10 Struggling MMA Fighters That Will Bounce Back

Tag: Shane Carwin

Velasquez Feels He’s Ready for Lesnar; Says He Plans to go Frankie Edgar On His Ass


(Video courtesy HDNet)

Cain Velasquez will be on the next edition of Mike Straka’s Fighting Words interview show tomorrow night and it’s seems that the undefeated American Kickboxing Academy product who is preparing to challenge UFC heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar October 23 at UFC 121 in Anaheim, California is prepared both mentally and physically for the fight.

Velasquez says that the biggest challenge in preparing for a juggernaut like Lesnar was finding guys to mimic his power, speed and wrestling skill set, but he feels he is ready.

"I think getting guys his size with strong wrestling credentials [into AKA] 
and really getting myself in bad positions and getting out of them. I don’t think it’s a point of avoiding those bad positions; I think it’s getting in those bad positions, getting out of them — really getting comfortable in those bad positions," Velasquez said. "You definitely gotta work on everything. You definitely gotta work on the stuff that [Brock] is really good at."

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Erik Paulson Presaged Lesnar’s Arm-Triangle Win Over Carwin, Says Brock Needs ‘Guys That Actually Can Throw Down’ in his Camp


(VidProps: YouTube/FightHubtv)

Somewhere at his house, Erik Paulson has a piece of paper with his prediction for Brock Lesnar’s UFC 116 fight with Shane Carwin written on it: “Brock Will Win Round 2/3 via Shoulder Triangle Choke.” At least that’s what the mixed martial arts O.G. claims in the above video with FightHubTV.com. And sure, we have no idea if that piece of paper really exists or when exactly Paulson scribbled down his stunningly accurate premonition of Lesnar’s victory, but just one look at the 44-year-old former Shooto champion’s weathered face in this vid and you get the impression this is a dude who knows how to prognosticate the outcome of a cage fight.

In fact, given Paulson’s long and storied history in MMA and martial arts in general, it’s sad in a way that he’s now introduced simply as “one of Brock Lesnar’s trainers.” Paulson after all was blazing a trail in the fight game back when Lesnar was still terrifying sophomore chicks at Webster High in South Dakota. Maybe it’s that extensive experience – or maybe I’m reading too much into this – but Paulson seems (at about the 5:20 mark) just a bit contemptuous of some of the things that are going on out at Lesnar’s private DeathClutch training center in Minnesota.

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club: Is It the Shoes?


(Cain Velasquez‘s new Lugz commercial. Yeah, he smashed that. Props: YouTube.com/MMAFightClub)

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…

– Punch Drunk Preview: WEC 50 (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Cro Cop Says He’s Not Ready for UFC 119 but Still Guarantees a First Round Knockout (MiddleEasy)

– Backstage: Ariel Helwani vs. Ed Soares (MMA Fighting)

– Total Fighter Payroll for Strikeforce Challengers Phoenix: $53,250 (MMA Convert)

– 10 Taekwondo Knockouts That Will Blow Your Mind (MMA Scraps)

– Shane Carwin still silent on steroid connection; media as well (Watch Kalib Run)

– Pettis: ‘Roller Doesn’t Want Any Part of My Stand-up’ at WEC 50 (Versus MMA Beat)

– Chael Sonnen Syndrome: Urijah Faber trash-talking his way to the WEC Bantamweight Title shot? (LowKick)

- Rafael Cavalcante: “I have been working hard for not just this fight, but for my dream, every day for six years.” (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Strikeforce Houston: Noons & Gurgel on Standing and Banging for a Title Shot (FIGHT! Magazine)

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Carwin Named in Federal Steroids Case, Newspaper Report Says


(PicProps: Squabbles.com)

The name of former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin appeared on a list of 22 professional athletes federal prosecutors allege obtained steroids from a Mobile, Ala.-based pharmacy between 2004-06, according to an internet report published on Friday by the Mobile Press-Register newspaper.

Carwin was among seven athletes – including pro wrestlers Kurt Angle and “Hardcore” Bob Holly as well as four professional bodybuilders – named by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins at the sentencing of Alabama pharmacist J. Michael Bennett. Bennett, one of five men recently found guilty of "participating in a nationwide conspiracy to illegally sell anabolic steroids," was sentenced to four years in prison, according to the report.

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Video: Cain Velasquez Expects Fight With Brock Lesnar to Go Everywhere


(Video courtesy YouTube/ESPN)

Number one UFC heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez was on Friday night’s episode of MMA Live to talk about his upcoming UFC 121 showdown with heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar in October in Anaheim, California.

In the interview, the undefeated American Kickboxing Academy product, who has been sitting out since February waiting for his shot at Lesnar, weighed in on the champ’s win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, the biggest hurdles he will face going up against a guy of Brock’s size,  strength and wrestling pedigree and the advantages he feels he needs to utilize to pull out a win in the fall.

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Shane Carwin Blames Referee Josh Rosenthal for Setting Off Chain of Events that Led to Loss to Brock Lesnar


(Rosenthal, WTF? You made me dump my adrenaline with your sweet talk.)

When Shane Carwin went from the being on the brink of dominantly beating UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar in the first round of their title tilt last Saturday night to feebly succumbing to an arm triangle choke in the second frame, many people were left wondering,"What the hell happened?"

Carwin, who originally claimed that his body locked up as a result of lactic acidosis, now says that his lack of energy to finish Lesnar was a result of a massive adrenaline dump, caused by the instruction of referee Josh Rosenthal

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 116 Edition

Chris Leben UFC 116 punch face mma photos
(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)

Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September — but the fates of all the other winners and losers from Saturday night are still up in the air. So let’s run down a few of the notables and try to determine who they should take on next. You’re really gonna have to start paying us, Joe.

Shane Carwin: Word on the street is that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 117 will receive the next heavyweight title shot after Velasquez, which means the loser could be a good opponent for Carwin’s return fight. Cigano and Big Country are both skilled enough to drag Carwin into round 2, where he’ll either crumble again, or prove to everyone that cardio is not his achilles heel.

Chris Leben: He called out Wanderlei Silva following his unbelievable submission victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the Axe Murderer is down with it. Seems like a no-brainer to us. Who wouldn’t want to see two of the UFC’s most beloved brawlers beat the stuffing out of each other? Dana White says he wants to have Leben fight again soon rather than have him sit out the rest of the year while Silva’s knee heals up. But after two fights in two weeks (and $100,000 in bonus money), we think Leben could use a nice vacation.

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UFC 116 Aftermath: Lesnar’s Win and the Dangerous Line Between Being the ‘Best’ and Being a ‘Bum’


(Many fans in attendance at the MGM Grand were given giant foam fists adorned with UFC gloves, which they drunkenly used to … oh, wait. PicProps: LA Times.)

When last we saw the UFC heavyweight champion on Saturday night he was slapping fives and doing bro grabs with his homies Stone Cold, Paul E. and Good Ol’ JR. And why not? The Dark Lord certainly had reason to celebrate: Though his face was scratched and his forehead bruised, the newly unified 265-pound strap was still around his waist. Maybe he’d even garnered some new fans with the gritty performance he’d just turned in, battling back from an early deficit to emerge victorious in the toughest fight of his career.

But damn it, just barely.

In fact, it’s difficult to know what to make of Brock Lesnar after a showing like this. The victory over Shane Carwin was definitely the most impressive moment of his short MMA career and it admittedly capped the best UFC pay-per-view we’ve seen in a long while. From Lesnar’s comeback to surprising wins from Stephan Bonnar and Chris Leben to the great scraps put on by Chris Lytle, Matt Brown, George Sotiropoulos and Kurt Pellegrino, UFC 116 delivered.

But Lesnar himself? Did he look great en route to the win? The real answer is both yes and no.

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UFC 116 Post-Fight Press Conference


(Now who’s laughing? I mean at my MMA career, not my tattoo.)

Just a reminder that we will have the post-fight presser right here at approximately 1:00am ET.

Will Chris Leben get Submission of the Night and Wanderlei Silva as his next opponent?

Will Sotiropoulos-Pellegrino or Soszynski-Bonnar get fight of the night?

Will Gerald Harris get Knockout of the Night for his slam KO of David Branch or will Dana give it to a main card fighter?

Who is getting dropped and who is getting a title shot next?

All of these questions and more will be answered below.

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UFC 116 Liveblog: The Big Boys are Gonna Try to Rip Each Other’s Heads Off


(Silly Sable, you don’t step in between two giant beasts who are about to rumble)

Here we are with yet another liveblog. Although I don’t agree that Lesnar-Carwin is "the biggest fight in UFC history, I’m pumped to see which one of these behemoths knocks the other one the eff out.

Let’s cut the chit chat and get this party started.

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62 Percent of Pros Agree that Carwin Beats Lesnar Tonight


(“And, presto! The dove vanishes before your very eyes. Now, if I may have a volunteer from the audience, I will amaze you with a trick learned during my extensive travels in the orient …” PicProps: Sherdog.)

There are two ways to look at this: Either the extensive knowledge gleaned from their years of training and competing in mixed martial arts leads a majority of professional fighters to believe Shane Carwin will defeat Brock Lesnar tonight at UFC 116 … or Lesnar’s peers are even more sick of this a-hole than we are and they don’t care who knows it.

Either way, a kind of astonishing 62 percent of pros surveyed by Sherdog.com for its recurring “Pros Pick” piece on Saturday tabbed Carwin to unseat Lesnar, despite the fact he remains a slight betting underdog. Judging from the voter turnout – 61 athletes participated in the super-scientific polling process – The Dog didn’t have to try too hard to get the pros to come out of their shells and voice their opinions, either.

For example, the ever diplomatic Seth Petruzelli weighed-in thusly : “Please, Shane, smash that overgrown non-veggie eating poop stick.”

We assume he meant Lesnar.

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Cain Velasquez Has Still Got Next


(VidProps: MMA Fighting)

Heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez brings a lot of excitement to his fights from bell to bell. In an interview setting? Not so much. Velasquez is a great guy but let’s face it, it’s almost impossible to get him to say anything interesting. Just ask Ariel Helwani, who does about all he can to pry something, anything good out of Velasquez in this video.

In the wake of UFC President Dana White reconfirming this week that Velasquez has got dibs on the winner of Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar, Helwani asks Velasquez who he’d rather fight. Either guy, Velasquez says. Who does he think will win on Saturday, Helwani asks. Depends, Velasquez says. Would the businessman in him rather chase the bigger payday of a fight with Lesnar than Carwin? No, he just wants to fight the best, Velasquez contends. What will we see from him in his next fight? He just wants to get better in all aspects of MMA.

So yeah, pretty much sticking to the script.

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Fact or Crap: Is Lesnar Really Going to Try to Fight Carwin as a Southpaw?


(VidProps: MMA Weekly)

Brock Lesnar could have a lot of things working against him when he climbs into the cage tonight for UFC 116 – a long layoff, possible lingering effects of a career-threatening disease, his most dangerous challenger to date and the concentrated hatred of all the good and decent people of the world, just to name a few. With so much already on his plate, it was a little weird earlier this week when Lesnar disclosed that he used some of the extra time off he had while recovering from that hole God put in his stomach lining to switch from an orthodox striking stance to southpaw for his fight with Shane Carwin.

Maybe it’s the smirk on Lesnar’s face during the opening seconds of the above video, but it’s hard not to wonder: Is Brock just fucking with us? Does he really intend to try to fight Carwin as a lefty tonight? Or is this just some gamesmanship on the part of the former WWE wrestler?

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Reminder: UFC 116 Weigh-Ins Live Right Here at 7:00pm ET, Yo


(Video courtesy YouTube/k4BOSH; footage courtesy ZUFFA LLC)

Just a friendly CP reminder that the weigh-ins for UFC 116 are live at 7:00pm ET tonight.

If watching the UFC’s pre-fight presser at 6:30 doesn’t float your boat, there are some videos to help you kill some time after the jump, including one of Brock Lesnar’s college wrestling matches, a light heavyweight version of Brock in his early days with the WWE and a highlight featuring early and recent clips of Shane Carwin’s bouts and the backstage interviews from the weigh-ins.

Remember to check in with us tomorrow for our UFC 116 liveblog at 10pm ET. If you’ve never joined in the festivities, give it a try. The Potato nation knows how to party like it’s 1999.

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Watch the UFC 116 Press Conference Live at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT

Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin UFC 116
(Will Shane bring the pain, or does Brock have this on lock? Anybody want a peanut?)

UFC president Dana White, heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, interim champ Shane Carwin, and middleweights Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama are all about to take the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena’s Hollywood Theatre for a UFC 116 press-conference. You can follow the presser live on CagePotato.com via the media-player after the jump, starting at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT. If you’re watching, let us know your thoughts in the comments section…

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Dissection by Dallas: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin @ UFC 116

Shane Carwin Brock Lesnar UFC 116 clash of the titans

By CagePotato contributor Dallas Winston

For a match-up of such epic proportions, both literally and figuratively, Lesnar vs. Carwin does not offer a ton of evidence to analyze.

In the grand scheme of the MMA heavyweight scene, both Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin are relative newcomers, as their total career fights combined equates to a number one-half of former god Fedor Emelianenko’s times at bat. In only five fights, Lesnar has shown marked improvement and new aspects of an evolving game in each outing, and even though Carwin specified that his focus is becoming a well-rounded fighter, his right hand alone has left a trail of twelve motionless cadavers in its wake.

My team of MMA scientists submitted the official report from their pre-fight ceremonial ritual — in which bits of evidence are fed into the “MMA Math Machine” to extrapolate key factors that assist in fight predictions — and the findings for both read: Big. Strong. Wrestle good. Punch hard.

As much I’d like to over-glorify things, that’s really what this fight boils down to.

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Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 116 Edition

UFC 116 Lesnar Carwin poster

Well, we’ve got a big UFC event coming up this weekend, which means you should all head over to fightpicker.cagepotato.com (or apps.facebook.com/fightpicker) and make your predictions for UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin. Congrats to FightPicker Grandmaster Aaron Rampey for becoming the first player to crack the 10,000 chip mark. Well done, buddy. That’s gonna look awesome on your CV.

Of course, if you had some balls you’d bet actual money on the fights, and not silly-ass "PotatoChips." As usual, we’d like to help you win some cash for Saturday’s event — or at the very least not take heavy losses. Betting lines are below, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com; if you don’t know what this stuff means, read this first.

MAIN CARD
Brock Lesnar (-130) vs. Shane Carwin (+140)
Yoshihiro Akiyama (-200) vs. Chris Leben (+185)
Chris Lytle (-195) vs. Matt Brown (+160)
Krzysztof Soszynski (-218) vs. Stephan Bonnar (+195)
George Sotiropoulos (-195) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (+160)

SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Brendan Schaub (-295) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (+264)
Ricardo Romero (-145) vs. Seth Petruzelli (+120)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Goran Reljic (-155) vs. Kendall Grove (+145)
Gerald Harris (-245) vs. Dave Branch (+200)
Daniel Roberts (-170) vs. Forrest Petz (+145)
Karlos Vemola (-160) vs. Jon Madsen (+150)

Read on to get that paper…

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Wednesday Morning Link Club: Yep, This Is Really Happening

James Toney
(Props: UFC.com/JamesToney)

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…

– Was Fedor Another Victim of EA’s Cover Curse? (MiddleEasy)

– Shane Carwin: ‘One of Us Will Need Help Leaving the Octagon’ at UFC 116 (MMA Fighting)

– Spike To Telecast Weigh-Ins For UFC 116 Lesnar-Carwin (Watch Kalib Run)

- George Sotiropoulos Will Fight Anyone (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Three Strikes and You’re Out: How Groin Shots Are Changing the Outcome of Fights (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Photo Gallery: M-1/Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum (FightMagazine)

- Fedor Emelianenko’s Career in 69 Seconds (MMA Scraps)

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UFC 116 Video Round-Up: Lesnar Says Carwin Poses No Threat to Him; UFC Fighters Weigh In On Main Event


(Video courtesy YouTube/Zuffa)

Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin have really stepped up the trash talk in the week leading up to their heavyweight title clash Saturday night at UFC 116.

Prior to this point, Lesnar has been uncharacteristically sedate in his pre-fight posturing and seemed almost respectful towards Carwin during a conference call two weeks ago.

Well, apparently Brock got the itch to flip the script and went "WWE" on Shane in the above video.

"I feel no threat by him whatsoever. I don’t feel any threats by anybody."

Considering Carwin has yet to be defeated and has never fought outside of round one in any of his bouts, he may want to consider him a threat.

Cognizant that Lesnar is likely speaking out of his ass, Carwin calls him on the remark as well.

"Brock can talk all the garbage he wants for this fight. When they close that cage and I see Brock across from me, I want to tear him apart."

I know one thing: Somebody is getting hurt in this one.

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The 10 Greatest Undefeated Fighters in MMA

Unless your name is Phillip Miller, you can’t expect to go through a career in cage-fighting without losing at least once. So in honor of Fedor Emelianenko’s first legitimate defeat, we decided to take a look at the best MMA fighters who still have flawless records. Whose “0” will be the next to go? And whose win streak is just getting started? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section…

#1: SHANE CARWIN (12-0, all wins by first-round stoppage)
Shane Carwin UFC
Notable victories:
Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96 (TKO R1), Frank Mir at UFC 111 (TKO R1, won UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship)

Next fight:
Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, 7/3/10

He may very well take his first loss this Saturday, but right now, Shane Carwin is the most dangerous undefeated fighter in MMA — as evidenced by the fact that no opponent has made it to the second round against him, and only two have lasted past the second minute. As he immediately showed in his UFC debut against Christian Wellisch at UFC 84, Carwin has a near-supernatural ability to generate power with his 4XL fists. Though he’s backed by impressive wrestling credentials, he’s only needed those hands to achieve victory in the UFC, knocking out top contenders Gabriel Gonzaga and Frank Mir in his last two fights. Brock, get ready to have your chin tested.

#2: MEGUMI FUJII (20-0, 16 wins by submission)
Megumi Fujii Mega Megu MMA
Notable victories: Lisa Ward at Bodog Fight: Vancouver (SUB R1), Mika Nagano at Smackgirl: Starting Over (SUB R1)

Next fight: Bellator women’s 115-pound tournament quarterfinals, opponent TBA

One of the most effective submission artists in the history of MMA, “Mega Megu” owns the longest active win streak in the sport, but suffers from the same problem that Cris Cyborg is facing in the States — a scarcity of legitimate challengers. Now that she’s signed on for Bellator’s 115-pound tourney later this year, she can prove her reputation as a living legend who can do more than armbar pint-sized scrubettes in Japan.

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

James McSweeney Ultimate Fighter TUF 11 UFC afterparty fist pose
(Rule #17 of the Fighter Fist Pose: Never rest your head on the shoulder of a chubby man in a floral-print shirt, as it will completely negate the fist-pose’s power. / Photo courtesy of the TUF 11 Finale: Afterparty pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Want your highly entertaining and incredibly popular MMA site to be part of the Wednesday morning link club? E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details…

– Fabricio Werdum: ‘I will choke Fedor in the first round’ (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Jan Finney Isn’t Going to “Cuddle” Cris Cyborg (FightMagazine)

– Ten Things We Learned From WEC 49 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Biggest Story Heading Into UFC 116 Is Not Brock Lesnar, It’s Shane Carwin (WatchKalibRun)

– ‘Strikeforce: Los Angeles’ Fighter Salaries (MMA Fighting)

– Kendall Grove Says Spike TV Controls ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Not the UFC (MiddleEasy)

– MMAScraps Radio: Cain Velasquez, Ben Rothwell and Chris Barnett (MMA Scraps)

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Near-Death Experience Brought Out a Kinder, Gentler Brock Lesnar – At Least Outside the Cage


(Old Brock: I hope you choke on that you @$$hole. New Brock:  You have some blood on your face, Frank. Let me get you a wet nap.)

The UFC held a conference call today that featured the promotion’s heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Shane Carwin in advance of the pair’s UFC 116 clash July 3.

The most notable quotes, as usual, came from Lesnar, who spoke at length about his battle with diverticulitis and how the near death experience changed him as a person.

From his opening remarks, it was immediately clear that something was different, perhaps even likeable about this version of Brock.

"It’s a great day. I’m done with training today. I’m going home to my family. My training camp is just about over with. It’s just a good day to be alive. I’m excited. The fight is almost here and it’s just a good day to be alive."

"This is what I love to do. Yes, I’m very humbled that I’ve been given a second chance and a new approach on the fight game. It’s been really great."

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Friday Afternoon Link Dump: War Machine is Going to the Big House

<(Forget Randy Couture and fancy gym equipment; Shane Carwin trains in the desert…the fucking desert!)

– War Machine Tweets that he’s going to the big house for a year (Twitlonger)

– Scott Coker says Shields’ self-perceived value isn’t realistic (MMAFighting)

– CP contributing blogger/fighter Rich Attonito talks wanting to smash Yager’s face Saturday night (MMAJunkie)

– Video footage of War Machine’s bar brawl (MiddleEasy)

– Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum conference call notes (Heavy)

– UFC 115 hat stealer makes ESPN’s "Not Top 10 List (MMAJunkie)

– 25 horrible fake tans (Break)

– ‘Scarface’ in 50 seconds (ScreenJunkies)

– Best American wives and girlfriends (WAGS) (Chickipedia)

– British model Daisy Lowe pics (HolyTaco)

– Need to know home improvement tips (MadeMan)

– LOL race pics (AllLeftTurns)

– Medal of Honour trailer (FileFront)

– Unearthly cleavage (Ebaumsworld)


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UFC Counter-Programming Alert: ‘Ultimate Fights’ to Air This Saturday at 10 p.m. on Spike

Shane Carwin UFC 111
(You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. Photo courtesy of Fight!)

The UFC has been too busy dealing with their own shit to put much effort into screwing with Scott Coker lately [Ed. note: Remember when they were going to hold a rival fight card in Nashville? God, those were were the days.], but yes, there will be a counter-programming show on Spike this Saturday, which will compete with the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. Titled "UFC’s Ultimate Fights," the two-and-a-half-hour compilation special kicks off at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and will feature some of Zuffa’s highlights from this year. On the docket…

Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir, UFC 111: "The Engineer of Suffering" smashes Mir in round one, earning the Interim Heavyweight Championship and a Knockout of the Night bonus.

Leonard Garcia vs. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, Aldo vs. Faber: Greatest slugfest since Frye/Takayama. Inspired a best-selling t-shirt.

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Six MMA Rule Changes That Need to Happen Immediately

Chris Tuchscherer balls UFC MMA low blow groin
(Also, groin kicks will be allowed in cases when one fighter clearly had it coming.)

By CagePotato contributor Jim Genia

In the beginning it was anything goes, with 200-pound karate stylists taking on 600-pound sumo wrestlers and Brazilians feverishly jumping up and down shouting “Vale tudo! Vale tudo!” as they beat opponents with sticks. For a new American promotion called the Ultimate Fighting Championship this made for some serious pay-per-view buy rates, but it also made the general public somewhat upset, so rules were introduced. Suddenly gone was the wrestler’s ability to run down his foe with a tractor. Also gone was the kickboxer’s ability to use a prison-shiv. With a new list of fouls and weight classes, “no-holds-barred fighting” became the MMA we know and love today. Unfortunately, over the course of ten years the evolution of the sport has created a new set of problems, and the time has come to implement some very necessary additional rule changes. Here, in no particular order, are the six most important:

A Two-Round Limit on Dry-Humping
When ground-and-pound turns into lay-and-pray and it becomes painfully obvious that the guy on the bottom can’t stop takedowns and the guy on top couldn’t out-grapple a passed-out teenager on prom night, then watching what transpires is akin to torture. At the last Strikeforce/CBS outing, we learned by round 3 that Gegard Mousasi knew no wrestling and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal knew nothing but wrestling. Every round after that was like watching Twister ™ night at the retirement home: boring, horrifying and sad. There needs to be a two-round limit on dry-humping — maybe stand them up immediately or let them duel with pistols at 20 paces. Anything is better than five rounds of man-loving-man.

Heavyweight Fighters Are Forbidden From Punching in the First Round
Props to CP reader Dan W. for suggesting this crucial rule change. We’re tired of paying big money for heavyweight interim title-fights and headliners, only to have them end abruptly in the first round due to excessive punching. Look, you guys are just too damn strong, and it gives you all an unfair advantage against each other. (Yes, that makes complete logical sense, just trust me.) Since we can’t shrink the size of their 7XL hands, we’ll instead ban heavyweights from throwing leather in the first frame. Wrestle, try some kicks and flying knees, work for submissions — that’s all good. But Shane Carwin‘s uppercuts represent the kind of brutality that this sport doesn’t need right now.

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Six Deuce MMA Poster Contest: Vote for the Finalists!

    
      
(Keep your eyes on the grand prize. Images courtesy of 62Gear.com)

After two weeks of furious photoshopping, we have nominated 15 artists as finalists for our Six Deuce MMA poster design contest. Please spend the rest of your afternoon considering the posters after the jump, then vote for your favorite in the poll over on the right. (It’s a little ways down the page, under the "Most Recent Comments" box and the UFC Fan Expo ad.) Get your votes in by Sunday night at midnight ET. We’ll announce the winners on Monday. Many thanks to everybody who entered, and please show Six Deuce some love for making this happen!

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Heads-Up: Voting on Six Deuce MMA Poster Contest Begins Next Week!

UFC 112 Invincible Basterds Silva Penn Hughes event poster
(Props: Brion S.)

We’ve reached the mid-way point in our massive MMA event poster design contest, and we’ve already gotten some amazing submissions. To inspire the rest of y’all into getting your asses in gear, we’ve decided to post some of our current favorites, which continue after the jump. Please send your poster entries to feedback@cagepotato.com by next Tuesday. We’ll pick some finalists for voting a week from today; the top vote-getter will score a big ass prize-package from Six Deuce, which includes MMA fight shorts, a Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory t-shirt, Muay Thai training gloves, hand wraps, ankle supports, and a leather speed bag. Three runners up will score the shorts — a prize worth $45, just for losing. Please swing by 62gear.com and let ‘em know you care!

UFC 112 Invincible poster Anderson Silva Demian Maia punch-out!! Mike Tyson's Abu Dhabi
(Props: Brian R.)

Chuck Norris Walker Texas Ranger UFC event poster posters
(Props: Steve W.)

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Shane Carwin Wasn’t Exactly 100% on Saturday

Shane Carwin UFC 111
(Photo courtesy of FightMagazine.com)

Funny thing about health problems — when you talk about them after a loss, you sound like a bitch, but when you talk about them after a win, you sound like a champion. In a new post on his website, Shane Carwin revealed what was actually going on when he no-showed the Radio City Music Hall press conference last Wednesday:

The week leading into this fight was hectic. I was unable to get cleared based on the medical records I submitted so I spend a good part of one of the media days in Dr’s offices. I was able to pass the MRI/MRA that was initially in question but the doctors located a new problem. Apparently there was concern that one of the vessels in my brain looked as if it was connected on one end but not the other, the Dr. told me it could be that or could be a vessel that was widening or ballooning but they could not really tell and needed a better test.* It sounded serious and I wanted to fight so I agreed to the test, which involved CT Angiography (CTA). They had to set up an IV and inject a contrast material in me (containing iodine) and named off some possible side effects, this was all fine, but not when you are less then a couple of days out from a fight. The dye made me pretty sick for about the next 24 hours. I was thankful they were being so thorough but it could not have come at a worse time.
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The Potato Index: UFC 111 Aftermath


(That about sums it up. Props: MMA TKO)

With so much MMA action packed into so few days, the Potato Index supercomputer is a bit overworked. It’s even been making a weird whirring sound lately. It sounded like it was overheating late last night, so we poured a bucket of water on it. Haven’t heard the whirring sound since. And to think there are some idiots out there who actually throw money away on an IT staff.

Let’s see who’s up, who’s down, and by how much after UFC 111.

Georges St. Pierre +137
A successful title defense in which he wins every single round, takes virtually no damage, and nearly snaps his opponent’s arm? Sorry, but even without a finish, we can’t find anything to complain about.

Dan Hardy -18
As far as offense, he had nothing for GSP. We expected that. What we didn’t expect is that he’d prove so difficult to put away. The kid has guts, even if he doesn’t have much of a takedown defense.

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UFC 111 Aftermath: Press Conference Notes, Bonuses, and More


(Ariel Helwani chats with Dana White, who says Carwin and Lesnar will face off on July 3 for the real heavyweight championship belt.)

Impressive performances at UFC 111 were worth an extra $65,000 to a few lucky fighters on Saturday night. Kurt Pellegrino nabbed the Submission of the Night bonus for his rear naked choke finish of Fabricio Camoes. Shane Carwin pocketed the Knockout of the Night bonus for battering Frank Mir into a surreal dream state, and prelim fighters Jared Hamman and Rodney Wallace got the nod for Fight of the Night after their three-round slobberknocker that resulted in a decision win for Hamman. Other notes to come out of UFC 111:

- Rousimar Palhares says he’s “really sorry” for injuring Tomasz Drwal’s knee by holding on to that heel hook, but the apology isn’t good enough for the state of New Jersey. The local commission issued Palhares a 90-day suspension for not letting go of the submission more promptly.

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