(McCorkle’s most recent performance: A first round submission via kimura loss to Satoshi Ishii at IGF – Genome 24 via Youtube user Sohc Honda.)

Ladies and gentlemen of the Potato Nation, the creme de la creme of freak show MMA fights has just been booked. No, we’re not talking about Canseco vs. O’Neal or Zimmer vs. Martinez II (the latter of which is as elusive as the great white buffalo). We’re talking about McCorkle vs. Pudzianowski, the SHW showdown years in the making that has finally become a reality. Now, you might be asking yourself, “Danga, how is this the aforementioned pinnacle of freak show fights, you good for nothing piece of hyperbolic human garbage?” Well first ask yourself the three prerequisite questions necessary to determine any great freak show fight, you cold-hearted son of a bitch.

1. Does it feature a crossover MMA fighter who comes from a flamboyant, unknown, or completely fictitious background? Yes…yes it does.

2. Will at least one of the participants show up to the fight weighing no less than 300 pounds? You bet your fat ass!

3. How about the organization; is it shady bordering on incompetent? Brother, don’t even get me started.

(Not pictured: Anything Fallon Fox has actually done in the cage.)

Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t newsworthy — even inspirational — when Fallon Fox first came out as a transgender MMA fighter. Transgender individuals are extremely prone to harassment, discrimination, violence and bigoted stereotyping — all tragically evident by looking at the Facebook posts and tweets that have been directed at Fox since she came out roughly one month ago. I am in full support of her rights to be socially acknowledged and treated as any other woman would be treated outside of the cage.

Yet during this past month, Fallon Fox has received more attention for simply existing (she’s 0-0 since coming out) than most professionals have received for actually fighting. We’ve seen numerous fighters come forward to offer their opinions on whether or not Fox should be allowed to compete against women. Some have managed to do so in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Others have spoken about “it” as if she isn’t even human. For that matter, even people who aren’t MMA fighters have expressed a willingness to compete against her.

Mind you, this was all before Matt Mitrione called Fox “a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” earning him an indefinite suspension from the UFC.

Despite the punishment, UFC fighters are still willing to discuss Fallon Fox — who, let’s remember, doesn’t even fight in the UFC — with reporters. Yesterday, The New York Post published an interview with one of the most talented, popular, and accomplished female fighters of all time, Ronda Rousey. A total of zero questions had anything to do with Rousey’s own future in the sport, instead focusing on how she feels about potentially fighting Fallon Fox:

“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has,” Rousey told The Post. “It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”

(Palelei puts a twelve-second beating on Bob Sapp, then visibly regrets accepting the fight in the first place.) 

Way back in 2007, a towering Australian slugger by the name of Soa Palelei made his UFC debut at UFC 79: Nemesis. In what would turn out to be Palelei’s lone appearance in the organization, the Aussie engaged in a tepid, horrendously sloppy clinchfest with fellow future-castaway Eddie Sanchez. It was easily the worst fight of the night — marred by long stretches of inactivity, a pair of low blows, and an equally anticlimactic ending in which Soa basically called it quits due to some swelling around his eye — and ranked among the worst of the year.

Sanchez, having narrowly avoided being fired by virtue of winning the fight, would lose his next two fights before receiving a mercy execution from the promotion. Palelei, on the other hand, would not be given a second shot in the UFC (perhaps rightfully so) and would spend the next five years compiling a 10-1 record in the hopes that he could someday earn a chance at redemption and Zuffa glory.

Well, according to Palelei’s management team (Paradigm Sports Management), the heavyweight KO artist will finally be given that chance, as he has inked a four-fight deal with the UFC. Palelei stated the following in an official press release that was sent out yesterday:

I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills. With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world. 

(Palelei vs. McCorkle, as reenacted by The Incredible Hulk and the mythical God Loki, respectively. The actual video is after the jump, but this is basically what happened.) 

When we last checked in on Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle, he had just lost a cardio battle to an amorphous blob and vowed to retire from the sport if he ever gave such a pathetic showing again. Unfortunately for Sean, his next scheduled fight was against Soa “The Hulk” Palelei — a fellow UFC veteran who was far more dangerous than the tomato cans McCorkle has padded his record with over the years — at AFC 4 last weekend. Fortunately for Sean, his piss poor cardio had absolutely nothing to do with his downfall this time out, so at least he won’t have to go back on his word. It’s a small victory, sure, but one that most of us would probably cherish if we flew all the way to Australia to land roughly zero punches and get smashed through the canvas by Palelei’s megaton fists of fury like McCorkle did.

Video after the jump. 

When Anderson Silva called out George St. Pierre a little over a week ago, the MMA blogosphere’s reactions ranged from overwhelming enthusiasm to bitter resentment. Being that this is the Internet, the majority of those who voiced their opinions apparently sided in the latter category, dubbing Silva –whom you may recall is a UFC champion — a “lazy coward,” a “bitch,” and a “pussy” whose “bitchassness” would hopefully lead to GSP “smashing his skull through the canvas.” The main issue seemed to be that Silva was calling out someone below him in weight, which therefore made him a bitch considering that Jon Jones would be totally willing to fight him if he were to move up to 205. In your humble opinions, Silva was basically being an O’Doyle and picking on the smallest kid in gym class, which is totally not cool behavior for a supposed pound-for-pound great.

That being the case, we’d just love to hear what you think of this. Last week, former MMA fighter Kit Cope declared that “MMA dudes are vaginas” compared to kickboxers in the above video, successfully drawing the attention and ire of any MMA fighter or fan dimwitted enough to take anything that Kit Cope says seriously. One of those people was CagePotato aficionado Sean McCorkle, a can crushing super heavyweight who spends more time arguing on the UG than any grown ass man ever should. McCorkle took it upon himself to defend the honor of the hundreds of thousands of tens of fighters who found themselves reeled in by the whimsical musings of Kit fucking Cope and posted a lengthy diatribe on his old stomping grounds while “bored on a Friday night.” As is often the case in Internet warfare (and therefore Sean McCorkle), the rant was little more than a series of personal attacks and gay jokes culminating in a futile challenge that has zero chance of coming to fruition in any country other than Japan.

Here’s just a little taste:

Hey, here’s a fun fact for you. You lost to Tiki Goshen. Let me repeat that. You lost to Tiki Goshen. In a fight. That means that if Tiki Goshen broke into your house, and you did not have a gun or other significant weapon readily available, Tiki Goshen would have little trouble subduing you, and rendering you completely helpless in a short amount of time. Then he would he proceed to take your belongings, and/or harm your family in any way he chooses.

This of course begs one to ask what would happen to McCorkle’s family if Brian Heden were to break into his house. You see, Sean? We can pick the low-hanging fruit too!

(McCorkle vs. Heden round 1; round 2 is after the jump. Props: PVTHansen16)

Notably stacked for a regional card, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts‘ debut event went down Saturday night in El Paso, Texas, and was highlighted by an upset in the main event and a handful of UFC vets smashing their way into the win column.

At this point, when Sean McCorkle gets booked against a smaller, doughier opponent with a journeyman’s record, we just assume that “Big Sexy” will bully his way to a first-round stoppage without much difficulty. But WMMA 1′s super-heavyweight main event didn’t go down like that. Though McCorkle (who tipped the scales at 312 pounds) came very close to finishing the 287-pound Brian Heden near the end of the first round, he blew his cardio wad in the process. With McCorkle barely able to lift his arms in round two, Heden was able to reverse a takedown, trap McCorkle’s left arm, and slug his way to a TKO victory. According to Danga, the announcer referred to the win as “the upset of the century.” (Somewhere, Gus Johnson is masturbating.) In a follow-up post on the UG, McCorkle lamented the cardio problems that have plagued his entire athletic career, credited Heden for showing up in “decent shape”* and vowed to retire if his cardio ever contributed to another loss.

In the co-main event, Karo Parisyan snapped a three-fight losing streak when he scored a unanimous decision over veteran Thomas Denny. Even more impressive, Drew Fickett snapped a four-fight losing streak when he choked out WEC/Bellator vet Kevin Knabjian, despite reports that Fickett was pretty well sauced throughout fight week. (Obviously, it could have been worse.)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WMMASPORTS1)

If you’re looking for an MMA fix to get you through until UFC 145, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts is holding its inaugural show on Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

The promotion put together the pretty slick looking promo above for its McCorkle vs. Heden: Fighting For A Better World event that will see a portion of the proceeds from the show donated to the Wounded Warriors project.

In the main and co-main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle will take on a somewhat unknown fighter by the name of Brian Heden and onetime UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will face King of the Cage, EliteXC and MFC vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny. The event will be available for rent via pay-per-view.

During the promo, clips were shown of Parisyan’s first fight — a bare-knuckle scrap he had in Mexico when he was 14 against a 20-something local champion.

Check out the entire impressive fight by young Karo and the complete WMMA fight card after the jump.

(Warren vs. Curran promo, via BellatorMMA)

Bellator’s sixth season kicks off tonight at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, featuring the featherweight championship bout between Joe Warren and Pat Curran, and the season 6 featherweight tournament quarterfinals — you can catch the action on MTV2 starting at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central. But the season has already gotten off to a shaky start, as yesterday’s weigh-ins resulted in one embarrassing scale-failure, and a crime-related no-show.

Tournament participant Genair da Silva crushed the scales at 149 pounds for his bout against Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra. Silva was given two hours to cut down to the 146-pound limit, but was unable to make it happen, and Bellator replaced him on the spot with season 4 featherweight tournament semi-finalist Kenny Foster, who was slated to meet Bobby Reardanz on tonight’s preliminary card.

Sean McCorkle and Josh Shockley also initially missed weight, but nailed it on their second attempts; keep in mind that McCorkle will be fighting in the talent-rich 280-pound catchweight division.

But at least all those guys showed up, unlike some people we know. As CageWriter reports:

(“Chainsaw-f*cking” jokes are so much funnier when Dane Cook does them.)

In their continuing efforts to pick up the best fighters that Zuffa doesn’t want, Bellator has reportedly signed former UFC heavyweight prospect Sean McCorkle to compete on the undercard of Bellator 60, March 9th in Hammond, Indiana. According to Sherdog, his opponent is expected to be Richard “Big Man” White, who has lost ten of his last twelve fights.

McCorkle’s brief spin through the Octagon was highlighted by an agonizing weight cut, a debut victory against Mark Hunt, and back-to-back stoppage losses against Stefan Struve and Christian Morecraft. Since then, he’s gone 3-0 in regional leagues, with all wins by first-round submission. Like many of his early opponents, his last two victims carried losing records. McCorkle is already booked to face Mike Gordon next Saturday at a North American Allied Fight Series event in West Virginia. Gordon is undefeated in sanctioned MMA competition, with a perfect record of 1-0. Christ, Sean, where do you find these people?

(Still got it.)

Another super-fight, up in smoke. Chicago’s MMA informs us that War Machine‘s post-prison return fight against Gideon Ray has been scratched from the main event of Chicago Cagefighting Championship 4 (October 15th; Villa Park, IL). From a press-release sent out by the promoter:

Over the weekend Gideon informed Chicago Cagefighting that he had suffered an injury to his hand and would not be able to compete. To compound problems, War Machine suffered a cut to his chin during training and is not able to train for at least a week. When a suitable replacement for Gideon could not be found, we made a tough decision. With only three weeks to the event we were forced to cancel the entire bout.

Fight Tour’s answer to the UFC’s Harley bonus. (Pic: AftermathMMA.com)

Two former UFC vets trying to climb their way back into the big leagues stepped up one minor, insignificant rung this weekend. What both fighters really need right now is a string of victories, so the names of the men they faced aren’t as relevant as the wins themselves, which is fortunate because you’ve never heard the names of the men they defeated.

Former UFC champion Tim Sylvia took a break from bustin’ perps to climb back into the cage at last night’s “Fight Tour” card. Momentarily standing across the cage from him was Patrick Barrentine, a 9-6 submission specialist. Barrentine took the fight on three weeks notice after a two year hiatus from competition, so he may not have come into the fight as sharp as he would have liked. MMAGoss.com gave a quick recap of the fight, which saw “The Maine-iac” dump Barrentine to the canvas and end the fight via ground and pound in just under three minutes. This was Sylvia’s first fight back since his quick loss to Abe Wagner at Titan FC.

Sean McCorkle made it to the UFC with a big win streak and an even bigger mouth. Though his trash talking abilities do little good when no one’s listening, he did put his experience to good use as he dispatched Alex Rozman on Friday night at “Legends of Fighting 48: Mega”. I’m not certain how much notice Rozman had for the fight, but with a 1-13 record he could have been notified at birth and still not have stood much of a chance in this fight. Just 1:29 into the bout, Rozman tapped out to strikes for the second bout in a row (and third time in his last four fights). This marks McCorkle’s second straight victory since being cut from the UFC following his guillotine loss to Christian Morecraft.

(“Can you tell me what the scale says? I can’t see over my cheekbones.” Props: CombatLifestyle)

By Ben Goldstein

Tired of fad diets? As MMA fighters have proven for years, the best way to effectively take off pounds is to dehydrate yourself until you nearly die — a miraculous system known as “brutal weight cutting.” Here are some of the sport’s greatest success stories…

Sean McCorkle
Lost: 55 pounds in three months, before his submission win over Mark Hunt at UFC 119 (9/25/10)

After charming his way into a UFC contract, Indiana-based super-heavyweight Sean McCorkle was faced with a dilemma — making 265 pounds for the first time since middle school. “Big Sexy” had 12 weeks to come down from his walking weight of 320, which forced him to get very familiar with chicken breast, apples, and oatmeal.

By weigh-in day, it seemed like the world was conspiring against him. “The cut was an absolute nightmare, and the commission scales were off the morning of the weigh-in,” McCorkle explained. “I told them that and the commission said they weren’t. I said I couldn’t possibly be three pounds heavier [on the day of weigh-ins] than I was last night when I didn’t eat or drink anything. So I went to cut an extra three pounds that morning. It took me two hours to cut the weight. Then I weighed in at 263 pounds and I wanted to strangle somebody.” Compared to that, making Mark Hunt cry “uncle” with an armlock was the easy part.

Jake Shields
Lost: 20 pounds in one day before his split-decision win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 (10/23/10)

(Right back atcha, buddy.)

After consecutive stoppage losses to Stefan Struve in December and Christian Morecraft last month at ‘Nogueira vs. Davis‘, Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle has been released by the UFC, according to FiveOuncesofPain.

McCorkle’s path to the UFC was completely unprecedented. Before getting called up to the big show, the Indianapolis-based fighter was 9-0 as a superheavyweight, and had never competed at 265 pounds. But his “Internet fame” as an outrageous poster on the Underground Forum helped put him on the UFC’s radar, and he was signed for the opening bout at UFC 119 in his hometown. McCorkle did a few brilliant pre-fight interviews and went on to submit PRIDE/K-1 legend Mark Hunt in just 63 seconds. Unfortunately, it would be the last time he’d find success in the Octagon.

McCorkle has not yet released a statement on the UG, and his last tweet was something unrelated about McDonald’s, early this morning. We wish Big Sexy all the best in his future endeavors…

“What’s wrong? You’re not upset about that whole ‘stand and bang’ thing, are you?”

Odds are good that last night’s fights didn’t play out exactly as you’d envisioned them. Whereas many thought the headliner would be decided by a strict adherence to fundamentals like boxing and wrestling, the allure of the card’s other fights was their potential for wild, unrestrained fisticuffs . Whether we simply expected a couple of slugfests based on previous fights or due to outright lies, last night’s competitors exercised some unexpected caution and took a more thoughtful approach to victory.

(“I’ll [troll] you ’til you love me, [buddy].” #famousmiketysonquotes / Photo courtesy of the UFC Fight Night 24 Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

Possible spoilers after the jump. Read on if you dare…

(Phil Davis’s latest video blog from kimura.se. Check out that river of sweat at 2:20. Nasty.)

Couple things to make y’all aware of. First of all, CagePotato.com will be providing live results from the Spike TV broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis, this Saturday night beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Please come by and bring snacks.

Also, before the main card kicks off on television, Facebook.com/UFC will be hosting another live streaming broadcast from the prelims. This time, we’re getting a full five fights beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. They will be:

(Ah, yes. The glory days. Photo via fighters.com)

Currently riding a six-fight losing streak with all losses coming in the first round, PRIDE/K-1 vet Mark Hunt last competed at UFC 119 in September, where he fell victim to a Sean McCorkle armlock in just 63 seconds. Hunt’s UFC debut was part of a contractual obligation carried over from his days in PRIDE, and we figured we’d seen the last of him in the Octagon when he lost in such garbage-ass fashion. And yet, the UFC has added the Kiwi kickboxer to the lineup of UFC 127 (February 27th; Sydney, Australia). Oceania represent?

Hunt will be taking on Team Deathclutch member Chris Tuchscherer, who’s also skating on thin ice, contract-wise. Tushcherer has gone 1-2 during his stint in the UFC, winning a razor-thin majority decision over Tim Hague between first-round knockout losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Brendan Schaub. As Gonzaga himself might say, loser, you are a fired. In other heavyweight news…

(That shouldn’t be a problem, Todd. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- Helwani VS Dundas: UFC 125 Edition (Versus MMA Beat)

- Our Top UFC Photos of 2010 (MMA Fighting)

- Tim Sylvia replacing Todd Duffee at Titan Fighting Championships 16 (Five Ounces of Pain)

- The Best of Japanese MMA in 2010 (MMA Scraps)

- Brock Lesnar Looking For A Way Out Of MMA And Back To Pro-Wrestling? (SBNation.com/MMA)

- Sean McCorkle Returns Against Christian Morecraft at Fight Night 24 (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Pat Miletich Has Sold His Miletich Fighting Systems Gym (MiddleEasy)

- Exclusive Interview: Daniel Gracie talks Bellator, Georges St. Pierre and Frankie Edgar (LowKick)

- Dana White’s UFC 125 Video Blog, Part 1 (MMA Convert)

- Behind the Lens: Rich Franklin (FightMagazine)

(Lentil mash and tofu-rhubarb scramble for everybody! PicProps: UFC.com)

Mac Danzig came to the cage at UFC 124 bumping the Misfits – Ironic? Or just apropos? Hard to say – and looking like his face had aged a decade since the last time we saw him. Maybe it was just the new haircut or maybe the stresses of losing four of his last five while maintaining a sustainable and socially conscious lifestyle were finally getting to him. In any case, the most disappointing “TUF” champion this side of Kendall Grove bought his UFC career some bonus time on Saturday night, stupefying Joe Stevenson with a backpedalling left hook straight to the off switch just under two minutes into the first round. In the immediate aftermath, nobody looked more shocked that Danzig, who ran around the cage showing off the kind of genuine outpouring of emotion we’re not used to seeing from progressive yet earnestly straight-laced vegans.  

He’d pulled himself together by the time Joe Rogan tracked him down, claiming the knockout came via good old-fashioned videotape analysis of Stevenson’s striking attack. Danzig also credited the win to the fact that he’d “finally learned” how to throw his left hook with power. It’s always a little weird when a guy who’s been a pro-fighter for, oh, nine years says something like that. Anyway, we’re happy for the kid and, suffice it to say, there were some legitimate surprises on last night’s supporting card.

(Koscheck showing the Canadian customs agent his passport.)

Well, tonight’s the night we get to see if Josh Koscheck is full of shit or if he really has improved exponentially more than UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has since the last time they met three years ago.

I find it interesting that in the UFC 124 previews the UFC is touting Kos as some kind of pugilistic wrecking machine when he has only won one fight by KO and two by TKO since 2006 and the guys he beat (Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Frank Trigg and Dustin Hazelett) aren’t exactly known for their durable chins.

If I had to make a surefire prediction for the main event bout, I’d say that Koscheck’s ego has not gotten over the fact that GSP, who didn’t even wrestle in high school, outwrestled a division one champion like him, and he will likely try to prove himself on the mat and not on the feet. 

It may have been a coincidence, but Kos’ American Kickboxing Academy teammate, Phil Baroni backed my inclination when he told us this week that the peroxided prick is a way better wrestler and that he will control the fight with his wrestling. I’m guessing that Baroni was around when the AKA coaches worked on implementing Kocheck’s game plan for the fight during training and may have included portions of it in his own prediction, kind of like his plethora of "borrowed" daily Twitter quotes he intertwines with his own personal NYBA witticisms.

Whatever the case may be, it should be interesting to see if GSP lets him execute anything before he puts his own strategy into motion.

Let’s get this thing going.

**SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP**

(Good ol’ Sean McCorkle. Trolling to the bitter end. / Photo courtesy of the UFC 124: Weigh In pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck II goes down tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, and CagePotato will be liveblogging the pay-per-view broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.  To help get you in the proper spirit, Ben Goldstein and Doug "ReX13" Richardson have returned to squabble over all the important storylines. Does Josh Koscheck have any chance at an upset? Are UFC fighters becoming boring overall? Which of UFC 124′s lightweights are dead weight? Who gives worse gambling advice, Ben or Doug? Do us a favor and slog through this painfully long column, then let us know your own thoughts in the comments section.

Assuming we both think GSP is going to rout Josh Koscheck on Saturday, what does Koscheck need to do to earn your respect in this fight?

BG: Well, he’ll have to avoid getting finished, first of all–

RX: Word.

BG: –and he’ll have to win at least one of the five rounds. That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask–

RX: HA!

BG: –but nobody’s been able to take a round from GSP since — wait for it — Josh Koscheck kind-of won the opening frame of their first meeting at UFC 74, over three years ago. Seriously. If Kos can avoid a 50-45 shutout on all three judges’ cards or an ugly TKO loss, he will have done better than Matt Hughes, Matt Serra (in their rematch), Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, and Dan Hardy. That would be a hell of an accomplishment.

So how can he pull it off? Koscheck only holds one real advantage over the champ: Punching power, which he’s used to flatten guys like Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Frank Trigg. Kos just needs to stuff St. Pierre’s takedown once in a while, and then put his fist on Georges’s chin, as he so confidently promised on TUF. A hard shot, well-placed, will wobble GSP — maybe enough to allow Josh to score a takedown of his own. Obviously, I don’t see that happening consistently in the fight, but if it even happens once, I will lose my shit.

Just a reminder that we will have the live stream of the weigh-ins for tomorrow night’s UFC 124 event in Montreal today at 4:00 pm ET.

Tune in and see if Josh Koscheck tries to goad GSP into slapping him in the face with a glove or, if Stefan Shruve presents Sean McCorkle with a copy of the winning Photoshop contest entry or if Edith Labelle is being brought in from the stable for one last trot around the Octagon..

Whatever happens, the Canadian fans should make it very hard to hear what the hell Joe Rogan is screaming.

As always, the UFC media player is after the jump.

(Video courtesy BREAK/UFC.com)

If you missed the Countdown to UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck show on Monday, we got you covered.

One of the most intriguing parts of the St-Pierre-Koscheck segment of the show came courtesy of Kos’ ex-college wrestling coach who said that the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter’s assholish persona is not an act. According to the coach, Koscheck who was not well-liked by his college teammates once nearly came to blows with a fellow wrestler in the change rooms and was known as a bit of a loner. He said that he didn’t bat an eye at the way his former charge was portrayed on The Ultimate Fighter, because he remembers him being a bit of a dick.

We’ll have more on Koscheck’s abrasive personality from his AKA teammate, Phil Baroni on tomorrow’s UFC 124 edition of The Bum Rush. 

It’s also worth noting from the countdown show that Koscheck, who was involved with Bobby Southworth in taunting that "fatherless bastard" Chris Leben on TUF 1 was raised very modestly by a single mother and seems very bitter as a result. Maybe Josh just needs a good hug to make him stop being such a prick. Too bad he says he’ll never fight Jon Fitch.

Check out the rest of the countdown videos after the jump.

(Video courtesy YouTube/Bosh4ffl)

Just a friendly reminder that we will have the feed of today’s UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck press conference from Montreal which will go live starting at 1:00 pm ET.

Will Josh Koscheck stop being a dick long enough to show an ounce of due respect to his opponent prior to their fight?

Will GSP let his guard down and tell Josh to go f*ck himself with a bottle of maple syrup?

Will Sean McCorkle attain Chael Sonnen’s title of best smack talker in the UFC?

All of these question and more will be answered this afternoon.

As always, the UFC media player is after the jump.

(Jeez, Georges, casual Friday? Vid courtesy of ESPN.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Helwani vs. Dundas: MMA Awards Edition (Versus MMA Beat)

– ‘Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu’ Media Conference Call Highlights (LowKick)

– UFC-WEC Merger Brings Excitement, Warning About Jobs on the Line (MMA Fighting)

– CSAC’s George Dodd Pokes Holes In Chael Sonnen’s Rumored Testosterone Defense (MMA Convert)

– Prodigimon: Which BJ Penn Will You Get on Fight Night? (MiddleEasy)

– Mike Swick and Frank Shamrock Engage in Online War of Words (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Anthony Pettis Discusses ‘Fast Track to a UFC Title’ (FIGHT! Magazine)

– Alistair Overeem Discusses Steroid Accusations With Michael "The Voice" Schiavello" (MMA Scraps)

– Sean McCorkle Addresses Internet Fame, Trash Talk, and Stefan Struve (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Joe Rogan Calls MMA Writer a ‘F*ggot’, Internet Explodes (SBNation.com/MMA)

(Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante trains like a beast for his fight against Josh Thomson at "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II" this Saturday. Props: GenghisConFilms)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle Planned for UFC 124 in Montreal (MMA Fighting)

– Ed Soares’ Dream for Jose Aldo? Super-Fight Against Frankie Edgar (Versus MMA Beat)

– Gina Carano Lands Her Next Major Movie Role, and More Juicy Rumors (MiddleEasy)

– Is Bad Sportsmanship Just Part of the MMA Fight Game? (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Gerald Harris and Phil Davis Get Main Card Slots at UFC 123, Karo Parisyan and Tyson Griffin Stuck in the Prelims (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Nevada State Athletic Commission Makes Half-Baked Changes To Drug Testing Policy (Watch Kalib Run)

– 5 Fights You Shouldn’t Miss This October (LowKick)

– Is Frankie Edgar the #2 P4P Fighter in the World? Dana White Thinks So… (MMA Convert)

– Crazy Slugfest from K-1 MAX Grand Prix (MMA Scraps)

– Jake Shields: The Specialist [VIDEO] (FightMagazine)

(VidProps: YouTube/Ariel Helwani)

As we found out on a recent episode of The Bum Rush, UFC rookie and Indianapolis local Sean McCorkle understands at least one constant in life: Nobody likes an angry giant. When you’re as physically imposing as McCorkle – he’s 6-foot-7 and says he started his “living nightmare” weight cut for UFC 119 at around 320-pounds – you basically have no choice but to be jolly. It’s just the more socially acceptable thing to do. As McCorkle reaffirms in this video interview with Ariel Helwani, the big fella’s got jokes, alright.

McCorkle is so legitimately amusing here that he doesn’t even break out his best material until the six-minute mark, when he starts talking about his bitch of an ex-wife. He claims he never considered fighting anything more than a hobby until said bitch “pretty much took all his money” in a divorce about a year and a half ago. Since then it’s been full speed ahead, running his professional record to 9-0 before being tabbed as the guy to welcome Pride veteran Mark Hunt to his contractually-obligated Octagon debut on Saturday.

“Boy, does your ex-wife feel stupid now,” Helwani says.

“She felt stupid to me before,” McCorkle deadpans. Hi-yo!

 
(Who the hell is this guy? I thought you said Mark Hunt was coming here.)

Former PRIDE and K-1 star Mark Hunt is taking his last kick at the can of his mixed martial arts career seriously as evidenced by the photo above. Not only has he transformed his body from its rotund former self, he has also joined American Top Team, where he will spend the last month of his training camp preparing for his September 25 UFC debut opposite former fellow super heavyweight, Sean McCorkle at UFC 119 in Indianapolis.

Hunt’s critics have always pointed to his lack of conditioning and the fact that he didn’t train with a top-tier team in his native New Zealand as the reasons why he never got past his role as gatekeeper in PRIDE. Even fights that Hunt was winning, he always seemed to find a way to lose, usually as a result of his lack of cardio or his lack of a ground game.

(Stay Gomi, Ponyboy. Stay Gomi.)

Well Potato Nation, it’s the Friday before a major MMA event, and as such, we put together another episode of The Bum Rush to keep your cynical and demanding asses entertained for an hour and change whilst you whittle away the remaining hours of the work week.

In this episode, we welcome Cage Potato contributor Dallas Winston to our round table discussion and speak with Internet sensation and undefeated UFC newcomer, Sean "The Big Deal" McCorkle (feel free to use that nickname, Sean) who takes on former PRIDE star Mark Hunt at UFC 119 September 25 in his home state of Indiana.

As always on the show, Ben and Mike give their takes on the week’s hot news stories and dissect the upcoming fight cards by consulting their Ouija boards and magic 8-balls to help make their fight predictions.

Check out the show and post your feedback and questions for future editions of The Bum Rush Mail Bag.

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(Always be specific when you order "Brazilian twins" from the local escort service. You could get badly burned. Trust me guys, *badly* burned…)

Sherk vs. Dunham? Who cares! Lots more UFC 119-related news just came over the wires, and it looks like the people of Indianapolis are going to be in for a wild night, even if the main event is somewhat lacking in importance. Here’s what we’re dealing with…

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir: This will reportedly be the evening’s headliner. Hmm. If you’ll recall, the two former champions coached against each other on TUF 8, then Mir shocked our asses by TKO’ing Nogueira at UFC 92. Nogueira blamed his weak performance on a staph infection, so maybe this fight will turn out differently, but basically we’re being given another UFC main event where both guys are coming off losses, and the winner doesn’t even become the division’s #1 contender. Personally, I was more interested in a Big Nog vs. Cro Cop rematch. 

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader: Now we’re talking. Lil’ Nog needs to redeem himself after nearly getting beat by late replacement Jason Brilz at UFC 114, while Ryan Bader is looking sharper every time out, most recently knocking out Keith Jardine at UFC 110. If Bader can out-hustle the Brazilian vet, he’ll land directly in the light-heavyweight title mix.