(Look familiar? Photo courtesy of this set on Combat Lifestyle.)

Though the entire broadcast of "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers" averaged 4.04 million viewers — placing it behind Kimbo-headlined CBS cards like "EliteXC: Primetime" (4.85 million viewers) and "EliteXC: Heat" (4.56 million viewers) — the ratings for Saturday night’s card shot up during the main event. MMA Weekly reports that 5.46 million home viewers were in attendance between 11:00 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., making the Emelianenko vs. Rogers match the ninth-most-watched fight in U.S. MMA history. You can check out this slightly outdated list to see where that puts them, but basically, the fight fell just 15,000 viewers short of Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill, and about 1.8 million viewers short of the reigning champion, Kimbo vs. James Thompson. Senior Executive Vice President of CBS Primetime Kelly Kahl was pleased with the numbers:

Not coincidentally, the 11:00-11:15 p.m. block coincides with the time when the UFC’s "Main Events" broadcast on Spike had just ended — so a large part of the bump could be attributed to MMA fans switching from one channel to another. (No word yet on how Spike did that night.) The question is: Can Fedor draw even better ratings in his next CBS appearance, now that he’s more of a known quantity? Will he ever approach — dare we say it — Kimbo-esque levels of stardom?

(Props: DementedRants via adrenochrome)

Dan Quinn, you have competition. The new up-and-comer in the YouTube Crackpot division is a 51-year-old dude calling himself Damian Demento, who releases talk-radio-style blowhard rants on MMA, pro-wrestling, and marijuana. He’s a very angry person, and his latest hostility-target is Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the fact that Demento didn’t watch the fight on Saturday, he wasn’t too impressed by Fedor’s performance, or the predictable head-hunting style of Brett Rogers. For the benefit of all us stupid MMA fans, he explains how he’d be able to defeat the fighter that he knows as "Feedor Emelenkio." Basically, generations of Soviet inbreeding have produced Fedor’s trademark dwarfed head and thick skull, and what you really need to do is put the boots to his belly. And Fedor would fall for it, because he’s no smarter than Brock Leznahr or Chuck Little. If you enjoyed this rant, please check out "HOW I CAN BEAT BROCK LESNAR and "PROOF UFC IS FAKE." I tell you, after a few hits of PCP, this guy begins to make a lot of sense.

Speaking of shit that makes me laugh…

(Hamman vs. Po’ai Suganuma 2, 8/15/08)

The UFC’s trip to Manchester this Saturday will feature just two new faces — and they’ll be fighting each other. So who’s got the better chance of making a successful Octagon debut? Get the know the newbies below and make your predictions…

JARED HAMMAN (LHW)
Experience: 10-1 record (all wins by stoppage in the first two rounds), with appearances in Strikeforce and ShoXC. Last competed in August 2008, where he avenged his only loss — a 15-second flying-knee-related TKO against Po’ai Suganuma that many felt was an early stoppage.
Will be facing: Alexander Gustafsson (see below)
Lowdown: A protege of Brian Warren at Unbreakable Gym and Vladimir Matyushenko at VMAT, the California-bred Jared Hamman was building up momentum as an exciting light-heavyweight prospect when his contract was put on ice in the wake of Pro Elite’s collapse. Or so he thought: "When EliteXC went down, I was told that my contract was being held and being transferred over to Strikeforce. I had plenty of opportunities to fight, but I was told that I couldn’t because I was still under contract…During a meeting with my manager it was discovered that I was a free agent. UFC made me an offer and I went with what I felt was the best decision…In the end, it has given me a whole year to work on my game and increase my skill."

From Sportsnet.ca:

Marquardt is on a three-fight win streak, most recently knocking out Demian Maia in 21 seconds at UFC 102. Sonnen has won his last two, scoring unanimous decisions over highly-regarded middleweights Dan Miller and Yushin Okami. It’s an interesting matchup that raises some important questions: First off, does this mean that Dan Henderson has officially left the UFC? Last week, Dana White said he was certain that Henderson had been signed by Strikeforce, though his manager denied it. And hey, would Chael Sonnen get the next shot at Anderson Silva (after Vitor Belfort gets his) if he manages to pull off an upset against Marquardt? Good Lord. Thanks a lot, Hendo.

The current lineup for UFC 110 (February 21st; Sydney, Australia) is after the jump…

Fedor vs. Rogers post-event press conference – Watch more Funny Videos

Here’s some footage I took at the Strikeforce post-event presser on Saturday night, which all the main event fighters showed up for. You’ve already heard what Fedor had to say, but check out the reactions from everybody else…

— Fabricio Werdum says he’s earned a shot at Fedor, who Werdum believes is the best fighter in the world. After a week of rest, he’ll be back to training hard.

— Gegard Mousasi says people underestimated Sokoudjou, and called the fight a learning experience.

— Jason Miller blames himself for not capitalizing on the chances he had in his fight against Jake Shields, and for not training his wrestling enough; he was not expecting a "grapplefest."

— Shields still thinks that his best weight is welterweight. Scott Coker would like to put him against Marius Zaromskis or Hayato Sakurai at 170.

— Shields thinks Cung Le is avoiding him. "That’s why he vacated the belt, obviously, and fights a month later."

Interview With MMA Fighter Marloes Coenen – Watch more Funny Videos

Two days after we were introduced to the new-hotness that is Marloes Coenen, I had the opportunity to be charmed by her in person. The Golden Glory veteran’s domination of Roxanne Modafferi at Fedor vs. Rogers secured her shot at Cris Cyborg‘s 145-pound Strikeforce title, though Coenen was pretty much the last to find out. In the above quickie-interview, Coenen discusses how she matches up with Cyborg, and her eerily focused demeanor before a fight. (You kind of had to be there — hopefully the video will emerge at some point.) Will Marloes be able to exploit her grappling advantage over Cristiane Santos when they meet up in January?

Interview With Scott Coker After Fedor vs. Rogers – Watch more Funny Videos

Following the Fedor vs. Rogers press conference on Saturday night (more on that later), I was one of several MMA scribblers to corner Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker for a family-style follow-up interview. Some highlights are above: Coker revealed that Marloes Coenen will be the next challenger to Cris Cyborg‘s 145-pound women’s title, threatened that he would be Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion if Alistair Overeem continues his shucking and ducking, and gave his generally positive analysis of Strikeforce’s first CBS show. Regarding his rivalry with the UFC, Coker says "Every day when I wake up, I’m thinking about what Strikeforce needs to do, not what somebody else needs to do, or another company’s doing" — which seems a lot more pleasant than Dana White’s morning routine. More viddys to come…

(Props: valetudows via MMA Mania)

He’s back, and he wants his belt back. In this UFC 106 promo clip, Tito Ortiz says he plans on rebuilding himself towards the light-heavyweight title one fight at time, starting with his upcoming rematch against Forrest Griffin. "Can he withstand the pound…and pound…and poundage that I’m gonna do on him?" Ortiz asks in his usual eloquent style. "I ain’t lookin’ for submissions, I’m gonna look for hurtin’ him." Probably the most interesting part of this clip is the footage at 1:36-1:46 of Griffin storming out of the Octagon following his loss to Anderson Silva, which wasn’t shown in the original UFC 101 broadcast; Ortiz didn’t think that was too cool, by the way. At the end, Tito stares into the camera, breaking the fourth-wall: "I’m willing to die for my cause. Are yuh?"

…and Brett Rogers can appreciate an attractive woman. Photo courtesy of the Strikeforce Fedor vs. Rogers: Press Conference Pics set on CombatLifestyle. A few more good ones after the jump.

(Props: sports.sho.com)

For Brett Rogers, the challenge on Saturday will be to strip away the myth from Fedor Emelianenko and approach him like he’s any other man. Which he is, of course. Fedor, as we saw last night on Fight Camp 360, is just a guy who loves his family and God, who works out in a community gym alongside schoolchildren, who still lives in the small mining town he grew up in, who enjoys a good oak-twig whipping in a Russian sauna. It’s unnerving how normal Fedor is. His priest/BFF, Father Andrey, says: "You can feel the kindness come out of him, and when you communicate with him, you are being charged by his kindness." Really? Are we talking about the same guy who did this to Gary Goodridge?

(Props: twitpic.com/photos/allelbows)

In an attempt to guard himself from all the stray bullets that continuously fly around Chicago, Fedor Emelianenko once again donned the Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory during an appearance at the Bears/Browns game on Sunday. Emelianenko sustained no bullet wounds, and the Bears won — once again proving the fearsome power of the horizontally-striped invincibility cloak.

Speaking of the Last Emperor, Emelianenko just wrapped up a media conference call with Brett Rogers and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Some highlights, via MMA Fanhouse:

(Might as well face it, she’s addicted to blood. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/ariannyceleste)

Now that our post-Halloween hangovers have almost completely subsided, it’s time to present the finalists for our MMA costume contest. Take a look at the best submissions after the jump, and please select your favorite costume via the poll on the right. Remember: $175 in MMA Warehouse gift cards are on the line, so vote thoughtfully.

(Props: SNETCF)

With UFC 106 poppin’ off in three weeks, it’s time for the replacement headliners to start selling their match. In the above video, Tito Ortiz talks about going from a wrestling-based training camp for Mark Coleman to switching things up for Forrest Griffin. He says that main event status is comfortable for him, and that the pressure is on Forrest. And of course, he takes time to dump some hate onto his old nemesis Lyoto Machida for running his way to a "robbery" decision against Shogun Rua last Saturday: "Step up and be a man and fight, man. This is MMA, this is not boxing where you win by points…I’m going to look for a knockout, or I’m just gonna look to hurt [Griffin]. My job is to prevail and to make sure I entertain the fans who watch."

After the jump: A somewhat less focused interview with Forrest Griffin, in which he and Ron Frazier touch on Griffin’s refusal to wear condoms, to the great disgust of Todd Duffee.

(Failing: You succeed at it.)

Great news, you guys. Our favorite online MMA gear and apparel retailer MMA Warehouse has hooked us up with some gift cards to give to the winners of our Halloween Costume Contest. First place will score a $100 gift card, second place gets a $50 card, and third place is good for a $25 card. Because we’re just springing this on you now, we’re going to start the finalist voting on Monday — not today as originally announced. Anyway, this should give you a couple more days to come up with something amazing, though we should tell you we’ve already gotten a lot of Kimbos and almost as many Brocks. Not to discourage you from sending us a picture of yourself dressed up as either of those two gentlemen, but at this point you’ll really have to bring the workmanship and attention to detail if you want to stand out. Good luck, and send those photos of yourselves to feedback@cagepotato.com by Sunday night at midnight ET.

And one last thing: We’d really like to stress that these costumes should be MMA-related in some way. That should go without saying since this is an MMA website, and since we’ve already said it twice. But it’s hard for some people to get the message. The photo above, for example, was sent to us from a dude named Margret, who really wanted us to see his Michael Jackson costume for some reason. It’s breathtaking, Margret, but shouldn’t your head be on fire?

Thanks again to MMA Warehouse! Go there now and spend lots of money!

(It’s particularly disappointing because Thiago’s face had just returned to normal.)

When it rains, it goddamned pours. The latest big-name UFC fighter to be scratched from an end-of-year card is Thiago Alves, who just went down with a knee injury — most likely a torn posterior cruciate ligament, if you want to get specific. Alves was scheduled to rematch Jon Fitch at UFC 107, and was coming in as a replacement for Ricardo Almeida, who suffered his own knee injury last week. No word yet on how long this will keep Alves sidelined, or if Fitch will be getting a replacement-replacement opponent for the December 12th show in Memphis. Matt Hughes, if there was ever a time to shut AKA’s collective mouth, it’s now. As it stands, UFC 107′s lineup looks like this:

(Props: twitter.com/realkimboslice)

When we asked Dana White if there was any truth to the rumors that Kimbo Slice‘s first post-TUF fight would be against Houston Alexander, he expertly dodged the question. (This is why he gets the paid the big bucks, and why we have to moonlight as night managers at Family Dollar in order to make rent.) But a couple of tweets Kimbo posted yesterday seem to support the theory that Slice will soon be thrown into the Octagon with another ground-game-challenged puncher. The "I Accept" line suggests that he won’t be fighting a fellow castmember at the TUF 10 finale. (Does he not get another chance to bang on the show after all? Does he lose again?) And yeah, the whole "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" thing is pretty much a dead-giveaway. 

Alexander, who recently broke his three-fight losing streak with a first-round TKO over Sherman Pendergarst at Adrenaline 4, is reportedly applying for a fighter license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, so all signs are pointing to "oh God, this is actually happening." Could it be the Kimbo Slice slobberknocker that we’ve all been waiting for?

("I gotta be honest, guys, I’m on so much NyQuil right now that I can’t tell which one of you is Logan and which one is Natasha.")

From a blog post published yesterday afternoon on Shane-Carwin.com:

(Props: TheFightNerd)

If you’ve ever wondered why Fedor Emelianenko throws his punches a little differently than the average dude, the above video should clear up some of the mystery. Combat Sambo’s "casting" punch is intended for easy transition into grappling, as well as flexibility in terms of range and impact area; as the host demonstrates, the Sambo puncher can make contact with anything from his wrist to the back of his hand. Hope you’re taking notes, Brett…

(Good job, Brock, now the whole stadium’s sick. Photo courtesy of Vikings.com via MMA Mania.)

Look, we’re all disappointed that Brock Lesnar isn’t fighting Shane Carwin next month. But it’s not like he’s battling a case of the sniffles here. Reports coming out of the Lesnar camp suggest the withdrawal was sadly necessary. First, Chris Tuchscherer (from the Las Vegas Sun via Cagewriter):

("…I, on the other hand, look like a very intelligent and compassionate person." Photo via joblo.com.)

Most longtime fans have gone through some variation of the following experience: You spend months trying to convince your co-workers that MMA is the baddest sport ever invented, and they need to give it a chance. So they come over to your place one night to watch a UFC event, and what they see instead is sloppy brawling, boring ground-hugging, and inexplicable judges’ decisions. "It’s usually a lot better than this," you say desperately as they slowly file out the door. But it’s too late; they’re gone, they won’t be back, and you’ll be eating most of your lunches alone from now on. It’s a humiliating feeling. Now imagine if those co-workers were Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson and The Hangover‘s Bradley Cooper, and you’ll have an idea of what Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had to endure on Saturday. Sour grape warning begins now:

(Dana White discusses the impending Machida/Rua rematch, and UFC 104′s other fighters weigh-in on last night’s controversial decision. Also, Steve Mazzagatti shouldn’t be allowed to even *watch* MMA. Props to MMA Fanhouse.) 

- Don’t ask us how two of the three judges who presided over last night’s main event gave the first three rounds to the champion. Just take comfort in the fact that there will be an immediate rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua. Dana White announced the news at yesterday’s post-fight press conference, saying "They won’t make the same mistakes next time. Each one will try to win decisively." For the record, DW thought Shogun won the fight.

- Anthony Johnson was basically fined $10,000 per pound for missing weight. After tipping the scales at 176 on Friday, Rumble scored a ferocious TKO victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida in just 39 seconds. But because he came in heavy, he was ineligible for UFC 104′s $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, which instead went to Pat Barry. (Barry picked up a second $60,000 award for Fight of the Night; his opponent Antoni Hardonk got a check for the same amount, while beanpole submission artist Stefan Struve was awarded the Submission of the Night bonus for his triangle choke of Chase Gormley.) Johnson was already giving up 20% of his purse. When asked about the botched weight-cut, AJ had this to say:

(Overeem vs. Thompson. Props to DreamCageFights. And special props to Michael Schiavello for predicting that this fight wouldn’t last long. How the hell did he see that one coming?!?)

- Alistair Overeem def. James Thompson via submission (guillotine choke), 0:33 of round 1
- Eddie Alvarez def. Katsunori Kikuno via submission (arm-triangle choke), 3:42 of round 2 
- Marius Zaromskis def. Myeon Ho Bae via KO (head kick), 0:19 of round 1 
- Kazushi Sakuraba def. Zelg Galesic via submission (kneebar), 1:40 of round 1 
- Katsuyori Shibata def. Tokimitsu Ishizawa via TKO, 4:52 of round 1 
- Dong Sik Yoon def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision 
- Yoshiro Maeda def. Chase Beebe via submission (rear-naked choke), 3:36 of round 1 
- Kuniyoshi Hironaka def. Won Sik Park via TKO (eye injury), 5:00 of round 1
- Tomoya Miyashita def. Keisuke Fujiwara via unanimous decision

More fight videos after the jump…

Before we get to our favorite comments of the week, we’d like to give some love to CagePotato reader James W., who e-mailed us the photo above, and the story below:

Thanks for sharing, homey. Hopefully a brand-new CagePotato t-shirt will ease the pain of that horrible missed opportunity which will likely haunt you for the rest of your life. Now, then…

TITO ORTIZ vs. WANDERLEI SILVA

(The abridged version of the fight, which Ortiz won by unanimous decision.)

When it happened: 4/14/00, at UFC 25
When it should have happened: Spring 2003
Why: Ortiz vs. Silva was an entertaining scrap between two young contenders for the UFC’s vacant "middleweight" belt. If they met three years later, it would have been a superfight. By the end of 2002, Ortiz had defended his title five times — he’d lose it in September 2003 to Randy Couture — while Silva was PRIDE’s middleweight ruler, owning a 12-0-1 record in the promotion and two successful title defenses. With Ortiz at the end of his reign and Wandy near the middle of his, it would have been an ideal moment to establish bragging rights for one of MMA’s two leading organizations.
Prediction: Depends on where the fight was held. If Ortiz had home-field advantage, he’d probably still be able to grind out a decision win. In Japan, it would be Wanderlei via soccer-kick death.

DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. KENNY FLORIAN

(Click the image to go to the video. Sanchez def. Florian via TKO, 2:49 of round 1.)

When it happened: 4/9/05, at the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
When it should have happened: Sometime next year.
Why: Kenny Florian had enough talent and heart to make it to the finals of TUF 1 as a 185-pounder, but it was only a matter of time before he was squashed by another talented fighter who was more experienced and better suited to the weight; Diego Sanchez just happened to be that dude. This year, there was talk — hope, even — that Florian could upset BJ Penn at UFC 101, then have a high-stakes rematch against his old nemesis, who had followed him down to lightweight after an impressive run at 170. Unfortunately, Florian succumbed to Penn’s trademark mata leon, and Sanchez was booked to challenge Penn for the title in December. Still, as long as Florian keeps winning, he’ll claw his way back to the Nightmare — and this time, they’ll face each other as two of the best lightweights in the world.
Prediction: Sanchez outstrikes Florian to a decision in a far more competitive match than their first meeting.

(Clever, Kimbo…)

The MMA Halloween Costume Contest that we announced last week is slowly picking up entries, but we want more, More, MOAR. You have until next Thursday to throw together a makeshift MMA-themed costume and e-mail a photo of yourself to feedback@cagepotato.com. The winner will receive an extra-special prize, though we haven’t quite decided what it’ll be yet. Good luck trying to come up with a costume idea that’s as amazing as this.

Also: If you weren’t one of the 3,300 people who got free UFC 104 tickets from Dana White, be sure to swing by CagePotato.com tomorrow night for our thrilling liveblog of the show. The Spike TV preliminary card broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, and the pay-per-view broadcast starts an hour later.

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Following yesterday’s UFC 104 press conference, AllElbows.com‘s E. Casey Leydon got up in Dana White‘s face, and the conversation inevitably turned to Kimbo Slice. Despite multiple reports from TUF 10 castmembers that Kimbo had a large "posse" in attendance for his fight — yes, that’s the word they keep using — Dana claims that only Slice’s manager was there, while his wife and kids were definitely not. "I’ve never seen such crybabies in my whole life as the heavyweights [on TUF 10]," Dana says. Here’s another example: Roy Nelson told USA Today that Kimbo had his own media room and could make phone calls. Dana’s response:

After the jump: A longer DW interview with Ariel Helwani, where Dana discusses Cain Velasquez‘s potential as a future champ, selling two Brazilian main-eventers, the necessity of teammates fighting each other, an update on the Dan Henderson situation, those Showtime knuckleheads, Bernard Hopkins’s criticism of MMA as gay porno, why "Big" John McCarthy isn’t reffing at UFC 104, and Chuck Liddell’s future in the sport.

(Fitch vs. Alves, 6/28/06.)

Though we previously eliminated Thiago Alves in our Fitch’s-next-opponent guessing game, it turns out that the Pitbull is a strong frontrunner for Ricardo Almeida‘s replacement. A source close to the UFC told MMA Junkie that Fitch and Alves will meet at UFC 107 (December 12th, Memphis); Alves’s original opponent for the event — Paulo Thiago — will be booked in another match.

Alves is obviously a bigger name than Almeida, but Fitch’s Twitter enthusiasm still threw us off. Who gets psyched about a rematch with a guy you already beat, unless it’s for a title? Reacquaint yourself with Fitch and Alves’s UFC Fight Night 5 scrap above, which starts with Alves having to take out his tongue ring, and ends with a TKO victory for Fitch at the end of the second-round thanks to a well-placed upkick.

— Shogun‘s trainer thinks that the fact that Rua has never been knocked out will somehow protect him from getting knocked out by Machida.

(Ed Ratcliff KO’s Brett Cooper with a spinning back kick at Total Combat 12, 12/17/05.)

Donald Cerrone may have to wait a little longer to get his rematch with Jamie Varner. Contrary to previous rumors that Cerrone would be facing Varner in December while interim champion Benson Henderson recovers from their epic five-rounder at WEC 43, Sherdog is reporting that Cerrone will instead fight fellow lightweight contender Ed "9mm" Ratcliff at a WEC show on December 19th in Las Vegas. The bout could serve as the card’s main event — not an ideal situation, but at least Henderson will get his rightful shot at Varner’s belt when he’s healthy again.

In case you’re unfamiliar, Ed Ratcliff (7-1), has won three of his four fights in the WEC, most recently taking a unanimous decision over Phil Cardella at Torres vs. Bowles, and his aggressive, unpredictable style should match up well with Cowboy’s. Ratcliff grew up in Chicago studying traditional martial arts, earning black belts in Karate and Tae Kwon Do, and began his MMA training with Ken Shamrock at age 17; he had his first pro fight when he was 18. He now lives and trains in San Diego, and describes his primary motivation for fighting as "$$MONEY$ LOL."

After landing big wins at UFC Fight Night 19, Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard have been booked to face each other in the main event of the UFC’s next Fight Night show, which will go down January 11th at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. But it won’t be the first time the two lightweight contenders have gone toe to toe. During his dominant run on TUF 5, Diaz submitted Maynard by guillotine choke in the semi-finals. Since then, Maynard has surpassed Diaz in the 155-pound pecking order, going 6-0 with one no-contest, including decision wins over Frank Edgar, Jim Miller, and Roger Huerta. Diaz went 4-0 after winning his TUF contract, but then lost back-to-back fights to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson before breaking his skid against Melvin Guillard last month.

If he’s victorious, Maynard could find himself squarely in title contention, though a match against the winner of Florian/Guida at UFC 107 seems like a logical eliminator fight. Fun fact: Diaz has won an end-of-night bonus (either Submission of the Night or Fight of the Night) in each one of his last five appearances. Any predictions on how this one will go down?