(Better get the next ice-pack ready. Photo courtesy of Yardbarker.)

Alright, let’s get to it…

— After an injury forced Josh Thomson to drop out of his Strikeforce rematch with Gilbert Melendez, a replacement has reportedly been found, according to The Fight Network. Taking on Melendez at Saturday’s "Shamrock vs. Diaz" event will be Rodrigo Damm, an 8-2 veteran of Bodog Fight and Sengoku. Damm hasn’t competed since last August, when he was choked out by Eiji Mitsuoka at Sengoku Fourth Battle.

— Winless since his WEC debut against Cub Swanson in December 2007, Jens Pulver will be given another chance to score a victory at WEC 41 (June 7th, Sacramento). Lil’ Evil will be facing 20-year-old up-and-comer Josh "The Fluke" Grispi (12-1), who has gone 2-0 in the WEC with first-round stoppages over Mark Hominick and Micah Miller. WEC 41 will be headlined by the rematch between Urijah Faber and Mike Brown.

— TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah has an opponent for his much-delayed return at UFC 101 (August 8th, Philadelphia). MMA Weekly confirms that Sadollah’s welterweight debut will come against Johny Hendricks, a 5-0 transfer from the WEC’s defunct 170-pound division who won a unanimous decision over Alex Serdyukov at WEC 39 last month. Also on the card will be another welterweight bout between Tamdan McCrory (who’s coming off a submission victory over Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 in March) and John Howard (who most recently won a Fight of the Night bonus for his split-decision victory over Chris Wilson at UFC 94 in January). UFC 101 will be headlined by the lightweight title scrap between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian.

(Ryan Magidan: The dude can kick.)

This week’s installment of "The New Guys" will be a brief one — there are only two Octagon first-timers on Saturday’s UFC 96 card. But both fighters are undefeated ass-kickers with the potential to shake things up in their divisions. So pay attention, because it’s time for us to drop some knowledge…

MARK MUNOZ (LHW)
?Experience: 5-0 record, with appearances in Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championship. Last two fights were in the WEC, where he scored first-round TKOs over Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros.
Will be facing: Matt Hamill (5-2, all fights in the UFC)
?Lowdown: "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" comes from a decorated amateur wrestling background; while competing at Oklahoma State University as a 197-pounder, he scored two Big 12 titles and became the first Filipino-American to win a Division I National Championship. It was Munoz’s friend Urijah Faber who first convinced him to try his hand at MMA, and Munoz now trains out of Faber’s Ultimate Fitness gym in Sacramento. Jesus is his homeboy.

RYAN MADIGAN (WW)
?Experience: 5-0 record (all wins by stoppage within the first two rounds) in regional leagues including Gladiators Cage Fighting and Close Quarters Combat.
Will be facing: Tamdan McCrory (10-2, 2-2 UFC)
Lowdown: A ferocious striker, Ryan "The Lion" honed his kickboxing chops in Chuck Norris’s World Combat League, and is the current IKF East Coast middleweight champion. The Ohio-based fighter is a member (and striking coach) of the Jungle Fight Team, where he trains under Chris Chard, and is also an instructor at the Evolve Training Center in Medina, OH. According to his bio, his favorite TV show is The Bachelor. Seriously?