(“…and if my damn hand wasn’t in a cast, I’d definitely be grabbing my nuts right now, believe that.” Photo via MMAFighting)

Update: Dana White has denied this report.

Despite Rashad Evans‘s belief that Jon Jones will fake another injury to duck him, it’s looking like the two best frenemies could settle their grudge by the end of the year. MMAFighting reports that the UFC is in the process of setting up a light-heayweight title match between Jones and Evans at UFC 140 (December 10th, Toronto), and the booking could be made official within the next 24-48 hours.

The health of both men has been in question recently. Evans busted up his hand pretty good in his most recent victory over Tito Ortiz, but he’s expected to receive a doctor’s clearance this week to resume training. As for Jones, he caught a somewhat mysterious six-month medical suspension after last month’s UFC 135 title defense against Rampage Jackson. Dana White later confirmed that Jones was uninjured outside of a sore calf.

(“Look at me damn it.  I said I’m sorry. I even sent you a brownie basket.”)

Somebody should have warned Lyoto Machida that playing hardball with Dana White never ends well.

Now, either the UFC is teaching him a lesson for wanting “Anderson Silva Money” for stepping in on short notice to face Rashad Evans at UFC 133 or they want to save the Japanese-Brazilian fighter for its February 26 return to Japan. Either way, Lyoto, who only fought once in 2011 at UFC 129 in April, won’t even be making Strikeforce Challengers money the rest of the year. Lucky for him he has the Knockout of the Night bonus he got for retiring Randy Couture and knocking out his tooth.

Video streaming by Ustream
Aside from Upstream, props to Ironforgesiron.com

Truly great works of art often take multiple views to fully understand, and a few more to fully appreciate. In that way, this video is kind of like a forgotten masterpiece. Except that it’s absolutely nothing like art in any way, shape or form, and more like an argument I don’t fully understand.

From what I’ve managed to gather, Rampage Jackson isn’t the only light heavyweight in the UFC with snitching issues. Rashad Evans was apparently the only person on Earth to know about “fuckin’ Melissa”, and now people are butt hurt that everyone knows. For what it’s worth, my totally uninformed opinion is leading me to believe that Rashad is as guilty as former Executive Vice President of MusclePharm Leonard Amenta was (i.e. not at all). Come on, you tell only one person about Melissa and chose to pick Rashad Evans? But I digress. There’s a much needed break in the action at the 1:13 mark before the argument resumes at the 3:20 mark.

(Indeed. Props: ahura)

Last night I had the misfortune of seeing about 30 seconds of the CW reality show H8R. (That’s pronounced “hater,” grandpa.) In this particular episode, Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis tried to convince some chick that he wasn’t in fact the greatest douchebag of our generation. His primary defense was that the girl didn’t know him personally, and was judging him based only on the “character” she knows from GGW — you know, the character he created. Awful. Just awful. And yet, I’d love to see an episode of that show starring UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

As soon as Jones won his belt, he immediately went from a widely beloved underdog story (“he learned his striking from YouTube videos, you guys!”) to a lightning rod for message-board criticism. Exactly why some fans seem to passionately dislike Bones is a topic that we’ll discuss more in depth on tomorrow’s episode of The Bum Rush. In the meantime, I decided to revive an old CagePotato feature — “What Your Favorite Fighter Says About You” and its sequel — and twist it to reflect today’s hate-crazed MMA climate. So, for example, if your least-favorite fighter is…

JON FITCH

Well, Steven Seagal made it out to the festivities Saturday night in Denver and it’s beginning to seem like either he’s some kind of mixed martial arts guru or he’s a senile old man who is way out of touch with reality. My bet’s on the latter.

Our friends Karyn Bryant from MMA H.E.A.T. and Ariel Helwani from MMAFighting caught up with Sensei Seagal before and after the event, respectively, and let’s just say old cockpuncher had a few yarns to spin.

Check out the videos and the bullet points of the world according to The Glimmer Man after the jump.

(Video courtesy of zpzp420 on Vimeo)

If there’s one thing the UFC does well, it’s making its stars available to the fans. Well, actually, it’s probably putting on mixed martial arts fights, but the UFC is pretty good at making its stars available to fans as well. These fan Q&A sessions give us a chance to see a fighter’s true personality, sometimes even many of his personalities. Yesterday’s session with Rashad Evans is true to form: you’ve got the usual goofball fans asking for a staredown, the requisite racially insensitive remark (no, not from Rashad, this time), and even a frank, thought-provoking discussion on the very-real problem of in-cage urination.

If you don’t have time to watch, we took notes. Check out some quotes after the jump.

Jason Mayhem Miller Appears on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon – Watch MoreFunny Videos

Jason Miller made a stop on “The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon” last night ahead of Wednesday’s The Ultimate Fighter 14 premiere and among other things “Mayhem” shared his thoughts on how he would fare against Jason Statham and Jason Bourne.

(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.)

(“Was it you, Bisping or was it you, Tiki? I bet it was Arianny. She always seems like she be hidin’ somethin’.”)

Hopefully we’re way off, but if his recent bizarre accusations are any indicator of his current frame of mind, Quinton Jackson might be just a few energy drinks and consecutive screenings of “The Secret” away from playing monster truck smash-up derby again.

In an interview with Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports yesterday, “Rampage” revealed that he believes someone within his training camp is a mole and although he isn’t naming names, he hinted that it’s a sparring partner.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/StocktonHeyBuddy)

Well, it looks like bad luck has struck against Rashad Evans again and the longtime number one UFC light heavyweight contender could once again miss out on another title shot.

Though he hid his injury well during today’s UFC/Fox press conference, Evans told TMZ last night that the cast he was wearing was protecting pins he had surgically inserted to hold his thumb in place while it heals from what UFC officials told the website is just a bad sprain he incurred in his UFC 133 win over Tito Ortiz. Rashad played the injury off as being no big deal and said it shouldn’t take long to heal, but he may be protecting his coveted title shot.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

Since he’s on his way to Wisconsin for the lead-up media appearances for Sunday night’s UFC Live on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle event, Dana White’s first video blog for the show is more of a recap of UFC 133, which is just as well.

It’s interesting to see Dana’s non reaction to Vitor Belfort’s win over Yoshihiro Akiyama. He can clearly be heard telling Lorenzo Fertitta that the finishing blows by “The Phenom” were to the back of “Sexyama’s” head. Neither UFC executive showed little emotion when Belfort came over to their side of the Octagon to let them know he’s back and White later said in an interview that the former UFC light heavyweight champion would have to chew on his loss to Anderson Silva for a while before he gets another title shot.

A couple of weeks before UFC 133 in Philadelphia, Dana White made an appearance on Philly’s Preston and Steve show on WMMR to promote the show. Preston and Steve, being the wacky morning radio show duo they are, invited local comic and YouTube star Ed Bassmaster down to meet the Baldfather as one of his many alter-egos. Dana obviously had no idea who this guy was, as he completely bought that Skippy was just your average TUF fan in khakis and comically thick glasses.

So what happens when you ask Dana why he frequently seems upset and angry?

Well, Dana was so amused that he decided to have Ed wander the locker rooms and hallways at the event, doing interviews and trying to put some moves on Chandella. Of course, what he really wanted to do was get Skippy in the same room with Lorenzo Fertitta and sit back and watch the big guy squirm.

(Props: UFC.com)

Does this mean we can finally retire Rashad’s classic Machida-face? It’s already given us so many great memories. After the jump: Tito Ortiz accidentally swallows Rashad’s hand.

Proof that ReX loves you and wants you to be happy. Props to ReX13.

Actions have consequences. If you’re going to make a screen name bet, you may have to be #1CaseyAnthonyFan for the next few weeks. If you’re going to wear manties in the Octagon, you may really gross out your boss. Perhaps to the point where he’ll invent a new bonus to give the guy who knocks you out. Due to Dennis Hallman’s wardrobe, Brian Ebersole became the first- and probably last- fighter to pocket seventy grand for winning the “Thank You for Getting those Trunks off TV as Soon as Possible” bonus.

The other End of the Night bonuses were a bit more traditional. For living up to the expectations we’ve always had of him by quickly knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama, “War Belford” took home the Knockout of the Night bonus. Vitor Belfort more than likely knocked Akiyama out of the UFC as well, unless Akiyama is willing to drop to welterweight.

The quickest way to a man’s heart is to drive your knee through his sternum. (Pic: UFC.com)

Admit it: for a moment last night, you believed. After surviving a first round that saw him battered against the cage and dumped to the canvas “Country Breakfast” style, it looked like “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” “The People’s Champion”, for the second time in five weeks, would pull off the improbable upset via guillotine. But aside from those few electrifying seconds, Tito Ortiz was never in that bout. Rashad’s hands, Rashad’s speed, Rashad’s everything seemed too much for Tito.

Evans showed no signs of ring rust as he went for the kill throughout the fight. Following this decisive victory he now finds himself in the exact same position he’s been in for well over a year: staring at a potential title fight in the manner a mule eyes a carrot dangling just out of reach. From what I saw last night, he’s as ready as one can be to challenge Jon Jones should he get past Rampage next month. Rashad has a history of excessively-delayed bouts with both men. Let’s pray that the winner of that bout emerges healthy and ready to defend his belt sooner rather than later.

Well, UFC 133 is live from the home of Rocky Balboa tonight so let’s get this thing going and see how Philly does this shit.

Spoilers are after the jump.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

- The many bloodied and swollen faces of MMA (Clutch.MTV)

- How to make your place a better wingman (MadeMan)

- Unapologetic Chael Sonnen unleashes latest rants on PED accustations (MMAJunkie)

- Five fun things to do at your temp job (HolyTaco)

- Book Review: Mike Straka’s Fighting Words (TheSweetScience)

- First look at Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (ScreenJunkies)

- All fighters but one on weight for UFC 133 (UFC)

- NHL mouthpiece Sean Avery taunted arresting officers, calling them “fat little pigs” (TMZ)

- Tim Sylvia returns to action in Illinois on August 20 (TheFightNerd)

- Facebook spam king surrenders to FBI (TorontoSun)

- British student killed by polar bear in Norway (Telegraph)

- NYE UFC show in Abu Dhabi a possibility (MMAFighting)

- Pacquaio returning to HBO (ESPN)

- Polygamist found guilty of sex with minors issues threatening statement during sentencing (MyFoxAtlanta)

- Why Chad Mendes Is the Biggest Threat to Jose Aldo (BleacherReport)

- How to get body dysmorphia: attend the crossfit games (WithLeather)

- Interview with UFC LHW champ Jon “Bones” Jones (TheBigLead)

- Mark Hunt says if UFC doesn’t renew his contract he may retire (MiddleEasy)

(Props: JoeHandPromotions via MMAConvert)

From last night’s Spike TV broadcast previewing UFC 133 on August 6th. Listening to Tito Ortiz retell the story of his redemptive victory over Ryan Bader, it’s hard not to view Ortiz as a sympathetic figure — the “good guy” in his matchup against Rashad Evans — especially since MMA fans still resent Evans for killing Chuck Liddell. Parts 2-4 of “Countdown to UFC 133″ are after the jump, running down the Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama co-main event, as well as the welterweight feature between Rory MacDonald and Mike Pyle. Check it out while it lasts…

Just a friendly reminder that Spike TV will be running the Countdown to UFC 133 show tonight at 11:00 pm ET. If you don’t have Spike and are in Canada, you can check it out tomorrow night at 8:00 pm ET on Sportsnet or you can have a look back here and I’m sure we’ll have other resources available for you to check out the show.

The card has undergone a lot of changes, which also force the UFC to reshoot portions of the preview episode, so hopefully it isn’t noticeable. The first time we catch them overdubbing the audio of Rashad talking about Phil Davis with a clip of him saying “Tito Ortiz,” we’re tuning out.

Check out a clip of Vitor Belfort doing some filming on the set of the show ahead of his fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama Saturday night after the jump.

With only one week to go until the last-resort rematch between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, the hype is in full swing. Rashad made an appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night and came off very well. During his interview he performed impressions of his mother and Randy Couture and even sang a litte impromptu karaoke.

If you were hoping for some heated trash talk about his opponent, the above video won’t suit your needs. But don’t get it twisted: Rashad may be all smiles with Jimmy Fallon but he’s still willing to “go there”. Join us after the jump to get your fix as the two fighters trash talk it up for our viewing pleasure.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHeat)

Not sure how we missed this video when it went up last week, but our homegirl Karyn Bryant from MMA H.E.A.T. caught up with Diego Sanchez and talked to the eccentric UFC welterweight about a variety of topics including his upcoming UFC 135 fight with Matt Hughes in September and his return to Team Jackson.

FYI, Sanchez recently turned down our request for another interview because our logo is “the damn devil sign,” but that’s fine since Karyn always seems to ask the questions we want to have answered.

Your loss, Diego, you know what I mean?

A few highlights after the jump:

(Video courtesy of YouTube/HeavyMMA)

You would think that, considering the way that their last fight ended, that Rashad Evans wouldn’t be very excited to face Lyoto Machida any time soon.

Well it looks like Rashad either has short-term memory or that he’s ready to face his fears, considering that judging by the video above, he seemed to genuinely want to fight Machida when the fight was all but a done deal. Then when “Suga” heard that Lyoto pulled out of the bout due to a “lack of Anderson Silva money” being offered to him for the fight, he really seemed to be crushed.

(Ah, 2007 — when picking up a draw against Tito Ortiz could be the greatest accomplishment of a fighter’s career.)

By Jared ‘DangadaDang” Jones

In a sport where upsets come as easily as a lone, well placed punch, the rematch has become not only commonplace, but a huge commodity for the UFC as well. Fight fans worldwide have embraced the rematch because they offer a chance to witness a fighter’s redemption first-hand. Sometimes these matches provide us with instant classics, and set in place the even more lucrative Trilogy, while others serve only to confirm what we already knew.

Tito Ortiz, the man behind some of the UFC’s most profitable rematches and trilogies, is looking to continue his path to redemption and possibly contendership (!) when he takes on Rashad Evans at UFC 133. Though the odds are against him, his recent win over Ryan Bader proved to us that he can still choke someone out when it’s called for. (No Brett, you’re doing it wrong.) And since Ortiz stepped up to the plate, so shall I. Here are four upcoming UFC rematches and how I believe they will go down…

Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans – UFC 133

(Click image to watch video.)

What happened the first time: Ortiz was able to secure a takedown within the opening minute of the fight, giving him the edge in a grappling-and-clinch-heavy first round, but after repeatedly grabbing the fence in the second frame, referee Big John McCarthy deducted one point from Ortiz, nullifying a round he would have won. Rashad was able to mount some offense in the third and secure a takedown of his own, resulting in a draw across the board.

(video courtesy of YouTube/NaturalBornKillerMMA)

Joe Rogan interviewed Tito Ortiz on the latest edition of UFC Insider and let’s just say Tito’s linguistics skills are as good as they’ve ever been.

Let’s break down the less than three-minute interview after the jump, shall we?

If this wasn’t the perfect chance to pull the ol’ switcheroo, I don’t know what is. (Pic: MMAFight.com)

Just as other cards have been steadily beefing up their rosters, UFC 133 has taken another major hit. The UFC announced last night that Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has pulled out of his bout against Rich Franklin due to a shoulder injury.

The promotion now finds itself in the exact position it was in only days ago when an injury to Phil Davis sent them scrambling to find a suitable light heavyweight replacement for their main event bout. It was slim pickings at that time, with Machida attempting to ransom off his services for “Anderson Silva money” and Tito taking the fight after initially turning it down. They now have three weeks to sign a replacement or remove Franklin from the card.

Machida’s reasons for turning down the Evans bout—namely short notice and the need to relocate his entire training camp to the US—have only been exacerbated at this point with even fewer days on the calendar. Of course, maybe he’s willing to suck it up after Dana was vocal about his feelings on the matter. Middleweights Chris Leben and Chael Sonnen had also volunteered their services, but Sonnen now has a dance partner. Could we see “The Crippler” make the jump to 205lbs to take a swing at another legend?

(This won’t end well for Rashad…trust us.)

Perennial UFC number-one light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans joined host Larry Pepe on Pro MMA Radio Monday prior to word coming out that Phil Davis was out as his opponent at UFC 133 and Tito Ortiz was stepping in as his replacement. During his spot on the show, Evans complained about getting gypped of his promised title shot, not once, but twice.

“I haven’t heard anything about [whether or not the winner of the fight with Davis gets the next title shot]. I don’t even want to assume something because every time I assume something it just never works out the way my assumptions go. I don’t like to assume; if it happens, it happens. I just keep going out there and fight,” he explained. “There’s a lot of guys in the 205 weight class. It’s whatever, man. I just want to fight. I’ve been out of the cage so long that I realize what a privilege it is to go out there and compete. I haven’t been out there in so long that I’m kind of missing the sport a whole lot.”

(You can’t fake that kind of hate. Video courtesy of YouTube/tifosi8500)

Zuffa held an impromptu conference call today with  Dana White in which the UFC president discussed the announcement yesterday that Tito Ortiz will be stepping in for injured Phil Davis to face Rashad Evans at UFC 133 next month.

Check out the highlights of the call after the jump.

(A pretty solid metaphor for their respective careers right now.)

With the UFC still in the lurch after Phil Davis’s injury wrecked yet another UFC main event, Tito Ortiz has done the unthinkable — he’s decided to become a team player. After initially refusing to step up as Rashad Evans‘s replacement opponent at UFC 133, Ortiz has now agreed to take the fight, which will come just five weeks after his shock upset of Ryan Bader at UFC 132. Oddly enough, Tito’s change-of-heart came after Lyoto Machida accepted the fight, then lost the opportunity during negotiations. We’ll let Dana White tell the story, via MMAJunkie:

“Machida accepted the fight. We knew for a couple days this was going down, and Machida accepted the fight. Then when we called back and said, ‘OK, we’re going to make this fight,’ Machida’s people came back and said, ‘We’ll tell you what. You pay us what you pay Anderson Silva, and we’ll take the fight.’ This was after they had already agreed to take the fight.

I said, ‘Are you [expletive] kidding me? I’ll tell you what. You tell Machida he achieves what [expletive] Anderson Silva has achieved, then maybe he’ll make Anderson Silva money. Have a nice day.’…

Yep, this is really happening. Mad props to Steampunk for putting this together…

Update: By the way, another source says Machida is not taking the fight, so, you know, whatever.

(“I’M BACK!” has been downgraded to “Just give me a minute, okay?”)

Update, 11:07 a.m. ET: Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole tweets that Lyoto Machida is in vs. Rashad Evans. Source is a text-message from Dana White.

The race is on to salvage UFC 133‘s main event, in the wake of Phil Davis’s knee injury withdrawal. One fighter who won’t be stepping up against Rashad Evans on short notice is Tito Ortiz, who’s coming off his career-restoring submission of Ryan Bader at UFC 132. According to an MMAFighting report, Ortiz was the first man the UFC turned to when Davis bowed out, but the Huntington Beach Bad Boy declined the offer. As he explained via twitter:

I have a life and things to take care of. The fight game is about making the right choices of my career. If you knew what I have been going through you all would understand. Peaking for a fight is what makes a fighter unstoppable! Timing is everything in life. This is a rebuild year for me not do or die. The time will come again!