Here’s a little taste of Brock Lesnar’s appearance on ESPN’s E:60 tonight at 7 pm EST (which is like, now). The interview seems to be taking place in a barn for some reason. I’m sure it will all make sense when we see the whole thing. In other news…

- Luke Cummo was arrested and charged with “driving while impaired with drugs” in Lynbrook, New York last week. He wasn’t drunk, but was reportedly tested for a drug that officials would not name. Fightlinker says Cummo claimed, at least briefly, that he got a contact high from being in a room full of people smoking pot, and this was exacerbated by eating a bunch of chicken wings. Seriously. He’s pleaded not guilty, and we really hope he decides to represent himself in this case because that would be awesome.

- Matt Hughes says on his website that he talked to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva this week and he may finally get his shot at Matt Serra in April. He also went bowhunting and bagged a deer.

- The UFC sent out a press release today officially announcing three fights for the stacked UFC 92 event on Dec. 27. As expected, Rashad Evans/Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva/”Rampage” Jackson, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira/Frank Mir are on tap. Said Evans:

“Forrest fights from the heart just like me, and everyone underestimates Forrest until they get in there with him, like me. I think he and I are going to be like Ali vs. Frazier – this will be the first time we meet, but it won’t be the last, so I want to set the precedent.”

Inside MMA welcomes “Sugar” Rashad Evans, Bobby Lashley, and Dave Meltzer. Here’s a quick taste in this preview video. Right off we’re talking about “evisceration,” which is a fun start, and Bas Rutten asks Kenny Rice, “Did you see that movie Braveheart?” This prompted me to ask, is there anyone on earth who hasn’t seen it by now? It’s more ubiquitous on TV than Remember the Titans.

Below we’ve got Brandon Vera basking in the glory of his fame in the Phillipines. Looks like Dana White wasn’t joking when he said that the UFC was even more mainstream there than they are in the U.S. Props to MMA Payout.

After the jump, Nevada State Athletic Commissioner Keith Kizer gives his thoughts of the EliteXC controversy.

(If you look up “pwned” in the dictionary, you’ll see this picture.)

Dana White has revealed to Yahoo! Sports’s Kevin Iole that in addition to the interim heavyweight title match between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir, UFC 92 will also feature Forrest Griffin defending his light-heavyweight belt against Rashad Evans, and the third battle between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva; the event will go down on December 27th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Other likely fights include…

Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister
Cheick Kongo vs. Mustafa Al-Turk
C.B. Dollaway vs. Jorge Rivera
Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn

Not too shabby so far, though we can’t shake the feeling that it’s still a bit too early for Rampage to be stepping into the cage with his arch-nemesis. That being said, Big Nog by submission in the championship rounds, Griffin by decision, and Silva by TKO in round 2. Feel free to throw in your own early predictions in the comments section…

(“The Count,” courtesy of Bisping.tv.)

Though he was impressive as a light-heavyweight — winning The Ultimate Fighter 3 after going 10-0 in England, then beating down Eric Schafer and Elvis Sinosic — two rough split-decisions convinced Michael Bisping to drop to a more competitive weight. And since then, he’s looked absolutely scary. Bisping will be looking to continue his success as a 185-pounder at UFC 89 (October 18th; Birmingham, England), where he’ll take on Chris Leben in the main event; a win would officially make the Liverpool-native a title contender. Ben Zeidler caught up with The Count recently to get his take on his next opponent, the UFC’s middleweight title picture, and that rumor about him being a future TUF coach.

***

CAGEPOTATO.COM: What have you done to prepare for Chris Leben?
MICHAEL BISPING: Well, obviously he’s a southpaw so we’ve been bringing in a ton of southpaws to spar with. I see a lot of problems with him, so I’ve been trying to really step up my training. You know, it’s the all-around game, the all-around training. I’m very focused.

Do you prefer to fight in England? What does it mean to be the hometown favorite every time out?
When I go out there, it’s unbelievable. I can’t even put it into words. I have great memories there, for sure, but the UFC fans are always amazing no matter where I go. The sport is so great and so awesome right now that any fans, in any arena in the world, are just great. Fighting in the UFC is very special to me.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding your UFC 75 win against Matt Hamill. Do you believe you won that fight?
You know what, I want to fight Matt again. It was really close and depending on what you’re looking for, you can make an argument either way. People say that it went my way because it was in the UK, but the UK judge is the one who gave it to Hamill. It was the Americans who gave me the decision. Hamill definitely won the first round, and that’s because I wasn’t prepared mentally. I didn’t focus. He caught me off guard and came out guns blazing. I needed to get in gear and I did. I started to take control, he got some takedowns but I got some on my own accord, and I did more damage. I won 2-1 but it was close. I should have given him more props, but we had some history going into the fight, so I wasn’t prepared. But I do think I won.

In this interview done after Rashad Evans’s knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 88, trainer/strategist Greg Jackson discusses what he told Evans between rounds 1 and 2, Mike Winklejohn and Kieth Jardine’s contributions to the gameplan, and Nate Marquardt’s victory over Martin Kampmann. Props to Sherdog via Fans of Team Jackson’s.

Courtesy of MMAMania and MAR Clothing, here’s a video of Josh Koscheck interviewing Diego Sanchez and Chris Leben in a car while in Las Vegas for the taping of the Ultimate Fighter 1 reunion — which will air in segments during Saturday’s TUF 1 marathon on SpikeTV, beginning at 9 a.m. ET. The guys discuss their upcoming fights, a possible rubber match between Diego and Josh, Thiago Alves’s mysterious growth spurt, and how Chris Leben wants a rematch with Anderson Silva more than anything.

After the jump: Must-see interview footage of Evan Tanner explaining why he fights and his humanist worldview, from Potent: The Movie, via Bloody Elbow.

(Oh, Chuck! Not in the cake, man!)

Over at the UG some users have straight-up crazy Photoshop skillz, kid. Fortunately, they’ve put them to good use in light of the Rashad Evans-Chuck Liddell fight at UFC 88. Some of them are sloppy, some are downright offensive, and others are surprisingly well-done and imaginative. The one you see above, done by SkeetersMMA, is really on a whole other level. Work like this deserves recognition. Consider this a tip of the old CP cap, Skeeters.

A few honorable mentions are after the jump.

(Props to “Justinmacd” on the UG.)

When Rashad Evans was shown twisting his nipples directly before his UFC 88 fight with Chuck Liddell, we wondered if the Greg Jackson camp knew something we didn’t; after all, Evans’s teammate Georges St. Pierre did the same thing before his title defense against Jon Fitch last month. Turns out it was just a simple goof on GSP. As Evans explained to TAGG Radio:

“Georges St. Pierre was the first do it, and it’s just sort of an inside joke…Georges said it was supposed to be good luck or something, so I said, ‘Cool, alright,’” Evans said, laughing.

Good luck, huh? Never heard that one before. Can’t wait to try it out at the roulette table.

Evans also talked about the Bill Gates mugshot t-shirt that he wore during his cage-entrance, which bore no apparent sponsors, and which some assumed was viral marketing on the part of Microsoft. If Gates paid Evans to wear it, Sugar wasn’t letting on:

“[Gates] was arrested in Albuquerque, N.M. He started off Microsoft in the basement of the Bank One Building. That’s right next to the (Team Jackson) gym.”

That’s the only association right now, but the team is hopeful Gates could become more involved with Team Jackson someday.

“Maybe one day he’ll be part of my crew,” Evans joked.

Meanwhile, in an interview with MMA Weekly, Evans credited another Jackson teammate, Keith Jardine, for helping him with his strategy for the Chuck fight:

“Keith said ‘you’re gonna get his timing, and there’s a point when you’re going to see em’ coming,’” Evans said. “‘When you see it coming, get off first — don’t sit there and wait.’ And that’s what I did. As soon as he had me against the fence, you can always tell when he’s coming, so as soon as I see him make that face, I just tried to bust off first.”

(Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

Saturday’s UFC 88 card took in $2.6 million in ticket revenue, making it the second-highest-grossing event ever held at Atlanta’s Philips Arena, next to a Barbara Streisand concert in 2006. The fighters at “Breakthrough” pulled in $1,510,000 in disclosed payouts, with a third of that going to knockout recipient Chuck Liddell. The numbers are below. Unless otherwise noted, each winning fighter’s salary represents a doubling of his base pay.

Chuck Liddell: $500,000
Dan Henderson: $250,000 (win bonus was $150,000)
Rashad Evans: $180,000 (including $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Jason MacDonald: $104,000 (including $60,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
Rich Franklin: $100,000
Kurt Pellegrino: $84,000 (including $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Thiago Tavares: $73,000 (including $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Nate Marquardt: $56,000
Dong Hyun Kim: $46,000
Ryo Chonan: $30,000
Jason Lambert: $17,000
Tim Boetsch: $16,000
Martin Kampmann: $15,000
Matt Hamill: $10,000
Roan Carneiro: $9,000
Matt Brown: $8,000
Rousimar Palhares: $7,000
Michael Patt: $5,000

Underpaid: Not that the dude’s going broke, but it’s surprising that Rich Franklin’s base salary is only $50,000; Rashad Evans makes more than he does (which makes sense now, I suppose). It’s also too bad that someone as talented as Rousimar Palhares couldn’t negotiate better terms when he joined the UFC.

Overpaid: I’d let Evans knock me the eff out for half of what Chuck got for his little two-round appearance. Seriously. Get in touch with my people, Rashad.

(‘Heyyyyyy.’)

Now that he’s finally injury-free and ready to fight, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is setting his sights high for his return to the Octagon. Rua told Fighters Only that he’d like to be the first to beat Rashad Evans following his impressive knockout of Chuck Liddell over the weekend:

“Rashad fought the perfect fight, he obviously studied Chuck and worked hard on his game plan,” he said. “He may be undefeated but everyone is there to be beaten and I would like to be the first one to do it.”

Of course if he can’t get that fight, he’ll take Rich Franklin, who’s also coming off a win. Apparently “Shogun” is not deterred by the fact that he’s coming back from a long injury layoff, or that his last time out didn’t go so well. Maybe it might be a better idea to ease back into it. I hear Matt Hamill’s schedule is pretty open.

- In other Brazilian fighter news, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva told Tatame that there is absolutely no chance of him facing WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho even after the heavier weight classes are absorbed into the UFC. Silva called Filho “the best middleweight,” saying “there’s nobody to beat him.”

It probably helps that they’re buds:

“I would never fight with Paulão. We almost train together, we’re always helping each other and (Josuel) Distak is our coach. There’s no chance to happen. People can complain, scream, whatever, but it won’t happen.”

You heard the man. You might as well stop your constant complaining and screaming for Silva-Filho, because it ain’t happening. Just let it go and move on with your life. Somehow.

(Update: the embed code turns out to be an empty promise, but here’s the link to the reunion show clip.)

This Saturday, September 13 Spike TV is airing a TUF 1 marathon and special reunion show. As you can see from the clip, some of those old rivalries haven’t been forgotten. Give Joe Rogan some credit, he doesn’t shy away from asking Bobby Southworth whether he felt bad about the whole ‘fatherless bastard’ remark. We don’t get to see his answer in this clip, but let’s hope it’s yes.

Check out Dana White’s closing video blog entry for UFC 88 after the jump. They’ve apparently decided to go with quantity over quality, as this is the longest one yet. For some real fun, skip to the 9:00 mark to see Chuck Liddell‘s pre-fight preparations, which tells you a lot about what kind of fight he was expecting. Afterwards Dana has to corral Rashad Evans‘ wife while simultaneously stopping Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman from jetting out of the Octagon. That’s a hard-working man, right there.

(Props: MMA-Core.)

If you thought there was something familiar about the way Chuck Liddell got himself knocked out against Rashad Evans, you’re right. It’s almost the exact same scenario that precipitated his loss to Rampage Jackson: Liddell throws an uppercut while not troubling himself to defend his chin, Liddell eats a hard right counter, Liddell goes down and Dana White gets sad. It’s almost enough to make you wonder if fighting with your hands nowhere near your face isn’t such a good idea. You know, because there’s always that slim possibility that your opponent might also decide to throw some punches.

Fortunately, Liddell is starting to ask himself the hard questions:

“I guess that’s a bad habit,” Liddell said. “I see that shot and I land it a lot, but I guess I leave myself open when I throw it. I need to get back in there and stop doing it. It’s something to work on.”

Well, that only took two knockout losses for him to realize. At this rate he’ll be able to figure out where he went wrong against Keith Jardine and avenge that loss some time in early 2010. Will he still be in the game by then? Hard to say. Liddell said he would “take a little time” after this loss, but added, “I’ve always said that when I retire, I’ll decide in the training room and not after a fight.”

Maybe that’s why he intends to stay out of the training room for a while.

(Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans)

(Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann)

(Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares)

In a press conference held after UFC 88, Dana White announced that Rashad Evans would next be facing Forrest Griffin for the light-heavyweight title:

“(UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta), (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) and I got together and thought yeah, he deserves the title shot,” White said. “How could you say, ‘No, he doesn’t deserve the shot’ after [the Liddell fight]?”

White said he had a date in mind but wouldn’t share it until the organization has the opportunity to announce some other upcoming cards.

Sugar Rashad‘s stunning upset increased his overall record to 12-0-1 (7-0-1 in the UFC). I wouldn’t argue that Evans deserves a shot at the belt more than the winner of the (postponed? nixed completely?) fight between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva, but timing is certainly working in his favor; Griffin needs a title defense, and Evans is available. Unfortunately, the UFC’s hope of a big money fight between Chuck and Forrest is now up in smoke, and they’ll have to put in major effort to convince fans that a title scrap between two TUF winners is equally worth buying. After his nipple-tweaking, pop-n-locking, Fred Sanford-imitating ring antics last night, Evans’s likeability is still a big question mark.

(Tavares and Pellegrino now have enough money to open the hair salon they’ve always dreamed of. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

The UFC doled out $60,000 bumps to the following fighters for their valiant performances at last night’s “Breakthrough”:

Knockout of the Night: Rashad Evans, obviously, for knocking Chuck Liddell into the 8th dimension.

Submission of the Night: Jason MacDonald for his rear-naked choke of Jason Lambert — and for scoring the only submission on the card.

Fight of the Night: Kurt Pellegrino and Thiago Tavares for their wild (and unfortunately untelevised) three-rounder that Pellegrino took in a unanimous decision.

UFC 88 quick results:

Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell via KO, 1:51 of round 2
Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill via TKO, 0:39 of round 3
Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares via unanimous decision
Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann via TKO, 1:22 of round 1
Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown via split decision
Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision
Tim Boetsch def. Michael Patt via TKO, 2:03 of round 1
Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:20 of round 2
Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro via split decision

(‘What if we got, like, a studio apartment together somewhere. We’d have so much fun! No? Nah, you’re right. I was just goofing.’ Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

Atlanta, Georgia, are you ready to have your world rocked? Are you ready to have Mike Goldberg refer to you as ‘Hot-lanta’ at least three times, while Joe Rogan seizes any and every opportunity to point out the rubber guard? Well, you better be, because that’s what’s happening. I can hardly freaking wait.

We’ll be documenting all the zany action and half-cocked commentary as the night unfolds, cracking wise and making fairly obvious but mildly humorous observations all night long, so buckle in and get your commenting hat on. We’re dying to hear all your LOL’s and OMG’s. Maybe even the occasional WTF, although don’t get carried away. We’ve got a long night ahead of us. Hit refresh every so often, or get left behind.

(Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

- Do some UFC 88 pre-partying with Randy Couture. (Xtreme Couture)

- Mario Sperry betting on a Palhares victory, literally. (Tatame)

- Stone Cold Steve Austin breaks down Kimbo Slice-Ken Shamrock. (YouTube)

- Arguing over UFC 88, Randy’s return, and more. (MMA Rated)

- Martin Kampmann is ready to “kick ass.” (MMA Mania)

- Brock Lesnar got jokes. (Steve Cofield)

- One punch KO’s bully. (Nothing Toxic)

- Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates team up to produce something…strange. (Wall Street Fighter)

- Sarah Palin steps up to the mic. (Holy Taco)

- 11 craziest Ann Coulter moments. (Screen Junkies)

(Totes BFFs 4-evs.)

Weigh-ins for “Breakthrough” just went down at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The numbers are below; props to MMA Mania.

Chuck Liddell (204) vs. Rashad Evans (205)
Rich Franklin (204.5) vs. Matt Hamill (205)
Dan Henderson (185) vs. Rousimar Palhares (184.5)
Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Martin Kampmann (184.5)
Thiago Tavares (155) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (156)
Tim Boetsch (205.25) vs. Mike Patt (205.25)
Matt Brown (170) vs. Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim (170)
Jason Lambert (185) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)
Roan Carneiro (170) vs. Ryo Chonan (170)

IMPORTANT: CagePotato.com will be liveblogging tomorrow night’s pay-per-view broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Come early, come often.

Courtesy of BestFightOdds, here are the juiciest lines for UFC 88, reflecting the lowest numbers for the favorites (i.e., the dollar amounts you’d have to put up to win $100), and the highest numbers for the underdogs (i.e., the dollar amounts you’d win if you put up $100). If you’re confused, go here first. Click on each line to go to the wagering site that’s offering it. And now the numbers…

MAIN CARD
Chuck Liddell (-241) vs. Rashad Evans (+230)
Rich Franklin (-221) vs. Matt Hamill (+210)
Dan Henderson (-200) vs. Rousimar Palhares (+190)
Karo Parisyan (-210) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (+203)
Nate Marquardt (-130) vs. Martin Kampmann (+140)

UNDERCARD
Thiago Tavares (-252) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (+250)
Tim Boetsch (-375) vs. Michael Patt (+326)
Dong Hyun Kim (-350) vs. Matt Brown (+300)
Jason MacDonald (-157) vs. Jason Lambert (+160)
Ryo Chonan (-113) vs. Roan Carneiro (+103)

Notes…

— UFC 88′s “I Can’t Believe the Odds Are That Close” match is MacDonald/Lambert. When a fighter drops a weight class, it usually means he’ll have a size advantage against his opponent. In Jason Lambert’s case, he’s just cutting some topmeat. The Punisher might look a little faster in the cage, but MacDonald is still the far more talented fighter here, and you won’t regret putting some money down on the favorite.

(‘Sup, pussies.)

It’s that time again, Potato Nation. Cage Potato’s two Bens square off on a host of issues swirling around UFC 88, including what’s to become of Rich Franklin as a light heavyweight, who has the best chances to score an upset on Saturday night, and more. Let’s get it, as they say, on.

Does Chuck Liddell really deserve a title shot if he beats Rashad Evans?

Goldstein: A two-fight win streak isn’t much, but it’ll be more than any other top-tier UFC light-heavyweight contender can boast on Sunday morning, with the exception of Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva — and one of those guys is going to take his first loss next month. The question really is: Who deserves it more, Chuck or the winner of that all-Brazilian eliminator match?

In terms of creating a title fight that fans want to see, Liddell has to be at the front of the line. Chuck vs. Forrest will get fans insanely fired up. The alternative is watching Forrest and (probably) Machida dance around each other for five rounds — I have my doubts about the entertainment value of that matchup. And not to play the race card, but I understand why an American MMA organization is hesitant to create a situation where three of its five champions, as Mike Goldberg would say, “speak the Portuguesa.” (I’m counting Big Nog as one of them, of course; he’s my pick to come out on top of the imminent four-man heavyweight “tournament,” but that’s another debate.)

Chuck’s been unwaveringly loyal to the UFC during his career, and he deserves to be treated well in his final years with the company. If that means jumping ahead of someone who may deserve it more in terms of merit, so be it. Though if they want to put Liddell against Anderson Silva in December before he gets a shot at the belt, well, that’s cool too.

Fowlkes: When it comes to the UFC and title shots, I like to remind myself of a line from the movie Unforgiven: deserve’s got nothing to do with it. In a perfect fighting world, the fight would be set up so that the winner gets a title shot, regardless of who that is. But we both know that even if “Sugar” wins he’s not shooting to the top of the list. So the question is, would beating Evans be enough to reasonably justify putting Liddell up against Forrest Griffin next, which is the fight the UFC really wants to make?

Crush and Sugar Free getting down at Xtreme Couture. Props to BloodyElbow.

A promo for SpikeTV’s upcoming preview show on “Breakthrough,” which features actual footage of Chuck Liddell’s hamstring injury in April, and Matt Hamill wreckin’ dudes as a kid. Props to FiveOuncesofPain.

(Rashad Evans looks very happy about clocking Steve Cofield one.)

- Rashad Evans can’t even escape Chuck Liddell at the movies. (Yahoo! Sports)

- Talking Shamrock, Kimbo, Noons and more on the radio. (MMA Rated)

- “The Secret” explained, in a manner of speaking. (Fightlinker)

- Ryan Schultz to get another shot at Sengoku 5. (MMA Mania)

- Thiago Alves has a lesson he wants to teach Diego Sanchez. (Tatame)

- Dana White promises UFC will be bigger than NFL and World Cup, then discusses a near-death experience. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

- “Day of Reckoning” official website. (Affliction)

- UFC in talks with CBS to supplant Elite XC? (Fightline)

- Sammy Hagar rocks great moments in history. (Holy Taco)

- Tough beer choices this Labor Day weekend. (Wall Street Fighter)

- Eight awesome movie prisoners. (Screen Junkies)

(‘You dance very good, little woman. You are negative for the STD’s, yes?’)

Poor Anderson Silva. The UFC middleweight champ just can’t find enough playmates in the UFC middleweight neighborhood. Yes, there’s that nice Patrick Cote boy, but then what? Silva is basically being forced to go door to door and ask, in broken English, if there are any middleweights or light heavyweights who can come out and play. Next up could very well be Chuck Liddell, according to Silva’s manager, Ed Soares:

“I think he wants to fight those big mega fights because that’s the kind of fight we want to be involved with right now,” he said about Silva’s future fights. “I think it’s a combination of seeing what the potential opponent is and also seeing what the UFC wants to do. At the end of the day, this is a business, and they need to sell fights. They need to sell a lot of pay-per-views, and they need to sell tickets. So, we want to be involved with those types of fights.”

“We’re not looking past Patrick Cote, but I think we’ll take one step at a time and see what happens. But yeah, if a Chuck Liddell fight came up, we’d take it,” stated Soares. “Whoever the UFC wants to put in front of us, he wants to fight the best, and whoever that may be at the time, that’s who he wants to fight.”

The very idea of a Silva-Liddell superfight is probably enough to give Dana White an erection, and for good reason. The pay-per-view numbers on this would likely be record-breaking, and no matter how it goes someone gets a big boost. Liddell, however, is probably a little less enthusiastic.

For one, he recently made known his belief that a victory over Rashad Evans should be enough to net him a title shot. Chances are he didn’t mean the middleweight title. For another, beating the champ from a lower weight class is sort of like being the toughest kid in eighth grade after being held back a year. There’s always a ‘but’ attached to that victory.

Silva has more to gain from this fight than Liddell does, but if there’s one thing we know about “The Iceman” it’s that he’ll do the UFC’s bidding, whatever it happens to be. He’ll also probably make a ton of money to do it, and everyone can go home fat and happy if this fight materializes on a pay-per-view at year’s end.

From ESPN: The Iceman discusses the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since April, and shares his thoughts on Rashad Evans, who he’ll face at UFC 88 (September 6th, Atlanta). He also says he expects to get the next light-heavyweight title shot after the fight. Sorry, buddy — Thiago’s already called dibs.

If there’s one thing I love in fighter interviews it’s passive-aggressive remarks. Anybody can go out there and talk smack about an opponent or openly question his heart and his skills. But subtlety is a lost art in this business, and it can go a long way. For a great example, check out “Sugar” Rashad Evans’ remark about Liddell’s torn hamstring in this ESPN video. Says Evans, “at his age, injuries like that become harder to heal.”

Then he follows that up by saying he doesn’t expect it to be a big deal in the fight because Liddell is such a great fighter. I just really wish he would have added, “because, you know, Chuck’s sooooo experienced and has been fighting for soooo long, he can hobble his way through a fight with the best of them.”

After the jump check out Rich Franklin’s breakdown of his upcoming fight with Matt Hamill. Does he expect to be able to avoid Hamill’s takedowns all night? He does not. At least he’s being realistic.

(Someone’s excited by Rashad’s performance, and someone else is just very bored.)

The UFC has officially announced the previously-rumored Chuck Liddell-Rashad Evans bout for UFC 88 in Atlanta, Ga. on September 6. In an email blast sent out today they played up the fact that it will be the UFC’s first foray into Atlanta, which will no doubt be referred to as “Hot-lanta” by Mike Goldberg at least twice during the live broadcast of the event.

Call me crazy, but this main event sounds better and better. “The Iceman” may have slowed a step or two, but one thing he can still do is avoid a takedown and get right back up if you do manage to put him down.

If Evans can get Liddell to the mat and beat him there, it will be hard to ignore him in the light heavyweight picture. If he decides to stand and bang with Liddell and somehow manages to win that way, well, then either Liddell will have proven that he’s ready for retirement or the world as we know it will have changed forever. There’s a good chance the laws of gravity might even fail if that happens, so you might want to tie down some of your valuables, just in case.

- In other UFC news, Evan Tanner tells Thomas Gerbasi from UFC.com that he’s a poet or artist or something:

(His tattoo is watching even when he’s not. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Yesterday evening, the UFC announced that a broken foot has forced James Irvin to pull out from his UFC 85 match against Rashad Evans. Though UFC.com first reported that Luiz Cane would be stepping up to replace Irvin, a finalized card was released shortly after, which didn’t include Evans at all. The undercard fight between Nate Marquardt and Thales Leites has now been moved to the main pay-per-view card.

Anyway, that’s a bummer — I had high hopes for the Irvin/Evans match-up, as their conflicting styles could have produced some exciting results. But Evans is better off not being on the card at this point. Having to train for another new opponent (he was originally slated to fight Chuck Liddell) wouldn’t be fair to him with less than a month until the show, and historically, situations like that tend not to go well. Still, how cursed is this card? First it was Mauricio Rua with an injured knee. Then Liddell with a torn hammy. Then Chris Leben with his probation violation. Good Lord, is the O2 Arena built on an Indian burial ground or something?

In other UFC news:

— Early reports have UFC 88 slated for September 6th in Atlanta, GA. It would be the first time the UFC was held in the state of Georgia since UFC 13 in May 1997.

— TUF 6 alum Blake Bowman (remember, the guy who Mac Danzig used to mercilessly make fun of?) won his professional MMA debut on Friday, at the same event that produced the already-legendary double-K.O. involving Tyler Bryan and Shaun Parker. Facing Kevin Walker, who was also making his professional debut, Bowman won a TKO victory in just eight seconds, landing a head kick right at the bell and following it up with a punch that put Walker out.

— According to recent announcements and promotional materials, Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Coleman will not be the official main event of UFC 87. Could a headlining title fight be possible? GSP and Anderson Silva don’t have anything scheduled yet…

(Anderson Silva: Pound-for-pound the worst liar in the world.)

— Chuck Liddell’s hamstring injury, which forced him to pull out of a match against Rashad Evans at UFC 85, isn’t looking good. “He can barely bend over and tie his shoe,” Dana White said. “He tore his leg real bad. It’s pretty nasty.” As of now, there’s no official estimate on how long it will take for the Iceman to recover and return to the Octagon.

— A welterweight bout between Tamdan “AFC” McCrory and Luke Cummo is expected to go down at UFC 87. Both men are coming off losses — to Akihiro Gono and Luigi Fioravanti, respectively — and if this isn’t a “win or get fired” match, we don’t know what is. (Update: Cheick Kongo and BodogFight/Gladiator Challenge vet Dan Evensen are also expected to meet at UFC 87.) In other fight-booking news, a lightweight match between Spencer Fisher (who most recently lost to Frankie Edgar by decision at UFC 78) and Jeremy Stephens (who most recently TKO’d Cole Miller at UFC Fight Night 12) has been added to the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale (June 21st, Las Vegas).

— Remember that two-day seminar that Anderson Silva was supposed to do this weekend at Miletich Fighting Systems Houston? Well, he backed out at the last minute, citing “personal family health issues.” Turns out Silva was in Miami doing a two-day seminar at the grand opening of his own school. Said Alex Lopera of MFS Houston, “If this is true then we have been completely mislead and as you can imagine we are furious at this. We are doing our due diligence to confirm that this is really happening. If this is true we will take all legal recourse possible.” Busted!

— Tito Ortiz predicts that at UFC 84 there will be “about 16,000, probably 15,999 [fans] that will be screaming about Tito and there will be that one person that’s hating on me.” Sure, but he’ll be hating on you so loud that it’ll seem like thousands of people, all over the arena. That son-of-a-bitch and his voice-throwing…

(James Irvin: Fighting his way off of the C-list.)

“He’s lost his last two fights now, against Franklin and Anderson Silva, so the UFC’s decision makes sense. No fighter can guarantee winning a fight but you can go into a bout in shape. If you can’t go the distance then you’re not preparing well enough and you’re not taking your job seriously. We work for the UFC and it’s our job to get off our a**es and train and be in shape. That’s what we get paid for and if we don’t do that then we’re not doing our job. That’s the way I look at it.”
— Michael Bisping on the recent sacking of Travis Lutter.

“I just decided to make light of the situation and be like, hey man, this is what I’m seeing. I’m seeing a running man. That just came to me out of nowhere. When there were ten seconds left I just said to myself, all right, I’m calling the technique the ‘rock-hammer.’ I don’t know if that name will stick or not.”
— Nate Quarry on the instant-classic ending of his fight with Kalib Starnes.

“I’m just so happy that he would even take the fight against me. I consider him an ‘A’ level fighter, and I consider myself a ‘C’ level fighter, maybe a ‘B’ level because I just beat Houston trying to claw my way up to the top. So for him to take a step down and fight me, I’m greatly appreciative of the guy, who is someone I look up to as one of those top tier fighters.”
— James Irvin on his UFC 85 opponent, Rashad Evans.

“Mentally I think BJ has some quit in him. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it in the past. If you push him, he’ll quit.”
— Sean Sherk on his UFC 84 grudge match with BJ Penn.

“Now that the K1 thing is out of the way it’s all good baby: all MMA and MMA only. These guys (DREAM) want me to fight Aleksander (Emelianeko) in about three weeks time on May 11th! I was like no way because it’s too short a time with no training. I don’t want to risk fighting like that. But if they compensate me enough for taking that risk then it’s all good and I’ll fight. DREAM’s plan was to see how Fedor (Emelianeko) goes and when and if he wins the DREAM title, and then I will fight him…First time I fought him, my wrestling wasn’t great — actually it was pretty shit but I did alright with him. This time I will be ready.”
— Mark Hunt, who may eventually be battling the Emelianenko brothers in DREAM. Hunt was submitted by Fedor via armbar at PRIDE Shockwave on New Year’s Eve 2006.

(Decisions, decisions…)

Though the UFC has confirmed none of this yet, some strong UFC 85-related rumors are circulating that we wanted to pass along. The word is…

— James Irvin will indeed fight Rashad Evans, replacing an injured Chuck Liddell.

— The main event will feature Michael Bisping taking on Chris Leben. (Thanks for listening, guys!)

— UFC 85 will possibly be broadcast on SpikeTV. That would be enough to appease American fans — with four solid matchups on the main card (including Vera/Werdum and Davis/Swick), it’ll be at least as entertaining as an “Ultimate Fight Night” — but a show without a true big-name headliner could potentially slow the UFC’s momentum in the U.K.

We’ll let you know when any of that is formally announced.

Somewhat related: You think seven weeks is a short layover for Michael Bisping? Well, Rich Clementi is only getting five before his next fight. “No Love,” who just scored a hard-fought split-decision victory over Sam Stout on the undercard of UFC 83, has been booked to replace an injured Rob Emerson in a lightweight match against Terry Etim at UFC 84 (May 24th, Las Vegas). Clementi has won his last three UFC bouts, including submission victories over Melvin Guillard and Anthony Johnson, while Etim took his first career loss via unanimous decision against Gleison Tibau at UFC 75.

(Any guesses on what they had to black out in the lower-left corner?)

Last night, the UFC officially confirmed Chuck Liddell’s hamstring injury and pullout from UFC 85. To quiet down the cynics who suggested that Chuck simply didn’t feel like traveling all the way to England to fight Rashad Evans, they released the above photo of a man showing off an enormous strawberry while cupping his taint ever so gently; apparently, it’s Liddell. According to Dana White:

“Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him. But I wouldn’t let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent. We’re adding fights to the card and rearranging it so the UK fans won’t have to worry, we’ll still be bringing an amazing card to London and the O2 Arena.”

Sherdog is floating the rumor that James Irvin may step in to face Evans, though that certainly wouldn’t be the show’s main event. (It must be said that, historically, Irvin has performed very well against African-American fighters.) You’ll know more when we do…