Miller is undoubtedly one of the most colorful characters in MMA, entertaining audiences as the host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, and as a coach on TUF 14. In his last fight, Miller was TKO’d by Michael “The Count” Bisping at the TUF 14 Finale, drawing fire from UFC President Dana White, who harshly criticized Miller for his performance. This time, Mayhem will look to prove his critics wrong.

LowKick.com photographer Scott Hirano was at Mark Munoz’s REIGN Training Center in Orange County, California, to deliver the following photo-report of Mayhem Miller’s preparations for Dollaway. Please make sure to follow Scott on Twitter @ScottHirano. Mayhem Monkeys can follow their leader @MayhemMiller.

Check out the rest of this gallery on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com!

(Anderson Silva: Like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and America’s Best Dance Crew, all rolled into one. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. Check out the full gallery after the jump.)

As we enter the last week of 2011, join us in celebrating the year’s most memorable images — from tense face-offs to action shots, ring girl pin-ups to gnarly post-fight injuries, and other assorted insanity. If we’ve left out any of your favorite MMA photos from the past year, drop us a link in the comments section. Enjoy…

(On the bright side, he’s now able to smell out of his eyeball. Props: MMAConvert)

Following his TKO loss at the hands (and knees) of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139, Cung Le‘s nose rivaled Ryan McGillivray’s in terms of sheer cartoonish bustedness. Silva patted himself on the back after the fight, telling Karyn Bryant, “Right now with that nose, he’s going to make more money in Hollywood because now he looks like a more real fighter. He should thank me for making his nose look better.”

I’m sure the offers to play “Jacked-Up Looking Asian Gangster #2″ are about to start flooding in. So what did Cung’s schnozz look like the next day? The big reveal is after the jump, via @CungLe185.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

A superstar on the rise, fist-posing next to a possibly-retired legend who barely has the strength to shaka — you can put this photo in the MMA dictionary next to “changing of the guard.”

UFC 137 provided another example of the unique emotional arc that this sport sometimes gives us. Headliners Nick Diaz and BJ Penn got into a near-tussle at the weigh-ins, spent three rounds trying to knock each other out, and after the fight they were chillin’ like two old bros. Never mind the fact that Penn’s left eye was leaking blood from all the blows he ate from Diaz, who happened to break the record for significant strikes landed in a UFC fight, by the way.

After the jump: More UFC 137 post-fight press conference highlights, in which Diaz talks about why he didn’t want to fight Penn, and explains that he didn’t go to school for buying a house. (That’ll make a little more sense when you watch it.)

(Props: @roynelsonmma)

Look, I understand that a good deal of Roy Nelson‘s size is contained in his belly, which has been compared to the moon both for its shape and density. And I know that black is a slimming color in general. But check out this recent picture of Roy standing next to light-heavyweight Forrest Griffin and tell me that Big Country isn’t fighting way, way out of his natural weight class. I know, that’s not exactly a ground-breaking observation, but good Lord, those chicken legs.

After the jump, two more examples of Roy standing next to other fighters who look surprisingly large compared to him. Related question: Is Nelson really walking around near 265, or has he been trolling us, Semtex-style?

(You can make fun of your opponent’s voice, and you can trash his fighting style. But mock a man’s sideburns, and you’re asking for the worst beating of your life.)

Start sharpening your razors, folks: We’re just eight days away from the official start of Movember! To help get you in the moustache-growing spirit, we’ve put together a photo gallery of our favorite facial hair arrangements in MMA history, which you can check out after the jump.

All credit goes to this UG thread. All respect goes to the Most Interesting Man in the World.

Lots more after the jump. Stay thirsty, my friends.

(Two fighters, two very different interpretations of “business casual.” Photo courtesy of mixfight.ru)

On November 20th in Moscow, Jeff Monson will attempt to become the fourth-straight fighter to defeat Fedor Emelianenko. If Fedor has any scrap of motivation left, he should be able to return to the ‘W’ column in his home country — but who even knows at this point? You have to wonder if the Snowman wants this one more.

It’s been nearly two years since Fedor has tasted victory in MMA. Monson’s last fight snapped an eight-fight win streak, and he hasn’t beaten anybody of note since 2009, when he won a decision against Roy Nelson and submitted Sergei Kharitonov.

The above photo came from a recent M-1 Global press-conference in Moscow. Here are some notable quotes, via Lowkick:

(From today’s press conference. Above: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson. Below: Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve. Props to MMAMania)

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Pat Barry will spend all fight looking up nostrils when they take on tall-for-his-weight-class Dominick Cruz and tall-for-humanity Stefan Struve (respectively) this Saturday. Don’t forget to come back to CagePotato.com for round-by-round results from the Versus main card broadcast of UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson, starting at 9 p.m. ET. In case you’re curious, there’s a photo of Stefan Struve and Demetrious Johnson standing next to each other after the jump. Not for the faint of heart.

(Tito Ortiz tells The Voice where to stick it.)

I’ve seen all kinds of crazy stuff go down at my local dive bar, and yet I’ve never had a beautiful woman proposition me by giving me the finger. (Oh, but what a magical world that would be.) In honor of Wild Turkey‘s “Give ‘em the Bird” campaign — which is definitely intended for people who live dangerously — we decided to round up the greatest obscene gestures in MMA history. Enjoy these unquestionably rude photos, which continue after the jump, and shoot us some links in the comments section if we’ve left out any good ones.

(Felice Herrig puts it all out there.)

(Cuddly New York Jets coach Rex Ryan shares his opinion on Strikeforce matchmaking.)

(Props: epwar. Click for larger version.)

Every time I see a photo of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, it freaks me out that the dude is only five years older than me. I mean, yeah, I haven’t spent my life traveling overseas to be punched in the face by some of the baddest heavyweight MMA fighters in history, but I like to think that my skin care regimen is paying off. (Pumpkin seed oil and placenta, all day. Trust me, guys.)

The mere sight of Nogueira and Brendan Schaub standing next to each other is just one of the reasons why the legendary Brazilian is coming in as more than a 2-1 underdog for their main card bout at tomorrow night’s UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami event. Plus, he’s had surgeries on both knees and his hip since his knockout loss to Cain Velasquez last February, and admits that his rehab was rushed in order for him to compete in his home country for the first time.

Saturday night will determine if Big Nog still has a future as a top-level competitor. Can he pull it off?

(Props: twitter.com/kidmcgillivray)

There is nothing wrong with your monitor. TUF 13 castmember Ryan McGillivray tweeted out this horrifying photo of his destroyed nose on Tuesday, after eating a knee in sparring (“Bobbed when I should have weaved haha”). McGillivray, who was released by the UFC after losing a decision to Shamar Bailey at the TUF 13 Finale, will need to get surgery to have that thing taken care of.

After the jump: A few more candidates in the “Worst Broken Noses in MMA” hall of fame…

(Bruce Buffer and Wanderlei Silva)

One of our favorite online obsessions over the last month has been awesome people hanging out together, a tumblr photo blog devoted to celebrities mingling in unexpected combinations. (I mean, seriously: Dylan and Ali? Alice Cooper and Colonel Sanders? Epic.) Since there are aren’t any MMA fighters represented on the site, we decided to do some online crate-digging of our own and put together a CagePotato version of the “awesome people” photo-phenomenon. Enjoy these rare and classic MMA photos, which continue after the jump, and shoot us some links in the comments section if we’ve left out any of your favorites.

(Royce Gracie and Mirko Cro Cop)

(Matt Serra, Frankie Edgar, Jerry Springer, and Kimbo Slice. See also: Fighters and Random-Ass Celebrities)

(Props: MMARecap via MiddleEasy)

XFO 39 goes down tonight at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, featuring Jeff Curran’s “win or retire” match against Billy Vaughn, Jamie Varner‘s first post-WEC match against Tyler Combs, and a women’s bout between the lovely Felice Herrig and 7-4 Tulsa-based scrapper Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. At yesterday’s weigh-ins, Felice and Nicdali produced one of the greatest staredown photos in recent memory. (Whether you prefer this one or Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort pretty much depends on if you prefer chicks or dudes. Sorry. That’s the deal.) XFO 39 will be streamed live on alienwarearena.com/mma; the card kicks off at 7 p.m.

(“By the way, my offer to piss in your mouth? I’m still down if you are.” Photo courtesy of JoshLBarnett.)

The UFC is holding its annual Fighter Summit this week in Las Vegas, bringing together the entire UFC and Strikeforce rosters for the purposes of education and camaraderie — pretty boring stuff, judging from Gegard Mousasi’s amazingly child-like doodles. But it did provide opportunities for old rivals to rub shoulders. Josh Barnett posted this photo yesterday evening with the note, “Pigs have now flown. Watch for Hell to freeze over next. Me and @danawhite together again.”

Barnett has publicly criticized the UFC and Dana White in the past, but when Zuffa bought Strikeforce in March, all of a sudden DW was a pretty fucking metal dude in Josh’s opinion. (That’s a compliment.) Barnett is scheduled to face Brett Rogers at Strikeforce’s “Overeem vs. Werdum” event on June 18th in Dallas. Whether he has a future in the company after that is still anybody’s guess, no matter how friendly he and Dana appear to be when somebody’s pointing a camera-phone at them.

(Props: Cagewriter)

Heart of a champion, head of Quasimodo. On the bright side, this is a star-making loss for Mark Hominick. He gave Jose Aldo everything he could handle (especially in the dominant finish to the fifth round), and picked up tons of new fans in the process. Now somebody get that kid an Aspirin…

(Admit it — you helped him make that sign. Props: Nathan F.)

Update to all the previous winners: The Free CagePotato t-shirts finally arrived on Friday. Yes, they actually exist, and no, we haven’t forgotten about you. We’ll start sending ‘em out this week, so be patient and you’ll get yours before long.

Anyway, with legitimate journalists now being blacklisted by Zuffa, it’s getting harder to imagine that our own dumbass website will actually be “freed” in any sort of practical sense. But if you get your hands on one of our shirts, we hope you’ll wear it in support of every MMA media outlet that has been struck down in the wake of the Strikeforce/UFC merger, every fighter that will be out of luck when his Strikeforce contract runs out, and every sponsor that has been barred from helping MMA fighters make a living. Because maybe, just maybe, CagePotato is…all of us?

We appreciate your continued support and we’d love to get some shirts out to a few more of you. If we ran your photo or tweet this week, please e-mail your name, shirt-size, and address to contest@cagepotato.com, and we’ll hook you up.

Because you can’t have one without the other. Lots more human misery after the jump.

Winning — it feels good, man. Lots more fighters enjoying the moment, after the jump.

(Chris Tuchscherer)

From Fedor Emelianenko to Dwayne Lewis, gruesome eye injuries are so hot right now in MMA. So we thought we’d make them the subject of our latest photo tribute. Because it’s all fun and games until…you know. Lots more after the jump.

(Marcus Davis)

(Antonio Silva is fascinated by Fabricio Werdum’s freakishly normal-sized chin.)

Photos and text by Matthew Kaplowitz

Strikeforce has graced the East Coast with their presence throughout this week, as the hype machine for their massive heavyweight grand prix is in full flux. Starting on Tuesday with a meet-and-greet for fans at the Roseland Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan with all eight of the tournament fighters, and continuing on Wednesday downtown with their press conference, Strikeforce is leaving their imprint on the tri-state area, informing natives of New York and New Jersey that the business of MMA has more than three letters.

This journalist/nerd was in the house for their press conference, which saw not only all members of the tournament, but the reserve fighters as well, packed into the swank Lighthouse 61 at Chelsea Piers, the skyline of New York dramatically posed behind them. Personally, I was excited to see that Strikeforce was feeding the reporters, and quite well at that, but even more exciting was the realization that this epic tournament was happening in my area. With MMA still illegal in New York, and very few big shows coming to neighboring states, having Saturday’s event a thirty-minute drive from The Big Apple was bound to help shed some light on how much of an impact MMA can have on the NY economy.

(Photos courtesy of DayLife via worldfightfan)

No, that’s not just some drunken Cheesehead with a green mohawk — it’s none other than UFC Hall of Famer/VP of Business Development Chuck Liddell, who rushed the field following Super Bowl XLV last night in order to fist-pose with victorious Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and whoop it up with a dumbfounded Clay Matthews. More pics of Chuck’s Super Bowl adventure can be found here. If you’re a fan of the Pack, feel free to gloat in the comments section.

With her long-awaited movie debut slated for an April release (pending re-shoots), could Gina Carano be preparing for a return to MMA competition? (Answer: Probably not.) Still, Xtreme Couture’s official blog posted these photos yesterday, with the following message: "Xtreme Couture would like to welcome back Gina Carano. Gina spent the morning training with Gil Martinez, here are a couple of shots from todays practice. We expect to see a lot more of Gina here training in 2011."

Read into that what you like. Scott Coker is surely psyched to see his old star back in the gym, but Gina could just be blowing off some steam between film gigs. Who knows? Considering that her last update on Facebook or Twitter was this one three months ago, it’s hard to get a sense of where her head’s at, other than the fact that she likes Kabuki makeup and is content to be a mysterious recluse for the time being.

Champion kickboxer turned MMA fighter Felice Herrig will be facing Barb Honchak in the co-main event of Hoosier Fight Night 6, tonight at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana; it will be the first women’s bout in HFN history. So we figured it was an ideal moment to post a bunch of hot photos of her. Follow Felice on Twitter, and join her Facebook fan group right here. Kick her ass, Lil’ Bulldog!

More photos after the jump…

("What has two thumbs and is creeped-out by Pat Barry’s shorts?" Photo courtesy of Tracy Lee/Cagewriter)

With Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III tentatively scheduled for UFC 130 (May 28th, Las Vegas), Anthony Pettis has decided to fight again rather than wait all year for the title shot he’d been promised — a risky proposition considering how stacked the lightweight division is at the top. According to Heavy.com, Pettis will likely take on Clay Guida at either UFC 130 or UFC 131, which goes down two weeks later in Vancouver. It’s a kick in the nuts for perennial contender Kenny Florian, who was angling for the Pettis fight himself.

You’d sort of hope that Pettis/Guida happens at #130, so that if Pettis wins, he can enter the cage following the main event and face off with the lightweight champion in a "you have my belt, homey" moment. Of course if Edgar vs. Maynard results in another tie, we’re all screwed. Not out of the realm of possibility, considering how evenly matched those guys are.

Pettis is on a four-fight win streak, and is coming off his WEC lightweight title-winning performance against Ben Henderson, aided by The Greatest Kick the World Has Ever Seen. (By the way, Pettis’s trainer Duke Roufus told Sherdog that Pettis has "10 other [highlight-reel] kicks and moves for the UFC and he’s going to prove it." Be very afraid.) Guida has won his last three fights by submission, most recently choking out Takanori Gomi at UFC 125. After the jump: An incredible photo of Clay Guida doing a Richard Nixon impression at some kind of topless pool party.