Satoshi Ishii

(Come on, man — think of all the good times you had here! Photo courtesy of daylife.com)

UPDATE, 12:35 p.m. ET: Cro Cop is official for UFC 99.

The UFC's quest for foreign expansion is hitting some spike-strips, with two big-name fighters potentially slipping out of their grasp. First off, despite his blog-post enthusiasm that led everyone to believe he'd be returning to the Octagon at UFC 99, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic still hasn't signed a contract with the UFC. As Dave Meltzer explains:

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Dana White has been a busy little beaver during his New York media tour, promoting UFC 98 and 2009 Undisputed with a series of television and live appearances. Here are his video blogs from the last two days. Monday's features the requisite Pinkberry visit, some fan meet-and-greet at a GameStop in Times Square, and Dana getting punked by a sidewalk chalk-artist at the very end. Yesterday, he did Opie and Anthony and ESPN First Take, pressed flesh at Nasdaq, and taught Jimmy Fallon how to punch. The vlog cuts off after that, but we're guessing he went back to his hotel room, sat down in the bathtub, and cried for about a half-hour.

(Props: MMA Videos)

Is there such thing as elusive judo?  We may get to find out if this video is any indication of where Japanese judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii is learning the MMA game from.  He even pulls a nice little fireman’s carry on Lyoto Machida at 2:53 in.  You know it’s slick when Machida is smiling even as he hits the mat.

Say this for Ishii, he’s taking his entrance into MMA very seriously and is getting some of the best training he can find.  First he worked out with Randy Couture, and now Machida.  Next maybe he goes to Greg Jackson’s and starts flipping people on their heads.  Better soak it up while everyone still thinks of you as that harmless, nice Japanese guy from the Olympics.  

After the jump, a study in how YouTube’s “Related Videos” feature gets weird in a hurry.

Fox Sports Net aired their Fedor: The Baddest Man on the Planet documentary special last night, in which "the mystique of Fedor is uncovered," and "the secrets of the world's most dominant fighter are finally revealed." And it was pretty damn entertaining, actually. Maybe not quite on the level of UFC Primetime (second episode airs tonight!), but we do get some insight into Emelianenko's state of mind before and during fights, his shadowy training camp in Stary Oskol, his sado-masochistic bath-house routine, and his uniquely awesome way of trash-talking during grappling sessions. ("The crazy is coming. The crazy is going to happen now. It's coming. Very soon.") Parts 1 and 2 are above, and parts 3-6 can be found at YouTube.com/DirtyFedor.

Below: This Japanese TV clip shows Olympic judo gold-medalist Satoshi Ishii visiting Las Vegas, where he steps into the Octagon for the first time, tries on the UFC's "open-finga-glovos," takes some standup tips from Stephan Bonnar, and gives Randy Couture quite a workout.  

(Props: Nightmare of Battle)

After the jump: Frank Mir has something very important to say.

("And when can I meet famous retard Kevin James?" Props to BloodyElbow.)

A few more stories coming out of the Octagon this weekend...

— The UFC has begun exclusive contract negotiations with Olympic gold-medalist judoka Satoshi Ishii, who attended Saturday's event. Said Dana White: "Satoshi Ishii has the potential to be very successful in mixed martial arts...we look forward to helping him with his training, his career, and his eventual debut in a professional fight." Ishii reportedly planned on starting his MMA training with Fedor Emelianenko's Red Devil team in St. Petersburg, Russia, but White talked him out of it, and encouraged him to train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. White also suggested that the 238-pound Ishii drop down to light-heavyweight for his MMA debut.

— Following the kind-of-late stoppage of the Evans/Griffin fight, and the ludicrously late stoppage of the Kongo/Al-Turk fight, the UFC may no longer be requiring the services of referee Steve Mazzagatti.

— Though MMA fans are already clamoring for Evans vs. Jackson, Rampage would rather settle some business with Forrest Griffin first.

— At UFC 92's post-event press conference, Dana White confirmed that Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson would indeed be the main event of UFC 95 (February 21st, London). Sorry, mates.

— Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is open to a fight against Randy Couture. “It would be a nice match,” Nogueira said. "He lost his last fight, but he is still a legend." Likewise, buddy.

— The UFC is looking to return to Chicago in July.

— Of all the fighters who have left the UFC, the only one that Dana White regrets losing is Andrei Arlovski. Could he be welcomed back if this Affliction thing doesn't pan out?