UFC 112

(Stay still and let me hit you, you Kalib Starnes wannabe fight avoiding wuss.)

We haven't seen or heard much from BJ Penn leading up to his UFC 118 rematch with Frankie Edgar, which either means he's been humbled a bit from the loss or he's too busy training to talk to the media.

Well, the former UFC lightweight champion jumped back into the limelight with a bang this week, quashing the notion that losing to Edgar knocked him down a peg or two.

In a promo video for the August 28 show, Penn said that Edgar's corner helped persuade the judges that the New Jersey native won the fight and that Frankie did nothing but run from him for 25 minutes during their fight in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112 back in April.

"He's running around. Just step up and fight. And then I see his whole team run and pick him up. All your boys put you on their shoulders and dance you around in front of the judges and try to steal the victory. I'm not gonna be a part of that," Penn said. Whatever, man. That's the man you are. You're the "ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPION?" Okay. I got you. It's a joke."

(Photo courtesy of MMA Junkie)

By Elias Cepeda for CagePotato

After an impressive seven-year career competing around the Northwest and as a member of the Nevada Lions in the IFL, John Gunderson (22-7) finally got his ticket to the big show when we was invited to fight Rafaello Oliveira as a late replacement at UFC 108. Though he lost that match by decision, his performance was enough to earn him a second shot — and that's when things got tricky. A scheduled meeting with Paul Taylor fell apart when Taylor withdrew from the match not once but twice. Luckily, Canadian newcomer Mark Holst has agreed to replace Taylor at the TUF 11 Finale on June 19th. Gunderson took some time to update us on his upcoming redemption-match, and his quest to find success in the UFC while juggling his other two jobs — personal trainer and soccer dad.

CAGEPOTATO.COM: After taking your first UFC fight on short notice you had a full camp and were set to fight Paul Taylor in April at UFC 112 but then the bout didn’t happen because he pulled out. What happened there?

JOHN GUNDERSON: I got the fight with Paul Taylor in Abu Dhabi and flew all the way out there, weighed in and apparently that night Taylor started having problems. He had migraines and got real sick and wasn't able to compete. The UFC turned around right away and put me on the finale card against Taylor again. But about three or four weeks ago I found out that Paul Taylor pulled out again and now I’m fighting Mark Holst. They didn’t tell me why and I didn't even ask.

Let’s back up for a second and talk about what it was like to have gone through an entire camp, then go all the way to Abu Dhabi and have your opponent not compete. When did you find out and how disruptive was it?

Oh yeah, I’ve never gone through anything like that. The day of the fight we actually got on the bus to take us from the hotel to the event center which was literally five minutes away. So I was an hour, hour and a half out from fighting and that’s when they told us. You can imagine, go all the way out to Abu Dhabi after losing my first UFC fight. In the back of your head you are thinking that if you don't win this one, that’s it. So leaving the hotel, I was ready. I felt like it was taken from me but the UFC gave me another opportunity right away so…

Wait, you were on the bus and that’s when you found out? Did you have a period of denial at first, like did you think there was still some chance that you would get to fight?

(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.

    
      
(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!

(Our last hope? Photo courtesy of Fight! Magazine.)

By CagePotato contributor Matt Kaplan

Chael Sonnen is many things: top UFC middleweight contender, hopeful Oregon state rep, realtor, quote generator. An Anderson Silva fan, though, he is not. After thrashing Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, Sonnen is next in line to take on what he sees as an “insignificant” champion in Silva, who, despite his best efforts, “couldn’t” finish Demian Maia at UFC 112. Ladies and gentlemen, Chael Sonnen…

CAGEPOTATO.COM: Were you at all rubbed the wrong way by Anderson Silva’s fight against Demian Maia at UFC 112?
CHAEL SONNEN: No, I did my level best to watch the fight, but just couldn't get through it.

Dana White was effusively apologetic after the fight. Do you think Silva owes anyone an apology? Would it even make a difference?
He is insignificant, really. Nobody cares about him. They never have. If BJ wasn't on that card, that arena would have been a ghost town.

Did you see anything in that fight that made you even more confident in your chances at beating Silva?
No, he was dominant over a tough guy, impressive in ways.

What impressed you about Silva’s performance?
He is accurate and moves well.

Why do you think he didn’t put away Maia, whom he clearly outclassed in the stand-up game?
He couldn't, Maia was too tough.

Did you perceive the goading, motioning, shouting by Silva to be showmanship or disrespect? Or perhaps a little bit of both?
Look, I'm not a gang banger. I don't talk about “respect.” That term is for street thugs, not me.