If we can believe half of the rumors we hear, this is going to be a busy summer for UFC champs.  According to Fighters Only, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is slated to get a shot at whoever has the belt around his waist after Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida go at it at UFC 98.  That fight is tentatively scheduled for August, perhaps even at UFC 102, the event still shrouded in mystery and speculation.  

If that’s the case, that would put it a mere three months after the Evans/Machida clash.  As you clever devils no doubt recall, Evans balked at fighting at UFC 96 in March because he’d just fought at UFC 92 in December, so you know he’s no fan of the quick turnaround.  Plus, there’s the injury factor to consider.  If Machida wins chances are he will have sustained no damage in the fight, since he can probably count the number of times he’s actually been punched in the face.  But if Evans wins it’s kind of a lot to ask for him to defend his title again three months later.

This is exactly why you need to save your sick days at your job.  No one’s going to believe it when you call in and tell them you came down with a bad case of shingles an hour before you’re supposed to work a double.  Trust me.

(Retired man walkin’. Props to MMA Scraps.)

Among the notable writers and fighters currently eulogizing Chuck Liddell’s career is UFC light-heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, who gave some quotes to FightHype about what the Iceman’s UFC 97 loss meant to him personally (props to BloodyElbow for the tip):

I’ll refrain from making any young lion/old lion analogies, but yes, we’ve finally seen the last gasp of the Tito/Randy/Chuck era of the UFC, and it’ll be a somber week for some MMA fans. The new generation has taken over in full force, led by fighters like Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, GSP, and Brock Lesnar. And maybe one of these days, Jon Jones is going to spinning-backfist Rashad Evans into a living death, and we’ll start talking about how great Sugar used to be until he started slowing down just enough for younger guys to pick him apart. It’s the circle of life. Still, this claim that Liddell was just frontin’ about working on the holes in his standup game? Well damn, dude. If you hope to hang with fighters who are more than ten years younger than you, you have to put in the work. The UFC front office doesn’t need any loafers.

(Go ahead.  Tell Chuck you forgot to order the ice cream cake for his birthday party.  I’m sure he’ll understand.)

As Chuck Liddell prepares to try and prove to Dana White and the rest of the MMA world that he still belongs in the UFC, some recent comments seem to suggest that he maybe he has suffered serious head trauma after all.  Regarding his goal to take back the UFC light heavyweight strap, Liddell told Fighters Only:

“I don’t plan on letting [Rashad Evans] stay champ for long. I thought I was winning that fight. I made a mistake, got caught and dropped. I was winning the fight up until then.  People ask me about retiring after that fight. It wasn’t like I got my ass kicked and then got knocked out. I was winning the fight, got sloppy for a second and got caught. I made a mistake.”

[Sigh]  I can’t help but feel like he’s using the old ‘got caught’ explanation as a crutch here.  Yes, he got caught in the sense that he left himself wide open and was absolutely hammered by a right hand from Evans.  But he wasn’t really winning the fight up until then.  He wasn’t losing, either.  The fight was fairly even with little significant action.  And then he got knocked out.

(Props: MMA Mania)

Lots to point your eyeballs at today. First, there’s the above extended trailer for the UFC’s next pay-per-view event, #97 in Montreal on April 18th. The theme, of course, is "Redemption" — Anderson Silva wants to make up for his unsatisfying last performance against Patrick Cote, while Mauricio Rua and Chuck Liddell battle to regain their relevence. The best moment comes at the 4:41 mark, where Thales Leites says "He has to kill me, you know, or I will take this belt," and Silva gives the camera a look that says it all: Which do you think is more likely to happen?

Below: The best MMA-related video remix we’ve seen all year. In this take on the much-parodied "Hitler blowup" scene from Downfall, Adolf’s underlings have to explain to him why Fedor Emelianenko won’t be fighting in the UFC. It doesn’t go well.

(Props: "Card" on the UG)

After the jump: Bruce Buffer hints that an unprecedented 360-degree Buffer Turn could be in our future, and Rashad Evans discusses his transition to movie-fighting on the set of Death Warrior.

(Just tell me you didn’t kiss him.)

Lyoto Machida recently talked with Brazilian website/magazine Tatame about his training and preparation for his title fight against Rashad Evans at UFC 98, and he decided to disclose a secret that he probably should have just kept to himself: “The Dragon” drinks his own urine.  Every day. 

Even worse, he learned it from his father:

“My father does that for a long time and bring it to us. People think it’s a joke (laughs). I never said it in the United States because I don’t know how the fans will react (laughs). I drink my urine every morning like a natural medicine.”

We’ll soon find out how American fans will react.  My guess is they’ll scrunch up their faces and say, with one loud, clear voice, ‘You nasty, Lyoto!’

Loyal readers of this site know how much we love video highlights and lists of things, so it should be no surprise that we really enjoyed the latest effort from KingAtRock (who you might remember from such videos as this one or that one).  So yeah, we probably would have posted this regardless, but it sure didn’t hurt that he gave us a little shout-out at the end.  Let this be a lesson to the rest of you: never underestimate the power of pandering to our collective ego.  

On the real though, this is a pretty solid list of upsets.  It does seem a little strange, considering what we know about each man’s career trajectory, to think of Rashad Evans’ brain cell-destroying knockout of Chuck Liddell as an upset.  At the time it was a shocker, sure, but now it seems like we probably should have seen it coming.  Who knows, maybe someday we’ll be saying the same thing about Thales Leites’ dramatic victory via flying triangle choke over Anderson Silva.  Probably not, though.

(Dana White tries to convince Quinton Jackson to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 98, following Rampage’s decision win over Keith Jardine last Saturday. Video courtesy of WatchKalibRun via TheGarv.)

SportsIllustrated has confirmed that former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has turned down the opportunity to challenge Rashad Evans for the 205-pound title at UFC 98 (May 23rd, Las Vegas), due to the short turnaround and his lingering injuries. Taking his place will be Lyoto Machida, the undefeated — and virtually untouchable — Brazilian contender who most recently knocked out Thiago Silva at UFC 94 in January. Evans vs. Machida is the official main-event replacement for Mir vs. Lesnar, which was scrapped from the card thanks to Mir’s bum knee.

"Sugar" and "The Dragon" are very similar on paper. Both are undefeated in 14 professional fights — Evans is 13-0-1, while Machida is 14-0. Both have gone the distance in the majority of their UFC appearances, but are coming off of dramatic stoppage victories. And they have three opponents in common: Tito Ortiz (who Machida beat by unanimous decision last May and Evans drew with in 2007), Stephan Bonnar (who Machida won a cut-stoppage TKO over in 2003 and Evans beat via majority decision in 2006) and Sam Hoger (who Machida defeated by unanimous decision in 2007 and Evans took a split decision over in 2006).

Evans/Machida may not turn out to be Fight of the Year — we’re expecting more of a cautious and technical match than a thrilling one — but it’s also not the easiest fight to predict, which makes it compelling. Will Evans and the Team Jackson camp be able to come up with a gameplan that solves the confounding riddle of Lyoto Machida? Will Machida still look invincible against a true top-of-the-food chain light-heavyweight? 

(He’s gettin’ that belt back — eventually.)

Even though he wasn’t one of the six fighters who received medical suspensions after UFC 96, Quinton Jackson reportedly injured his hand during his decision win against Keith Jardine, making a May title fight against light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans even less likely. Adds Sportsnet.ca:

Rampage’s hand injury adds to a lingering jaw injury that he sustained while training for his UFC 92 fight against Wanderlei Silva. It’s hard to imagine he’d be anywhere close to 100% by May 23rd. But that doesn’t seem to bother Rashad Evans, who is already mentally preparing for the UFC’s other top light-heavyweight contender, Lyoto Machida. As Sugar told Sherdog:

(‘You…just ruined my vacation, Frank Mir.’)

Despite the heat generated by the post-fight face-off between "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans, the proposed title bout for UFC 98 in May isn’t guaranteed just yet.  Dana White was upfront about the possibility that injury or simple fatigue could keep Jackson out of the fight, in which case Lyoto Machida would get the title shot.

Injuries or not, Rampage didn’t exactly sound thrilled about fighting again in just a little over two months.

"I want my belt back, but I got to talk to manager and talk some things though.  Then I’ll tell Dana what’s up," he said.

(Mir talks with the Jiminy Glick of sports interviewers at the Arnold Classic.  Props: MMA Fanhouse.)

Reports are coming in from all sides regarding Frank Mir’s readiness to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 98.  Dana White says he still doesn’t think the fight is off, while Mir is saying otherwise.  

Sources tell us that Mir’s camp asked the UFC not to announce the fight earlier this week since the champ had just had knee surgery that would prevent him from training other than on a treadmill or in a pool for 4-6 weeks.  The UFC apparently ignored these wishes and announced the fight anyway, which they’ll probably have to scrap if they can’t convince Mir that it’s no biggie for him to be unable to train before the biggest fight of his life.

So what will the UFC do for a main event in May?  The rumor is they may try and replace the heavyweight bout with Rashad Evans making his first title defense against either “Rampage” Jackson or Lyoto Machida.  If true, it would salvage the May event, while also finally indicating that the UFC is no longer in denial about the Mir-Lesnar fight is off.  As any therapist will tell you, acceptance is a painful but necessary first step.

(Well, at least you and Rude Boy will finally be able to open that taco stand you’ve been talking about for the last five years. Again, props to CombatLifestyle.)

Though he was successful in his last performance — a split-decision victory over Evan Tanner at the TUF 7 finale last June — Kendall Grove‘s previous back-to-back losses still seem to be fresh in Dana White’s mind. As the UFC prez told USA Today, in regards to Grove’s UFC 96 matchup with Jason Day:

It’s cool, Dana — we forget about Travis Lutter sometimes, too. Anyway, that’s what we call "tough love." Is it possible that DW is suggesting that Da Spyder’s job is on the line just to add another hook to Saturday’s show, which has very little heat behind it right now? Grove had better win, just in case his boss backs up his words.

Also in the USA Today article, Dana expressed frustration at Keith Jardine’s recent comments that he wouldn’t fight his friend and teammate Rashad Evans for the UFC’s light-heavyweight title if he was given the opportunity:

It is aggravating when team alliances get in the way of compelling matchups (see also: Anderson Silva staying out of the light-heavyweight division because "this belt belongs to Lyoto"), but you can’t force people to fight each other. Danny Trejo tried that once, and wound up getting shot in the gut by Ken Shamrock’s wife. You just never know how people will react when their backs are against the wall…

(‘And to think, my parole officer said I’d never amount to anything.’)

Affliction co-founder Todd Beard has added another restraining order to his impressive resume. MMA Payout reports that the convicted felon/pregnant woman-puncher/elderly person-swindler Beard got into it with the CEO of Silver Star Casting, Luke Burrett, who then went out and got the restraining order (which can be viewed here) to stop Beard’s “harassment.”

If you’re not familiar with Silver Star, they make clothes that are very similar in douchieness to Affliction’s, only slightly more ‘consumer-friendly punk rock meets mall food court’ and less ‘appropriated symbols from other cultures meets skulls and shit,’ which is Affliction’s domain.  Silver Star also sponsors several MMA fighters (check out their comparatively cheap Rashad Evans t-shirt, for instance), and used to work together with Affliction until the companies had a dispute that led to Silver Star trying to make nice with the UFC.

Things supposedly got worse after UFC 94, which featured the man sponsored by both Affliction and Silver Star, Georges St. Pierre, who had previously been given permission by Affliction to wear Silver Star into the Octagon.  Preliminary reports indicate that no one outside the two companies noticed or gave a damn.  But leave it to Todd Beard to make an issue of it.  

That guy seems to know only one solution to every problem, and it involves threatening someone.  Should we be surprised that this is the kind of mind partly responsible for spawning Affliction?  We should not.  But hey, wait a minute, didn’t Beard supposedly resign from Affliction?  Maybe it’s just a coincidence that he’s now harassing the CEO of a company Affliction’s been having problems with lately.  Could be that was part of his normal, every day harassin’, and didn’t have anything to do with his business harassin’.  You gotta keep those separate, you know.

The Penn/St. Pierre chapter of UFC Primetime came to an end last night, with both fighters wrapping up their training camps and leaving home for the neutral ground of Las Vegas. It was an impressive final episode, particularly for the music and editing — from Rashad Evans‘s epic pimp-entrance in the beginning, to the final montage of both fighters saying their goodbyes to to their families and moving on by themselves. If you didn’t tune in, check out the above highlight reel for a short recap. Running the rock? Awesome. Having Troy Mandaloniz as your main training partner? Not so awesome.

(Rashad’s match with Rampage won’t be nearly this friendly.)

We’re less than two months out from UFC 96 (March 7th, Columbus), and so far the biggest match on the card is Shane Carwin vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. Which means it’s desperation time for the UFC — a time to call up old friends and tell them they’ll only have a ten-week layoff between fights. This just in:

Evans and Jackson emerged from their last bouts relatively unscathed, so it seems feasible. It also might be the only main event available at this point, so it kind of has to happen unless the UFC is cool with Carwin/Gonzaga toplining the event. Even better, it’ll mean that the winner of the Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva match at UFC 94 could challenge for the title in his next fight, as long as he’s willing to wait like five months for it. Damn…just how many times could the 205-pound strap change hands this year?

Semi-related: Remember when we said that Forrest Griffin’s hand injury would sideline him until the fall? Bad information, apparently. According to Forrest’s people, he’ll be back this summer.

(Not his finest moment. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

Following UFC 92, deposed light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin received a medical suspension for a left hand injury, blocking him from competition until late June unless the hand was cleared by an orthopedic doctor. But according to The Sun, the situation has become a little more serious:

Tough break. But on the bright side, this makes a championship bout between Evans and Quinton Jackson even more likely. Though Rampage originally said he wanted to avenge his UFC 86 loss to Griffin before taking another shot at the title, he has since changed his mind, and it’s highly unlikely that he’d want to wait 9+ months for Griffin to heal up anyway. But who knows, maybe Lyoto Machida can pull off some insane finish against Thiago Silva at UFC 94 and convince Dana White than his 14-fight win streak is more title-shot-worthy than Jackson’s one-fight win streak. Unfortunately, Machida will likely be passed over again if he picks up another decision win.

(Respect the tights, or lose the fight.)

Man, you people do have inquisitive minds, don’t you?  Not only do you have a ton of questions, some of you even write whole, coherent paragraphs while asking them.  The least we can do is try and provide you with some answers in another edition of Ask the Potato.

Got a question of your own?  Head on over to the forums (particularly this thread) and let us know.  Go on, don’t be shy.  Remember your first-grade teacher, the one who said there’s no such thing as stupid questions?  Well she was just killing time until happy hour, so forget everything she told you. 

I hear so much about "The Best Pound-for-Pound" fighter. Is this really a legit "title" of worth or just a lot of "hooey"? Is it really, and I mean REALLY, a legit argument to crown someone the best PFP fighter? – Old, Bald, & Irish

Is it a lot of hooey (interesting word choice, OB&I)?  Yeah, basically.  Not only is it not an actual title in the sense that it can be won and defended, it’s also based on subjective judgments and is ultimately a pointless exercise.  But you know what else?  It’s fun.  So that’s why we keep doing it.

The concept of the pound-for-pound title is generally attributed to boxing observers who wanted a way to celebrate “Sugar” Ray Robinson’s greatness.  He was a middleweight, and the boxing world has always revolved around the heavyweights, even more so back then.  So they started calling Robinson the pound-for-pound best boxer, mostly as a way of giving him the credit they thought he deserved.

In the MMA world, we don’t have the same problem.  We love all our fighters, and not just the big boys.  But we keep the concept alive because it gives us something to argue about, and because – much like chaos moves toward order and order toward chaos – the day we created weight classes was also the day we started trying to imagine what it would be like without them.  

In other words, don’t take it too seriously.  Pound-for-pound rankings are more a thought experiment than anything else.  And we all know Anderson Silva wins any p4p argument, anyway.

im a Norifumi Yamamoto and Shinya Aoki fan. is there any possiblity that they’ll fight in the US and i was wondering if ufc (aoki) and wec (yamaoto) are interesed in them when their contracts are up. and also when are their contract r up? – eat my buns

(Photo courtesy of JacksonsMMA.com)

Greg Jackson wants to get one thing straight: he did not start the nipple tweak.  He doesn’t endorse it and doesn’t seem to understand it any more than the rest of us, and frankly he’s getting a little tired of being associated with the idea of grown men pinching their own nipples on TV.  And yet, as long as his fighters keep winning with it, he’s resigned to the fact that it may not be going anywhere.

This is just one of the fascinating topics we covered in our exclusive talk with trainer Greg Jackson.  Read on and see what else he had to say.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me Greg.  I know you must be busy with so many different guys fighting in different organizations.  Tell me, what’s a typical month like for you?  Like the next thirty days, who have you got fighting?

Well let’s see, in the next thirty days we’ve got Donald Cerrone fighting in the WEC in San Diego, and then immediately after that we’ve got Georges St. Pierre defending his title against BJ Penn in Vegas on the 31st, and the after that I don’t have anyone until Nate Marquardt fighting in England on February 21st.  After that it heats up again in March.

Does it ever get hard to keep track of so many different guys and their different game plans and strategies?

It’s my job.  It’s like anything.  If you’ve got a long day ahead of you, you’ve got a long day.  I don’t do anything else.  I don’t manage.  I just train guys and make sure they’re following their own personal growth plan and at the same time that they’re training specifically for their opponent.  That’s all I do all day long.  Sometimes it seems overwhelming, like when I step back and realize I’ve got eleven different game plans working, but as long as I take it one at a time it’s not a big deal.

B.J. Penn keeps insisting that the only reason he lost to GSP the first time was because he gassed out, and says that won’t happen again.  What do you think when you hear some of the stuff he says?

 
Our highlight-video-making buddy Facey has launched a new site called FightFace, where he’ll be compiling the best MMA moments of every month into a single convenient clip. As far as source material is concerned, it doesn’t get much better than December 2008, which is the subject of Facey’s first installment. See above for the craziest stoppages from the TUF 8 finale, UFC’s "Fight for the Troops," WEC 37, UFC 92, and Fields Dynamite!! 2008. It’s an awesome project so keep your eye on it and show some support.

Also: If you don’t think it’s too early in the day to watch bikini-clad chicks gyrate at an MMA ring girl competition, you may want to watch the clip after the jump.

(‘It’s not a skirt, you assholes.  The Romans wore these. Read a book.’)

The surprises just keep coming for the New Year’s Eve K-1 Dynamite show.  Jerome Le Banner is sick with the flu and has been forced to pull out of his fight with Mark Hunt, and Melvin Manhoef has agreed to take his place.  Despite the incredible weight difference between the heavyweight Hunt and the sort of middleweight Manhoef, the two will fight an MMA bout under “Dream rules” for three five-minute rounds.  

Is it a good idea for Manhoef, a vicious striker with an almost non-existent ground game to face a much heavier and damn near impossible to knock out fighter like Hunt, who also packs a serious wallop of his own?  Short answer: no.  No, it is probably not a good idea.  Especially on short notice.  But unlike many of the other bad ideas on the Dynamite NYE show, this one I’d actually love to see. 

Dammit, Japan.  Just when I want to curse your lack of rules and regulations, you go and do something like this to leave me more conflicted than ever.  I just can’t quit you.

In other news…

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

The UFC handed out $1,561,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses for Saturday’s "Ultimate 2008" card, with the fighters in the three main events taking home the lion’s share. Quinton Jackson came out on top, adding a $100,000 win bonus and $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus to his $225,000 base salary, while Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira came in second place simply on the basis of his meaty quarter-million-to-show payout. Complete figures are below: 

Quinton Jackson: $385,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus, $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: $250,000
Wanderlei Silva: $200,000
Rashad Evans: $190,000 (includes $65,000 win bonus, $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Forrest Griffin: $160,000 (includes $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Frank Mir: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Cheick Kongo: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Yushin Okami: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
Antoni Hardonk: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
CB Dollaway: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

(Sonic Boooom!  Photo courtesy of NBC Sports.)

On my way through the MGM Grand to the arena on Saturday night I stopped near the food court to drink my coffee and affix my press credential.  A twenty-something guy saw the UFC logo around my neck and started talking to me about the fights, telling me what a huge Frank Mir fan he was and how he thought Mir was going to kill Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

“I don’t think so,” I said.  “I think Mir’s got the least chance to win of all the guys on the main card.”

“Really?” he said.

“Really,” I told him.  “But hey, if you think he’s going to win, put a bet down.  He’s going off at 3-1.  Although there’s a reason the odds are so high.”

“Yeah, no,” he said, making a face like I’d just told him Santa Claus wasn’t real.  “That’s okay.  Thanks.”

I don’t know who that guy was, or whether he reads Cage Potato (I assume he does, being both an English-speaker and an MMA fan), but I want to apologize to him.  My friend, I’m sorry.  Really, really, sorry.  I hope you, and to a lesser extent, Frank Mir, will forgive me.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s see who’s up and who’s down after UFC 92 via the enjoyably arbitrary numerical ratings of the Potato Index.

Props to CombatLifestyle, Sherdog, UFC.com, Fight! Magazine, TMZ, and the Las Vegas Sun.

#12: Wanderlei Silva celebrates his destruction of Keith Jardine at UFC 84.

#11: Urijah Faber bags himself a couple of sasquatches.

#10: Rashad Evans rushes in to finish an already knocked-dead Chuck Liddell at UFC 88.

#9 (tie): Paul Taylor knocks Chris Lytle’s jaw loose; Taylor gets his foot lodged in Lytle’s mouth.

After the jump: A naked Gina Carano, a punch-drunk Kimbo Slice, and a rather disappointed Joe Stevenson.

(In some cultures, that’s considered a compliment. Props to IrishLew)

Following a shocking night of fights in which Quinton Jackson exacted revenge against his arch-nemesis, two new champions were crowned, and my sure-thing parlay bet was shit all over, the UFC handed out $60k bonuses to the following fighters…

Knockout of the Night: Quinton Jackson, obviously. Though eight of the Ultimate 2008′s ten fights ended in stoppages due to strikes (seven within the first two rounds), Rampage’s left-hook stiffening of Wanderlei Silva was a picture-perfect one-punch KO, and represented a dramatic return to form. Will Jackson/Griffin 2 be next?

Fight of the Night: Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans for their light-heavyweight championship main event. After an even first round, Griffin found his groove, landing strikes with regularity and ending the second frame with an on-the-button superman punch. But Evans proved just how "athletic and explosive" he really is when he knocked Forrest to the ground in the third and finished him off with some devastating punches from the top — becoming the second consecutive TUF winner to hold the 205-pound strap.

Submission of the Night: Nobody, since no fight ended in a tapout. But hey, you don’t like that gay foreplay stuff anyway.

UFC 92 drew 14,103 spectators for an impressive (though not record-setting) live gate of $3.47 million.

Wanderlei Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson couldn’t just get up on the scales and call it a night.  Nope, there had to be a little extra curricular activity, just to further steal the show with their third fight.

It was an intense staredown to begin with after each man made weight at the MGM Grand this afternoon.  The two were nose to nose when Jackson said something that the microphones didn’t pick up, but it must have been naughty because Silva shoved him immediately.  If you want my guess, Rampage was pulling out one of his old bad breath jokes.  Silva has struggled long and hard with gingivitis, and dental stuff in general is a sensitive topic for him.  

Dana White quickly got between them, followed by almost everyone else on the stage, just to play up the drama.  I tell you, it was enough to make you miss Pride.

The rest of the weigh-in went smoothly and predictably.  Frank Mir got booed.  Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Forrest Griffin both got very warm welcomes.  And all fighters made weight (though Dean Lister did have to strip down to hit 186).  The only other excitement was Cheick Kongo pulling the seventh-grade bully move of faking a lunge at Mostapha Al Turk during their staredown.  To his credit, Al Turk didn’t flinch.  Looks like Kongo won’t get those two free punches he was hoping for.

Full weigh-in results are after the jump.  Don’t forget that we’ll be liveblogging all the action Saturday night, so tune in early and often.

(‘You seem like a nice boy.  It’s a shame what Rashad is going to do to you.’)

Merry Christmas, Potato Nation.  In the spirit of giving, we present to you our customary pre-event face-off.  It was either this or a gift card to The Pottery Barn.  So, you know, you’re welcome.  Enjoy the holiday, and all the best to you and yours.  Don’t forget that we’re back on schedule tomorrow and liveblogging UFC 92 on Saturday.  Doin’ work, son.  

Exactly when and how will the three marquee fights end?

BG: Let’s start with the easy one. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira subs Frank Mir via armbar at 2:52 of round 3. And it’s not just because he has better jiu-jitsu and can absorb more damage. He will win because that’s how the TUF 8 story ends. It is written: Big Nog represents everything that is good and pure about this sport, while Mir is the cocky John Kreese–like asshole who didn’t care that the house pranks were interrupting Efrain Escudero’s sleep. (Monster!) Minotauro is going to beat Mir standing for the first two-and-a-half rounds, and then an ill-advised takedown attempt from Mir during the third will blow up in his face, leading to the submission win for Nogueira. We need this to happen, just like we need Lesnar vs. Nog for the real heavyweight title.

If Forrest Griffin can stick to the game plan he had against Rampage — playing it smart and safe, but pouncing when there are opportunities — he’ll beat Rashad Evans in a split decision. Here’s a fun stat: Evans has never won a unanimous decision in the UFC, even though five of his eight Octagon appearances have gone the distance. I’m not saying that judges don’t like him (although who knows, maybe they don’t), but it may suggest that if a fight goes to the scorecards, it’s because he wasn’t able to dominate his opponent. Also, Rashad’s never gone five rounds — Griffin has been there before.

Finally, Wanderlei Silva beats Quinton Jackson via unanimous decision in UFC 92’s Fight of the Night. It’s a difficult outcome to predict because of all the variables separating Silva/Jackson III from the previous two installments but Silva definitely has the advantage. I’m going to give Rampage the benefit of the doubt and say he’s eating normally this week, rather than following his occasional fasting/hallucinating routine. And while Wolfslair might not be the most acclaimed MMA camp in the world, the friendly and nurturing environment he’s found there will give him the confidence he needs to not perform like a shambling wreck. Jackson might get beaten to a pulp, but he won’t be knocked out.

BF: I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of some way Mir might win, just to be contrary, and I’ve got nothing.  He definitely won’t sub Big Nog.  He doesn’t have the cardio or the faith in himself to outpoint him over the course of five rounds.  And if Mir becomes the first person to knock Nogueira out there’s simply nothing left for me to believe in.  Nog submits Mir via rear naked choke at 3:55 of round two.  That’s that.

(Strictly business, baby. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle’s UFC 92 press conference album.)

Important: With the holidays now upon us, our posting will be lighter than usual as we pause to get reacquainted with our estranged families.  But have no fear, Potato Nation, as we have some Christmas Eve and Christmas Day treats planned, then we’re back to semi-normal on Friday.  Naturally, we’ll also be liveblogging UFC 92 on Saturday night, so don’t wander off.

And now, some betting odds for your gambling pleasure, courtesy of the Venetian sportsbook (via Yahoo!).

Rashad Evans +110 v. Forrest Griffin -140
Frank Mir +300 v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -400
Quinton Jackson +110 v. Wanderlei Silva -140
Mike Massenzio +150 v. C.B. Dollaway -180
Mostapha Al Turk +250 v. Cheick Kongo -330
Dean Lister +220 v. Yushin Okami -300
Mike Wessel +300 v. Antoni Hardonk -400
Reese Andy +180 v. Matt Hamill -220
Brad Blackburn +130 v. Ryo Chonan -160
Dan Evensen +130 v. Pat Barry -160

Thoughts…

Dana White’s UFC 92 Video Blog, Ep. 1 – Watch more free videos

The Dana White pre-event video blog returns…kind of.  As White breathlessly explains at the onset, he’s been busy.  So instead of a real video blog covering his event week activities, he’s starting us off with some behind-the-scenes stuff from the Spike TV video game awards.

Highlights here include a meet and greet with Mike Tyson, who almost seems ready to say something to Nogueira about Frank Mir until he’s alerted that Mir is standing right behind him.  Then it’s on to that awkward portion of the evening when an LL Cool J performance turns into a UFC 92 promo.  In case you were wondering whether it was as weird and stilted live as it was on TV, this video clearly answers that question from one of the worst seats in the house — right behind the guy who really loves LL Cool J. 

It’s like it doesn’t matter where you go, whether it’s the movies or an awards show, that guy is always there, standing just in front of you and shouting "Mama said knock you out!"

(Yeah, that’s a dragon on his t-shirt. Go ahead and say something and get your ass whipped right here in baggage claim.)

Rashad Evans is a unique case among UFC fighters.  He’s undefeated, a former Ultimate Fighter winner, and now stands one victory away from claiming UFC gold.  And yet he’s still far from a fan favorite, despite his recent brutal knockout of Chuck Liddell and his rise through the light heavyweight ranks.

With his title shot just a few days away, Evans talks with us about dealing with the criticism, gameplanning for Forrest Griffin, and yes, even the Greg Jackson camp nipple tweak.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with us, Rashad.  Now that fight night is closing in, how has your training camp been?

Training has been good.  I feel really strong and I’ve had a great camp.  I’ve had guys like James McSweeney, Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Joey Villasenor and lots of others in here helping me.  With guys like that you can’t help but have a good training camp.

Your fight with Forrest is being billed as the explosive athlete (you), against the hard worker (Forrest).  What do you think of that characterization?

I can see how people would say that, yeah.  But I think there’s aspects of both those things in each of us.  I think I might be a little better natural athlete, but he can also be a real explosive fighter.  And it’s not like I don’t work hard, either.  I’m not going in there with any expectations of him in that regard.  He’s the champ right now, and you don’t get to be the champ if you’re not a good, explosive fighter.

(Looks like things are about to get rough for digital Forrest.)

Rashad Evans is really excited about being in the UFC 2009 Undisputed video game.  Maybe part of it is because they released some nice little screen shots showing him getting his dominate on against Forrest Griffin, or maybe he just wanted to seem extra-enthusiastic so as not to risk a Jon Fitch-like predicament at any point in the future.

Either way, check out what Evans had to say to IGN.com about what being in the game means to him:

"I never thought I’d be in a videogame, and I’m happy about that. To be a part of the whole organization and to be a part of the videogame, that’s my immortality right there. I may die next year, or in the next couple of days or whatever, but I’ll always be in that videogame."

Whoa, take it easy.  I can understand being pretty pumped about having your mug in a video game (the closest I ever came was making a character who looked kind of almost like me in the old Pride game – he specialized in Thug Jitsu, naturally), but it does not make you immortal.  I mean, look at Danny Sullivan, of Danny Sullivan’s Indy Heat.  He’s not immortal, and it was his game!  You’re a character in the game, and even Doink the Clown can say that.

To be honest, though, the screenshots do look pretty sweet, so I can almost understand why Evans is so happy he thinks he can die now.  Check out  a couple more after the jump.  Looks like the THQ people see Forrest spending a lot of time on his back at UFC 92.

(Props: BloodyElbow)

Dave Kaplan wonders where the "Tenderness" is during his cage-entrance at the TUF 8 finale on Saturday; it certainly wasn’t in the arms of Junie Browning. More video awesomeness after the jump.