(Cain Velasquez really knows how to spoil a good nap. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Spike TV sent out a press release this morning to announce that they’d be showing a free encore presentation of UFC 110, the event that saw Cain Velasquez hammer Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira into a senseless oblivion, and – wouldn’t you know it? – it airs right at the same time as Strikeforce’s event on CBS on April 17.

Obviously, your hardcore fans are not going to miss a free live showing of Dan Henderson "coming for that belt" against Jake Shields just so they can see some fights that they probably already saw. As great as Ryan Bader’s knockout of Keith Jardine was, it’s not worth missing the Gilbert Melendez-Shinya Aoki fight just to see it again.

But just maybe the UFC is hoping to snag a couple of directionless remote control jockeys who feel like watching some fights but don’t realize it until they happen to stumble upon some. If they come across Spike TV first, maybe they’ll be sucked in without ever realizing/caring that they’re missing live action on CBS. Maybe they live their lives in much the same way, marring the first woman who said yes to a date with them and buying the first car they saw when they flipped open a copy of Auto Trader. Maybe this is a sad, yet oddly satisfying existence. Or maybe Spike TV just doesn’t have much else to offer on a Saturday night.

(Antiperspirant is for pussies, apparently. Photo courtesy of Esquire.)

Though all of the big-money fights scheduled for the spring/summer promise to turn their fortunes around, Zuffa has taken some serious hits lately. First we heard that WEC 47 pulled in a dismal 373,000 viewers, which was their second-smallest audience in two years — not exactly the level of heat you want going into your first pay-per-view card. Now, we hear that UFC 110 is trending at an estimated 215,000-240,000 pay-per-view buys, which follows very disappointing performances by UFC 108 and UFC 109. Sure, we all knew the UFC’s fall/winter injury curse would have fans playing pick-and-choose, but the numbers are straight-up grim. Via BloodyElbow, here’s how the UFC’s pay-per-view cards have performed starting with the high-water mark of UFC 100 last July:

(And just like that Bonnar’s dreams of being a forehead model went up in smoke.)

We’re not exactly sure what the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales actually did between the time Stephan Bonnar submitted his appeal and the time they ruled to deny it. One would assume that at some point their decision-making process would have led them to actually view a tape of the fight at UFC 110, which is when they would have seen the accidental headbutt from Krzysztof Soszynski that led to the fight-ending cut. Only somehow it didn’t happen that way. Somehow, even after “a review was held,” the officials reported that they “did not seek to interfere with the referee’s decision.” Which means that loss is as permanent on Bonnar’s record as the k-shaped scar probably is on his forehead.

As anyone who’s seen the tape knows, this is the wrong decision. The cut was clearly caused by a headbutt and not a punch, as the referee initially ruled. The ref can be forgiven for making that mistake. The action’s moving pretty fast in the Octagon, as perhaps you’ve noticed, and he didn’t have days to sit around looking at the video and thinking it over. The Combat Sports Authority did, and they still decided to do nothing. Why? Probably because doing nothing is usually easier than doing anything at all, and it’s a hard habit to break for a regulatory body.

(He will hurt you, but only as much as is absolutely necessary.)

Those of us who were a little concerned with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s apparent inability to put away Anthony Perosh at UFC 110 should just calm down a second, says the former Pride great. According to Cro Cop, the reason he didn’t put away a bloodied and battered Perosh was because he “couldn’t do that to him when he was so bloody.” This claims prompts the inevitable question, you getting soft on us, Mirko?

It’s hard to say just yet, but it seems as though Filipovic will cut you some slack if you take a fight out of your weight class on short notice:

“I admire Perosh for accepting the fight. There were much better fighters there who turned it down but I understand why; they did not have time to prepare. [But] I am very sorry that I had to hurt Perosh. I tried to fight with as much consideration for him as I could. I even avoided the ground because I am 7, 8 kilos heavier than he is.”

(The UFC’s bloody Sunday, courtesy of MMA-Core.)

We know, the Index is a little late this week. We could say it has something to do with UFC 110 taking place in Australia, maybe make up some transparent lie about it taking longer to crunch the numbers when the fights happen in the Southern Hemisphere. But you’d never believe that…or would you?

Cain Velasquez +167
Even if Big Nog may be on the decline, beating him still means something. Finishing him means even more, and doing it in the first round, via brutal KO, means you just might be the next big thing. Suddenly the UFC’s heavyweight class has more viable challengers than they know what to do with. Talk about a good problem to have.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -101
Seeing Nogueira get knocked out cold is a little like seeing a unicorn die of a heart attack. You never thought you’d ever live to see it, and afterwards you kind of wish you never had.

("Hmm. This is not how things went down during my positive visualization sessions." Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

After being soundly thrashed by Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic on two days’ notice at UFC 110, Anthony "The Hippo" Perosh has been signed to a four-fight deal by the UFC, according to a report on InfiniteMMA. Perosh sports a career record of 10-6, a UFC record of 0-3 (including losses to Jeff Monson and Christian Wellisch in 2006) and victories over a bunch of random Australians. On paper, he has absolutely no chance of making an impact in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division, and the UFC’s next Australian event won’t be until next year at the earliest. But it just goes to show you that dreams do come true when you ignore your natural instinct for self-preservation and take guaranteed losses against larger MMA legends who have gone through actual training camps. Kudos, Anthony.

We’re still waiting to hear if anybody got un-signed after UFC 110. As predicted, Keith Jardine and Stephan Bonnar are in danger after taking their third-straight losses, but Dana White’s affection for the Dean and the Psycho could potentially save their jobs. Igor Pokrajac is toast, though, no question. Stay tuned…

(I’m not going to lie to you Stephan, that’s probably going to leave a mark.)

Though he appeared to be headed for a loss anyway, Stephan Bonnar is not happy with the way his fight against Krzysztof Soszynski ended at UFC 110, and it’s hard to blame him.  After an accidental headbutt caused a nauseating cut on his forehead which lathered the mat with blood, the fight was stopped and K-Sos was awarded the TKO victory with just minutes left in the fight.  Ideally, a fight that’s stopped due to a headbutt should go to the scorecards rather than being declared a loss for the fighter who was just fouled, but hey, what do you expect in Australia?  No place that produced Hugh Jackman and Errol Flynn is going to play by your silly rules.

But the best part about this story – or the worst part, if you’re Bonnar – is that he now has a scar on his forehead shaped oddly like a ‘K.’  As in, the first letter of K-Sos’s name.  It’s like he was branded by his enemy in defeat.  From now until the day he dies, when his body will presumably be blasted into space because, hell, that’s what we do with everything in the future, at least in my imagination, he will bear the mark of K-Sos. 

And yet, because Bonnar is not the type of guy to give up just because it’s probably the smart thing to do, he wants another go-round with the sharp-skulled K-Sos.  Soszynski says he’s up for it "if the UFC wants it and the fans want it."  I guess this is where we turn it over to you.  Any interest in Bonnar/K-Sos II?  If so, what are the odds that Bonnar can somehow even the score by carving an ‘S’ into K-Sos’s head?  Follow-up question: Do you think he should opt for the ‘B’ instead, just to make it clear that the ‘S’ doesn’t stand for Soszynski?  Short of a custom made signet ring that he sneaks into the Octagon, how would he even accomplish that?

(Props: McSluggaCrackedMySkull)

Here’s the thing about Bruce Buffer: Even when he’s not working, he’s still working. During Wanderlei Silva‘s entrance at UFC 110, the Buff could be spotted lurking behind Wandy’s team, grooving to "Sandstorm" like everybody else in the building and looking forward to the end of the night when he could tear off his suit and transform into Party Buffer. We apologize that we can only present this moment to you in animated gif form, but if you turn up your speakers, click here and stare at this thing until your eyes glaze over, you’ll eventually start to feel like Bruce is inside you. Don’t fight it. Let it happen.

Cain Velasquez and Wanderlei Silva weren’t the only big winners over the weekend. Some of you managed to parlay the goings-on in Australia at UFC 110 into personal success with our MMA FightPicker, and unlike those poor suckers you were able to do it without ever leaving the comforting glow of your computer screen.

But before we get to shouting out some winners, we must answer the question, who was the superior Ben in this weekend’s FightPicker action? The answer is me (BF). I finished sixth in Journeyman Pool 30 #390 with 160 points, which doesn’t sound very impressive until you note that BG finished fifteenth with 130 points, coming in just ahead of Joe Bananas, who we can only assume is the owner of a discount electronics store known for its certifiably insane deals on everything from digital cameras to personal computers.

(When you know you’ve won a fight, you don’t have to run around with your arms raised, making a big show for the judges. You can just lay on the mat, drooling like a champion. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following a successful debut in Australia this weekend, the UFC handed out $50,000 performance bonuses to the following lucky bastards:

Fight of the Night: George Sotiropoulos and Joe Stevenson, for their main-card three-rounder. Silva/Bisping might have been a closer battle, but Sotiropoulos gave the Sydney crowd what they paid for — 15 minutes of Aussie domination.

Knockout of the Night: Cain Velasquez, for his first-round smashing of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the headlining bout.

Submission of the Night: Chris Lytle, for scoring UFC 110′s only sub, a kneebar of Brian Foster during the prelims. Amazingly, Lytle has won seven end-of-night bonuses in his last eight UFC appearances.

In other news…

(Some Silva vs. Bisping hype, courtesy of nicktheface.)

Update: In light of the Rothwell/Cro Cop/Perosh situation, which will henceforth be referred to as the saga of Mirko and "The Hippo," just for laughs, we’ve updated the FightPicker questions. We’ve also replaced Sinosic/Haseman with Lytle/Foster, so there’s that too. You should probably go update your picks accordingly. Picks can be changed until 11 pm PST tonight. If, after that point, any more changes happen to make our existing questions obsolete, we’ll just declare those a tie. Sound good?

It’s the Friday before a big MMA event, and as new tradition dictates, it’s time for BF and I to make our MMA FightPicker picks public so that we can bust each other’s balls on Monday morning. Before we get to it, have you made your own picks yet? And have you considered entering one of the prize pools to win an iPod Touch? Not trying to nag or anything, it’s just that we regret the things we don’t do in this life, you know? Anyway…

1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez at UFC 110: Who will win?
BG: Nogueira. He’ll handle Velasquez standing, and he’s strong enough on the ground to avoid being squashed.
BF: Strong enough to avoid being squashed, yes. But strong enough to avoid being put there again and again and worked over for three rounds? I have my doubts. Velasquez via decision. Maybe then you’ll realize that it is not 2006 anymore.

(You take all these precautions in training, and still something bad happens. C’est la vie, old buddy.)

Some ideas are such obviously bad ideas that watching them being methodically put into action is like watching a car crash in slow motion. Certain marriages are like that, as are most of the movies Kevin Smith has made in the last ten years. Now it’s starting to look like the Mirko Filipovic/Anthony Perosh bout at UFC 110 might become MMA’s version of “Jersey Girl.” Only unlike “Jersey Girl” we will all end up watching it.

In the most recent development, a Croation website that looks like a bunch of squiggly lines to us (but apparently makes sense to someone at Fighters Only) is reporting that Cro Cop suffered a cut over his eye in a late sparring session and had to receive several stitches. This doesn’t mean the fight is off, however. Cro Cop reportedly refused to pull out and “let weeks of hard preparation go to waste.” Since there’s no athletic commission to act as the irrefutable voice of reason in this instance, and since the UFC has already demonstrated a willingness to make this fight happen no matter how crazy it becomes, it looks like all systems are still go.

But what about Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh, anyway? What’s going through his head right about now?

(Photo courtesy of wicombatsports.com.)

Much to our dismay, Ben Rothwell says he won’t be rocking an Extenze sponsorship for his bout with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 110 this weekend.  But that’s not the only thing that Rothwell has changed as he hopes for a better outcome in his second UFC fight.  From his preparation to his overall mental state, everything about this time out looks to be different for Rothwell, and he’s hoping the result will bear that out.

You changed up your training some for this fight. What did you do differently and why did you decide to do it?

I moved my training full-time to Wisconsin, where Duke Roufus is my coach. Instead of only getting him part of the time, now he’s got full control over everything. It’s definitely for the best. There’s a lot of good energy here. I’m not trying to be negative, but the past couple of years that good energy wasn’t there for me. I wasn’t as passionate about training. It was a job and I was doing it because I had to, not because I wanted to. But when I came back here I was working harder and having more fun. That’s what you need. I’m just trying to keep getting better.

(Skip to the 2:18 mark to see Bisping seeking solace in the arms of his Twitter followers)

In Michael Bisping‘s latest video blog from Australia he pauses for a moment to get one thing straight: it’s not his fault that things have gotten personal between him and Wanderlei Silva.  For reasons that are either totally understandable or utterly baffling (depending on your own personal take on the guy), Bisping seems to have become the guy that fans and fellow fighters love to hate.  He doesn’t see why, and insists he never wanted to get into a feud with Silva, who he calls "a bit of a bully." 

It is at this point where we are forced to feel something resembling sympathy for Bisping.  It’s a fleeting feeling though, and it passes as soon as we see the moment from the press conference in part two of the video blog where Bisping tells Silva, "You do need to win fights in this business, Wanderlei, and you haven’t been doing that lately."  Yep, there goes that sympathy.  All better now.

Check it out for yourself after the jump, including the odd moment where this fight is referred to as "perhaps one of the most eagerely anticipated bouts in UFC history."  I guess at this point we’re just spouting hyperbole and hoping that no one is listening too closely.

(Joe Stevenson and George Sotiropoulos break down their main-card matchup. Props: YouTube.com/UFC.)

— During a UFC 110 press conference held yesterday in Sydney, UFC president Dana White announced that the winner of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez could potentially get the next shot at Brock Lesnar‘s heavyweight belt. "Mir and Carwin are going to fight for the interim title because that fight was already made before Brock said he was coming back," White explained, "[but] the winner of this fight [between Nogueira and Velasquez] puts them right in the mix because something could happen to either Shane or Mir in that fight where they couldn’t fight Brock, so the winner of this fight would fight Brock."

— After the UFC’s first trip to Australia sold out the first day, White stated that Australia could be an annual stop for the UFC. Also, a season of TUF hosted Down Under is "absolutely possible."

— Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping‘s professional rivalry is getting personal. At yesterday’s press conference, Silva said "We’re going to have a great show, and I’m going to kick your ass." Bisping took it in stride, but later needled Silva about his recent losses. Silva told Bisping to shut up, and said "100 percent of the guys that talk to him, (talk to me and say) kick him…Everybody don’t like him." To which Bisping responded, "That’s nice. Fortunately, I couldn’t give a [expletive]." In an earlier interview, Silva said that seeing Quinton Jackson in Bisping’s corner will only make him more motivated to beat The Count: "Maybe I’ll beat the one and then after, the other. Two for the price of one."

(Props: MMA Scraps)

Now that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic is on the verge of making his possibly glorious, possibly disastrous return to the cage against Ben Rothwell at UFC 110 this weekend, we might as well take a look at the man’s softer side. Granted, he’s a bad-ass Croatian fighter, so his soft side isn’t even really all that soft.  It’s more of a malleable metal than a bowl of jello, really, but that’s not the point.  The point is, if there’s one thing Cro Cop respects it’s kids who kick other kids in the head.

(Props: UFC.com via Card)

"The guy who won’t stop ’til you’re done, and the guy who can’t be stopped" — so says Dana White in the latest installment of Countdown when describing the UFC 110 main event between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It’s a matchup that seems to hit almost all the buttons. Besides the Irresistible Force/Immovable Object dichotomy, you’ve got the young up-and-comer vs. the war-weathered veteran, the ground-and-pounder vs. the submission artist, the American vs. the Brazilian. Nogueira is feeling as strong as ever thanks to his new S&C coach and his training at the stacked Black House gym. Velasquez is ready to fight the big names he’s watched since the sport was young. But is he ready to beat them?

Meanwhile, another Brazilian legend, Wanderlei Silva, faces a must-win situation against British star Michael Bisping. Bisping and his camp respect Silva, but Wandy’s UFC bonus checks and BJJ black belt don’t mean shit to them. We learn a few things about Silva in this show: He’s back with his original trainer Rafael Cordeiro, and looking to recapture the "old" Wanderlei Silva. He started his own gym partly because nobody wanted to train with him at Xtreme Couture. His fans are really his friends, and the fighters he develops are really his family. He snores, which is something his funny little manager knows all about.

(Proof that being a bad-ass does not prevent you from looking like a stereotypical tourist in a foreign country. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

This weekend’s UFC event down under is a tricky one for your old pal the Enabler. You see, years ago I promised my sponsor that I wouldn’t bet on any more Australian sporting events. It’s a long story that I’d rather not get into right now, so let’s just say that it involved a high-stakes netball match and a ’92 Pontiac that wasn’t exactly mine to lose.

But this is different. This is the UFC. Surely I can make an exception here, right? Not even that lot of criminals can fix a fight in the UFC. Not like those crooked netball games. The tastiest betting lines on the internet come to us courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (+105) vs. Cain Velasquez (-110)
Wanderlei Silva (-130) vs. Michael Bisping (+130)
Joe Stevenson (-240) vs. George Sotiropoulos (+218)
Keith Jardine (+140) vs. Ryan Bader (-135)
Mirko Filipovic (-135) vs. Ben Rothwell (+130)

Happy hump-day, Potato Nation. We have a couple of important MMA FightPicker-related announcements to make this morning. First off, FightPicker now has a fan page on Facebook, where you can get updates on the game, chat with other players, and make your weekly picks. Do us a solid and become a fan, okay?
 
Secondly, and more importantly: The first FightPicker prize pools are now open for business! If you go to the Open Pools page you’ll see three new pool categories at the top. Here’s how they’re set up…

iPod Touch Pool Unlimited: Buy-in is 250 PotatoChips. There is no player limit to the pool, so your odds of winning decrease with every new person that enters. The winner of the pool* will take home an iPod Touch. (Street value: $199)
iPod Touch Pool 25: Buy-in is 500 PotatoChips**, but your odds of winning are greater because we’re capping the entries at 25 players. Once this pool fills up, we’ll start another 25-person pool, repeating as necessary. The winner of each 25-person pool will score an iPod Touch.
iPod Touch Pool 10: Buy-in is 1,200 PotatoChips; entries are capped at 10 players, so your odds of winning are pretty damn favorable. Once this pool fills up, we’ll start another 10-person pool. The winner of each 10-person pool will score an iPod Touch.

* To prevent ties, we’ve added a tie-breaker question to these pools, so make sure to answer it if you enter one of them. If there’s still a tie even after the tie-breaker question is factored in, the prize will go the first-place-scorer who entered the pool earliest.

** By now, some of you are wondering how the hell you can enter these pools with your miserable stake of 34 PotatoChips or whatever you have left at this point. Well, if you really want an iPod Touch and you feel confident in your picking abilities, you can purchase chips here. Throw in a few bucks (which supports the site, by the way) and you’ll be good to go. Or, spend the day filling out surveys, whichever’s easier.

Questions, comments, concerns? Holler at us in the comments section, and please enter a UFC 110 pool this week if you haven’t already. Good luck!

Closing out the preliminary card of UFC 110 this Saturday will be a light-heavyweight bout between Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman, which will make minor history as the first UFC fight contested between two Australians. While the local Sydney crowd will surely mark out for the scrap, it’s a shame that the competitors have to be so unworthy. Sinosic (8-11-2, 1-6 UFC) has dropped his last two fights, and hasn’t won a match in over three years. The semi-retired Haseman (20-16, 0-1 UFC) last competed in November 2008 when he knocked out Yuji "The Pink Typhoon" Hisamatsu, breaking a four-fight losing streak that dated back to 2002. Basically, neither of these guys would be getting another shot in the UFC if they weren’t both Australian, and available on the day of the show. (It says a lot about the state of Australian MMA that these are the two biggest/best stars they could pull for their Aussie vs. Aussie feature.)

But there is one hook to hang the fight on: The King of Rock ‘n’ Rumble and the Hammer met once before, way back in March 1997, at an eight-man Caged Combat: Australian Ultimate Fighting tournament that was won by Brazilian Top Team co-founder Mario Sperry. Haseman’s performance in the tourney was notable because he scored two wins via chin-to-eye submission. The video above shows the semi-final match between Sinosic and Haseman; Haseman chins Elvis out at the 4:00 mark. Though the technique is currently outlawed by the Unified Rules under the "no gouging" clause, it would be a fitting tribute to Australia’s colorful MMA history if the refs could look the other way this weekend. Do you really think those descendants of criminals will give a shit?

Previously: Completely Unnecessary Rematch Alert: Wes Sims vs. Tim Sylvia II

If you look up James Te Huna‘s MMA record on the internet to learn a little something about him in advance of his Octagon debut at UFC 110 this weekend, you’ll see that he’s officially 11-4 with a nice little five-fight winning streak going. What you won’t see, however, is this bizarre moment in his fighting career. Our buddies at The Rumble dug up a video of Te Huna fighting alongside Api Hemara, who actually submitted Te Huna in his pro debut, in a tag team MMA fight that pits the New Zealanders against two virtually indistinguishable Russians.

The rules to this thing seem unclear to everyone, and this results in several confusing moments for the fighters, the ref, and the crowd.  Somehow they make it through whatever constitutes a whole fight without anyone accidentally punching their own partner, and the Kiwis eventually secure a decision victory to salvage some dignity. As we all know, the only thing more embarrassing than participating in a tag team MMA match is losing one. Part two is after the jump.

Let’s be honest — trying to predict the results of fights between guys you don’t really know is a fool’s errand. But we appreciate those of you who set aside logic and participated in MMA FightPicker last week anyway. I placed a respectable third in my pool (Contender Pool 10 #308 represent!), but was ultimately sunk by the upsets at King of the Cage: Vengeance. UFC vet Rich Clementi did his career no favors by getting TKO’d by young upstart Quinn Mulhern (video here), while Mike Kyle wore down the much larger Travis Wiuff with strikes until an exhausted Wiuff collapsed against the cage at the end of the second round. In the event’s title fights, KOTC heavyweight champ Tony Lopez picked up his 16th-straight win by finishing Tyler East with a triangle choke, while bantamweight champ Abel Cullum subbed Joe Coca via kimura in the first round.

As for the other action in last week’s pools, Alan Omer proved his status as a featherweight to watch by sinking a triangle choke on Paul Reed in the fourth round of their title fight at BAMMA 2, and dangerous Icelander Gunnar Nelson kept his undefeated streak alive by finishing Sam Elsdon in the first by rear-naked choke. Don’t ask me about the fights at Rage in the Cage; a couple dudes won by decision, and that’s all you need to know.

The top three players going into last week failed to pick up any chips (LOSERS!), allowing some new names to storm up the leaderboard. Currently in first place with 385 chips is Steffmeister, who must be a die-hard King of the Cage fan with at least a working knowledge of the British featherweight scene. Rounding out the top 5 are…

2) brade1584: 355 PotatoChips
3) Ciarán Parnell: 350 PotatoChips
4) Jokulgoblin: 275 PotatoChips
5) Aaron Rampey: 270 PotatoChips


They’re up there, but you can still catch ‘em if you beat some ass in this week’s pools, which focus on UFC 110 in Australia. Take a look at the questions after the jump, make your picks at fightpicker.cagepotato.com, and stay tuned because our first prize pools are launching this week. Thrilling details to come…

Our chums at RawVegas.tv just posted their most recent video of Goran Reljic‘s "Road to UFC 110," this time focusing on his attempt to learn as much wrestling as he can possibly soak up before heading in to face C.B. Dollaway next weekend, who has shown very little ability to do anything else so far in the UFC.  According to Reljic, wrestling is one thing you really can’t learn while chilling near the treacherous Adriatic Sea back home.  While he says they have some form of Greco-Roman wrestling, he calls it a "disaster" and a "disgrace."  Damn, Goran.  We asked about wrestling, not Croatia’s inflation rate. 

Yeah, I took it there.

After the jump, travel back in time to a point when Chuck Liddell spoke as clearly and coherently as a local TV news weatherman.

(Props: Bloody Elbow)

As the story goes, Thomas Edison was once asked about his thousands of failed experiments in developing the storage battery, to which he replied: "I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." That quote has always reminded me of the cinematic output of action-movie auteur Hector Echavarria, who has directed, written, and/or starred in such movies as Confessions of a Pit Fighter, Never Surrender, and Death Warrior, all of which are about retired martial artists forced to compete in underground fighting leagues.

Hector’s latest effort is Unrivaled, which goes directly to DVD later this year. As you can see from the trailer above, there’s the requisite mob-shakedown angle, the cameos by UFC stars, and the Superman punches — my God, so many Superman punches — but Unrivaled breaks with tradition by being about an above-ground fighting league that the main character enters by choice. Has Echavarria finally created an MMA movie that’s actually worth renting? Much like the desperate fighters he plays in his movies, the odds are stacked against him…

(Props: MMA Mania)

Michael Bisping is less than two weeks away from what could either be his greatest triumph or his ugliest beatdown — a match against legendary fighter Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110 (February 20th; Sydney, Australia). The latest installment of Bisping’s video blog shows him handling the usual press obligations and keeping sharp at the Wolfslair in preparation for the battle. Skip to 4:06 for a rare sighting of Rampage Jackson outside of a movie set. As for Bisping’s expectations for the Silva fight, the Count recently wrote that Wandy reminds him of another old rival:

Has Wanderlei Silva fallen so far that one could realistically describe him as a more-explosive Chris Leben? Damn, that’s a depressing thought. Silva has lost five of his last six fights, with his only win coming against Keith Jardine in May 2008 — but the guys that have beaten him were all legends and former champions. If the Axe Murderer loses this one, there will no longer be any doubt that the game has passed him by. Will he smash the Brit and redeem himself, or are we about to see Wandy’s last stand? Your thoughts, please.

(Props: UFC)

Spike TV’s new Best of PRIDE compilation series premieres this Friday at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT, and the UFC is plugging it online by releasing the above teaser fight from Total Elimination 2003 — and what a coincidence, it’s one that involves a UFC superstar beating the crap out of a current Strikeforce champion! Of course, Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem would probably play out a little differently today, particularly if it took place in a country that doesn’t test for horse-meat. Still, it’s interesting to see the Iceman take full advantage of those lovely PRIDE rules with some knees to Overeem’s dome on the ground. And as you can see from the Randleplex at the 3:55 mark, Fedor Emelianenko won’t be shut out of this thing just because Dana White hates his management. Don’t forget to set your DVRs…

After the jump: Nearly every active Brazilian MMA fighter and trainer wishes Wanderlei Silva good luck for his upcoming UFC 110 fight against Michael Bisping.

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Fresh off his unanimous decision victory over veteran brawler Phil Baroni at UFC 106, Amir Sadollah will be going right back into action less than two months later. The TUF 7 winner will reportedly face Brad Blackburn in the main card of UFC Fight Night 20 (January 11th; Fairfax, VA); the event will be headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Gray Maynard.

Sadollah’s professional record currently stands at a mere 2-1, including his submission win over CB Dollaway at the TUF 7 Finale and his 29-second TKO loss to Johny Hendricks in August. By contrast, Blackburn has 28 pro fights under his belt and is currently 3-0 in the UFC. "Bad Brad" most recently won a split-decision over Edgar Garcia at the TUF 9 Finale in June, despite being the recipient of the Gnarliest Punch Face of 2009. Blackburn also holds notable victories over Jay Hieron, Ryo Chonan, and Chris Wilson. Will Amir rise to the challenge, or is he straight-up outgunned here?

Speaking of Sadollah’s old foe CB Dollaway, the Doberman also has his next appearance booked, as he’s scheduled to meet Goran Reljic at UFC 110 in February.

(Sinosic: Australian for "punching bag.")

Unlike some other ragged-ass UFC events that we could mention, the UFC’s first excursion to Australia is shaping up to be their strongest card in recent memory. We already knew that UFC 110 (February 21st, Sydney) may feature Big Nog vs. Cain Velasquez in the main event, with Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping in the co-main spot, and Mirko Cro Cop vs. Ben Rothwell in a "who wants to keep their job?" exhibition. But the good times don’t stop there. According to new reports, here’s who else will be headed down under…

— Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine. Bader is a perfect 10-0 in his professional MMA career, and has earned unanimous decisions over veterans Carmelo Marrero and Eric Schafer since winning the TUF 8 light-heavyweight contract last December. He’ll be meeting the free-falling Keith Jardine, who has dropped four of his last six fights, including back-to-back losses against Quinton Jackson and Thiago Silva. You gotta feel for the Dean of Mean. The UFC has given him nothing but monsters, and he’s clearly being used as a stepping stone here. If Jardine can’t give Bader his first loss, he may be getting a time-out from his UFC contract.

("Damn it…what did I just come down here for?")

Contradicting previous reports that Wanderlei Silva‘s next opponent will be Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 110 (February 21st; Sydney, Australia), Fighters Only UK says that the Axe Murderer will instead be taking on Michael Bisping:

From Sportsnet.ca:

Marquardt is on a three-fight win streak, most recently knocking out Demian Maia in 21 seconds at UFC 102. Sonnen has won his last two, scoring unanimous decisions over highly-regarded middleweights Dan Miller and Yushin Okami. It’s an interesting matchup that raises some important questions: First off, does this mean that Dan Henderson has officially left the UFC? Last week, Dana White said he was certain that Henderson had been signed by Strikeforce, though his manager denied it. And hey, would Chael Sonnen get the next shot at Anderson Silva (after Vitor Belfort gets his) if he manages to pull off an upset against Marquardt? Good Lord. Thanks a lot, Hendo.

The current lineup for UFC 110 (February 21st; Sydney, Australia) is after the jump…