Just a month and a half after Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva, the UFC has more dirty urine on its hands. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday that Octagon first-timer Vinicius Quieroz — who was submitted by Rob Broughton in his debut at UFC 120 in London — tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol after the match and has been fired by the UFC.

As they usually do for overseas events, the UFC conducted its own drug screening at #120, testing main event fighters Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama, as well as six other fighters selected at random. Quieroz was the only fighter who tested positive. In addition to his release from the promotion, the 5-2 Chute Boxe product will forfeit an undisclosed discretionary bonus from the UFC; his test results will also be given to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which could affect Quieroz’s ability to get licensed to fight in the U.S.

(Akiyama vs. Sakuraba is a cautionary example of why it’s best to wait until *after* the fight to make an impassioned plea to the referee. If only Palhares had seen this. VidProps: YouTube/AkiyamaYoshihiro2)

Well, this is a switch: Not only is a Greg Jackson-trained fighter accusing someone else of potentially greasing his body during a fight but it’s none other than Yoshihiro Akiyama, who you may remember was himself outed as one of the greasiest MFers in the game following a 2006 fight against Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Dynamite!! The video of that fiasco can be seen at top. Nevertheless, Akiyama told MMAFighting.com foreign correspondent Daniel Herbertson upon returning home this week that the reason he didn’t try harder to take Michael Bisping down at UFC 120 was that the Brit felt suspiciously slimy to the touch.

"I only went for one takedown but Bisping’s body was really slippery,” Akiyama said. Then, apparently even setting off the alarms on his own irony indicator, quipped: “Even if I do say so myself … "

Look, nobody wants to get into another GreaseGate debacle here, so unless Akiyama wants to pursue this further we’re willing to chalk it up as a harmless pot-calling-the-kettle-black-type situation and move on with our lives. Also, not that we think Bisping would necessarily be above bending the rules (See: Him possibly purposely injuring Matt Hamill during “TUF 3”), we’re kind of wary of accusing another Wolfslair fighter of cheating, lest he threaten our testiculars via angry Facebook post.

Gotta say though, if anybody knows what a greased-up fighter feels like, it’d be Akiyama.

(The "Yes We Cain" limited edition t-shirt, just $20 at dethroneroyalty.com.)

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…

– As of Today, Fedor Emelianenko Is a Russian Politician and He Plans to Enforce the People’s Rights (MiddleEasy)

- Cain Velasquez Gets Mobbed by Fans Who Are Not Impressed with Brock Lesnar (MMA Scraps)

- Jake Shields: If Kampmann Doesn’t Tap, I’ll Snap His Arm In Half (MMA Convert)

- Matt Hamill: Friendship Out the Door vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 (MMA Fighting)

– Gabriel Gonzaga Discusses His UFC 121 Opponent and the Current Depth in the Heavyweight Division (LowKick)

– Sam Stout Ready To Welcome Paul Taylor To The Lightweight Division (Heavy.com/MMA)

– The Eight-Point Stance: UFC 120 (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Exclusive: Mike Pyle – ‘I Just Absolutely Handled The Kid’ (SBNation.com/MMA)

– Frank Shamrock is On A Mission to Legalize MMA in New York (FightMagazine)

– Arianny Celeste Promotes Playboy Appearance on TMZ (Versus MMA Beat)

(Hey guv’nah. Yer boy’s gonnna be drinkin’ his bangers and mash through a straw for a while.)

If you watched UFC 120 on Saturday, you may have noticed a brief shot of Robert Downey Jr. sitting alongside his Sherlock Holmes 2 director Guy Ritchie and co-star Jude Law.

For those of you who don’t know, RDJ is an avid martial artist who attributes his 180-degree life turnaround from drug addict to box office juggernaut to his study of the Chinese art of Win Chun, which he began training in a few years ago, so it’s no surprise that he’s a UFC fan.

What is surprising is that he’s apparently a huge Carlos Condit fan…either that or he was rubbing it in his British mates faces that their homeboy, Dan Hardy got KTFO. I’m thinking a few pounds might have been on the line.

MMACagedoor pictorially broke down a frame-by-frame series of events that took place outside the Octagon as Condit connected with Hardy’s jaw.

Check out the freeze-frame grabs and a video clip of Downey’s exuberant celebration after the jump.

(One of the few moments on Saturday when Travis Browne wasn’t in danger of getting his nuts demolished. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

Though many UFC fighters have gotten bad reputations for everything from eye-poking to greasing, nobody’s as consistently rotten as heavyweight Cheick Kongo, who put on another notorious performance against Travis Browne at UFC 120. Kongo started things off in the second round by launching his trademark strike — a knee to the balls, straight up the middle — and wound up costing himself the victory in the third frame when he continued to grab Browne’s shorts despite warnings from the ref; the resulting point-deduction led to a unanimous 28-28 judges’ decision. At this point, it’s pretty much indisputable that Kongo is the dirtiest fighter currently on the UFC roster. Who could forget his other career highlights…

vs. Paul Buentello at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones: After being warned by Herb Dean for shots to the back of the head and 12-to-6 elbows in the second round, Kongo is finally deducted a point for kneeing Buentello in the head while Buentello was down. Later in the round, Kongo connects with another knee to his downed opponent’s dome, though Dean brushes it off, saying Buentello was trying to draw the foul. 

Some more on-the-scene videos from our good friends at kimura.se: First up, Michael Bisping promises that Yoshihiro "Ironhead" Akiyama would have eventually gone down if it were a five-round fight, but says there’s no shame in not being able to put him away. He calls Mark Kinney the best boxing coach he’s ever worked with, and feels that he’s finally putting Mark’s lessons into practice. As for his future, the Count still has his eyes on the prize. "I’ve been around for a long time now, I’m not getting any younger," Bisping says. "Now it’s time to do it, it’s time to put in a run for a title and hopefully get the gold."

After the jump, Dan Hardy reflects on his knockout loss against Carlos Condit, and our BFF Dana White discusses educating new markets on MMA, the question of "morality" that jackass politicians bring up around the world, and the new "GSP is bigger than Gretzky" talking point he’s been testing out recently. For lots more UFC 120 interviews, check out youtube.com/kimurase.

(“Free porridge for everyone!” PicProps: UFC)

We hope Dana White didn’t have to make any profane and vaguely threatening phone calls on Saturday night after several of his athletes ignored his well articulated desire for them not to let their fights go to the judges at UFC 120. Michael Bisping was among the offenders, claiming a clear-cut (and fairly compelling) unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mike Pyle’s grinding upset win over John Hathaway also went the distance, as did wins for undercarders Claude Patrick and Spencer Fisher. Oh, and Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne fought to a frickin’ draw (which Big DW actually joked about on yesterday’s video blog) after Kongo got a little grabby with Browne’s shorts.

Only Carlos Condit and Alexander Gustafsson were good for televised stoppages and Zuffa even fudged that by adding Gustafsson’s choke out of Cyrille Diabate by the magic of tape delay. On the whole – and despite its overly judgy nature – UFC 120 was the kind of card that proved a bit better in practice than on paper. Still, we’re sure glad we didn’t have to pay for it.

 
(Confidence is believing in yourself, cockiness is believing everyone else sucks)

Fair disclosure: if you’ve forgotten that the replay for UFC 120 is on tonight starting at 8:00 pm ET and you make a few wagers at the bar tonight and lose, don’t say we didn’t try to help you out.

For everyone else who is on the up-and-up and managed to avoid all of the spoilers today, we’re going to be liveblogging the replay after the jump.

Get your beverages and snacks ready and let’s get down to business.

(So guys, where they giving out the free sunglasses? PicProps: VegasNews.com)

Math must work differently in England, what with the metric system and everything. Otherwise, we can’t see exactly how Michael Bisping – who is 2-2 during the last 15 months – could possibly judge himself worthy of a middleweight title shot with a win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120 tonight. Conventional wisdom says a victory against the underwhelming Japanese “sensation” who himself is lucky just to be 1-1 in the Octagon could certainly put Bisping in line to fight somebody like Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia, but Anderson Silva? Seems like he’s got more than enough on his plate right now. Not surprisingly however, “The Count” sees himself at the front of the line.

(We ain’t saying no names, but it looks like somebody’s ready for UFC 120. PicProps: SBNation. Vid Interview Props: YouTube/Kimurase. DanaVlog Props: YouTube/UFC)

While some CagePotato editors are lying low until the heat dies down, our trusted Swedish affiliates at Kimura.se were on the scene in London in the days leading up to UFC 120. See, we’ve got people everywhere. Mad props to Kimura for serving up the collection of semi-exclusive prefight interviews that are after the jump, especially since they slapped our logo on them and everything (right there next to OrcBite.com, which feels pretty special). Find out how Mike Pyle has embraced the role of heel against hometown favorite John Hathaway this weekend, how Greg Jackson prepared Yoshihiro Akiyama for Mike Bisping and what Travis Browne plans to do to Cheick Kongo. Also, hear from Cyrille Diabate, Paul Kelly (who fights Godzirra at UFC 123) and Jon Jones, who as of yesterday still sounded pretty sure he was going to fight Ryan Bader next.

For good measure, we even tossed Dana White’s third UFC 120 video blog on the bottom. Even in the worst of times, we still show love. Tune in to see Big DW get exasperated when his own fighters keep predicting a slew of decisions for tonight’s fight card. It ain’t always easy being the most powerful man in MMA, people …

(Who’s getting shit-canned in the UK this weekend? We have a few ideas.)

Looking down the card of UFC 120, you can’t help but notice the large contingent of fighters whose Octagon careers are hinging on their performances on Saturday.

By our calculations, there are no less than eight fighters who really need a win in London this weekend.

The fighters in question are listed after the jump.

(Props: caposa)

In case you missed it, all fighters made weight for tomorrow’s UFC 120 event; the numbers are after the jump. Remember to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET for our tape-delayed "live"-blog of the Spike TV broadcast.

One notable absence from today’s weigh-ins was light-heavyweight Steve Cantwell, who ripped a knee ligament in training yesterday and was forced to withdraw from his fight. The general consensus on this week’s installment of The Bum Rush Radio Show was that Cantwell — on a two-fight losing skid and slated to face scary Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov — was in serious danger of getting fired after Saturday. So maybe this is for the best…

We just remembered that the weigh-ins for UFC 120 start in a couple minutes, so please excuse the lack of humorous anecdotes on this post.

Check out Akiyama, Bisping, Hardy, Condit and a bunch of other dudes hugging and mean-mugging in their underwear  after the jump.

(“Hey, before we do this whole ‘speech’ thing, can we hit up Hot Topic? I need to pick up some age-appropriate clothing.” VidProps: YouTube/Ariel Helwani)

We figure all you academic types will be interested to know that UFC President Dana White got the chance to address the prestigious (at least that’s how everybody keeps describing it) Oxford Union Society at Oxford University this week while in jolly ol’ Londontown to promote UFC 120. We’ve been led to believe this is a pretty big deal, as such luminaries as Malcolm X, Mother Teresa and Ronnie Reagan have all given talks there. Plus, at one of the world’s most highly-regarded institutions of higher learning you’d think Big DW might face a gamut of thought-provoking queries about any number of interesting topics – i.e. the moral and sociopolitical implications of his work, the level of discourse in his field and the health and safety of the athletes he relies upon to build his fortune. Yeah … not so much.

Your first clue that White is in for a comfy, Larry King-style lovefest with his Oxford peeps is when he takes the stage and asks if the students in attendance are UFC fans and all of them but one raise their hands. Then some guy (an American, from the sound of it) stands up and asks a question that basically translates to, “Dana, how have you managed to make the UFC so awesome?” and we’re off and running.

Frankly, we expected a little more critical thinking from you, Oxford. After the jump, some highlights from DW’s fireside chat, plus he sits down with Ariel Helwani to talk about the criticism of UFC 120, why he’s still pissed about UFC 119 and how there can never be too much MMA on television.

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)

When I clicked on the latest episode of Dana White’s fight week video blogs, I was hoping to at least hear the UFC president mention the candid private conversation he had with Ben on Saturday afternoon about Arianny’s Playboy spread, but instead I was treated to the usual inside jokes and inane banter between The Baldfather and his homeboys.

For more on what Dana had to say to Ben (and trust me, you don’t want to miss it) tune into The Bum Rush Friday morning.

Let’s just say Dana makes Gus Johnson seem like a polite telemarketer.

(Stanislav Nedkov highlight reel, courtesy of BGMMAFIGHTER. Check out 0:50-0:59 for yet another example of a guy wearing a t-shirt during an MMA fight and getting absolutely ruined.)

Now that you’ve met Curt, Fabio, and Paul, let’s continue along the UFC 120 preliminary card and see who else will be making their Octagon debuts on Saturday night…

STANISLAV NEDKOV (LHW)
Experience: 11-0 record (8 wins by first-round stoppage), with appearances in Sengoku, Pancrase, and Shooto Bulgaria. Holds wins over Kevin Randleman and Travis Wiuff.
Will be facing: Steve Cantwell (7-3 record, 1-2 UFC)
Lowdown: Nedkov was slated to make his UFC debut against Rodney Wallace at UFC 117, but had to withdraw due to injury. The Bulgarian native comes from a decorated grappling background, and is experienced in freestyle wrestling, sumo, and BJJ. Judging from his fights, he seems to love a good brawl just as much as a ground battle. Causes for concern: At 5’11", he’ll be one of the shortest 205-pounders in the UFC, and his Sengoku fights against Randleman and Wiuff raised questions about his stamina.

(Video courtesy YouTube/TwinkleToesTommy)

Besides his proclamation that he’s simply a better fighter than Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping has been asserting for weeks that the biggest factor in him beating the Japanese-born Korean fighter will be the size advantage he will hold over Sexyama when they square off Saturday night in London at UFC 120.

The question is, will Bisping’s purported size advantage actually give him a leg up on Akiyama or will it hinder his performance?

Historically, when fighters add size, they subtract at least some speed from their arsenal as well as an exponential amount of cardiovascular endurance as a result of needing to accommodate the oxygen requirements of keeping their larger muscles stocked with ATP.

(Where’s a loaded musket when you need one? Props: Fighters Only)

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…

– Josh Koscheck, Georges St-Pierre Get UFC 124 Hype Officially Underway at Press Conference in Montreal (MMA Fighting)

– Diaz, Thomson Top 211K Fighter Payroll For Diaz vs. Noons II (Heavy.com/MMA)

– SB Nation Exclusive: UFC 120′s Mike Pyle Reflects on His Career in MMA (Watch Kalib Run)

– Why Dan Hardy vs Carlos Condit Should Be the Headline Fight at UFC 120 (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Joseph Benavidez vs. Wagnney Fabiano Booked for WEC 52 (Versus MMA Beat)

- Nick Diaz: How Do These Guys Expect to Beat Me? [VIDEO](FightMagazine)

– Comeback "Gracie Style": Exclusive interview with Daniel Gracie (LowKick)

– Antonio Silva vs. Valentijn Overeem Official For Strikeforce ‘Henderson vs. Babalu’ (MMA Convert)

– Classic Fight: Royler Gracie vs. Genki Sudo @ K-1 MMA Romanex 2004 (MMA Scraps)

– Marloes Coenen Gets a Hero’s Welcome in Amsterdam (MiddleEasy)

(Warburton vs. Ross Pearson, 9/22/07. Skip to the 5:20 mark to see some amazingly irresponsible reffing.)

Half of the guys on the UFC 120 preliminary card will be making their Octagon debuts, hoping to claim some TV time by smashing their veteran opponents — or at the very least not do so poorly that they’re immediately fired. Take a look at the first three today, and keep an eye out for them on Saturday…

CURT WARBURTON (LW)
Experience: 7-2-1 record in various British promotions, with 6 wins by first-round stoppage. Warburton fought TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson three times in the Total Combat UK league, going an even 1-1-1 in the series.
Will be facing: Spencer Fisher (23-6, 8-5 UFC)
Lowdown: Warburton is a Wolfslair MMA Academy product who "used to dig holes for a living" before discovering MMA. He described himself as "gobsmacked" by his four-fight UFC contract, and is humbled by the opportunity that’s been put in front of him. “I got butterflies when I was given [Fisher's] name," Warburton says. "It took me by surprise a little bit, as he’s a top fighter and very experienced. When you get used to seeing people fight on television, it becomes a little strange to then be told you’ve got to fight him. Like everyone else, I’ve enjoyed watching Spencer fight over the years, and it was a bit of a ‘wow’ moment for me when I discovered I’d be fighting him on my UFC debut…I’ve got to go out there and prove to everybody that I belong at this level. This is my chance to keep on doing something that I love. If I can’t perform on the night, and can’t do it on the big stage, I’ll have to give up on something I love and go back to work."

(VidProps: UK Telegraph)

The UK Telegraph posted part two of its video interview with Dan Hardy this week, leading up to Hardy’s clash with Carlos Condit on Saturday night at UFC 120. Though the video is titled “My secret weapon after losing to Georges St. Pierre,” Hardy doesn’t mention anything about GSP or his secret weapon here. Hopefully, that’s coming in part three. What Hardy does do in the above video is a bit of clarification about what he meant to say while he was ripping into wrestlers in a recent column he penned for his hometown newspaper. Once again – as we’ve already discussed –  Hardy seems far more sensible when you hear the words come out of his mouth than when your read them on paper.

The five-time UFC vet explains that even though he actually wrote the words, “the problem is there’s beginning to be too much wrestling in UFC Octagon,” he didn’t mean it as an insult to wrestlers, per se. Like, what would give you that idea?

CagePotato.com Interviews Carlos Condit – Watch more Funny Videos

Five days before his UFC 120 showdown with Dan Hardy, welterweight contender Carlos Condit swung through New York yesterday for a media tour, which ended with an evening workout session at The Wat. After Kru Phil Nurse put him through a few grueling rounds of pad work, Carlos was kind enough to give us a brief interview, in which he discussed his matchup with the Outlaw this weekend, his dramatic win over Rory MacDonald at UFC 115, and why he’s become a loyal follower of Greg Jackson. Some highlights…

This Saturday in London, UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will get home-court advantage in his headlining fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama. Bisping is coming off a decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 114, while Akiyama will try to rebound from his submission loss to Chris Leben. Of course, you can’t always predict a fight’s outcome just by looking at recent performances. So let’s go to the stats and see if we can figure this sum’bitch out…

UFC RECORD
Bisping: 9-3
Akiyama: 1-1
Advantage: Bisping

NICKNAME
Bisping: "The Count"
Akiyama: "Sexyama"
Advantage: Akiyama

PERFORMANCE AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS
Bisping: Defeated Denis Kang via TKO R2, defeated Chris Leben via unanimous decision
Akiyama: Defeated Denis Kang via KO R1, lost to Chris Leben by submission (triangle choke) R3 
Advantage: Bisping

CAN HE SELL OUT AN ARENA WITH A MUSIC CONCERT?
Bisping: No
Akiyama: Yes
Advantage: Akiyama

(VidProps: UK Telegraph)

Just a tip, P-Nation: Next time you need to make an important first impression – whether on a first date or a job interview or that guest spot on The Bum Rush you’ve been hoping for — give some serious consideration to affecting an English accent. Essentially, sounding like you’re from across the pond is guaranteed to add a few points to your IQ and hey, it’s working for Dan Hardy. I know this sounds shallow, but something about listening to Hardy break down his upcoming UFC 120 opponent Carlos Condit in his lilting, Nottingham-art-school accent makes me think: “I’d definitely hire this guy.”

Now, we already know this is an illusion. We know that Hardy’s thin veil of smarts falls away in short order when he has to commit his thoughts to pen and paper. In fact, if I had to throw out a blind guess (and you know I will) I’d say Condit would probably best Hardy in most any battle of wits. Unfortunately, the battle of sounding cool when you say shit is already a totally one-sided slaughter in favor of the Englishman.

(Pyle insults England, Englishmen and the king’s English all in one quote. Good show, old boy. PicProps: RSW3)

Thanks to his almost uncanny ability to let down in big fights, Mike Pyle has spent most of his 11-year MMA career toiling in relative obscurity. It seems like Pyle is continually mentioned by other fighters as “one of the best” in the gym, but that exceptional skill shrinks away when the cage door slams and the TV lights come on. Case in point: His 2-2 record in the Octagon, which includes losses to both up-and-comer Jake Ellenberger and down-and-outer Brock Larson. But perhaps in advance of his bout with 23-year-old phenom John Hathaway at UFC 120, Pyle has finally found a way to thrust himself into the limelight: The Chael Sonnen way.

Indeed, Pyle looks primed to say a bunch of ridiculous shit leading up to Oct. 16, when he’ll be a short-notice injury replacement for Dong Hyun Kim. With the card set for the O2 Arena in London, Pyle doesn’t plan on making many friends that night.

(Video courtesy BJPenn.com)

BJPenn.com caught up with Dan Hardy recently to talk about his upcoming October 16 showdown with former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit and to get his thoughts on his Team Jackson-trained opponent.

"I think he’s a gamer; I think he’s tough. I enjoyed watching his fights in the WEC. Obviously, I’ve been keeping an eye on him since he came to the UFC. Just watching his fights, paying attention, making sure I’m aware of who’s in the division. He’s had a couple of tough fights but you know, he’s shown a lot of heart. I think he’s a good opponent. He comes to finish and that’s what I want. He’s not gonna be the kind of guy that’s gonna try and grind out a decision; he wants to either get a submission or a stoppage. Perfect  opponent for me because we can have a tear-up and entertain the fans."

(Does training with Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann help Pyle prepare for John "The Hitman" Hathaway?

Xtreme Couture welterweight Mike "Quicksand" Pyle will step in for injured Dong Hyun Kim to face fast-rising British welterweight John "The Hitman" Hathaway at UFC 120 on October 16 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The bout was first reported by Gareth Davis of the UK’s The Daily Telegraph and CagePotato.com has since confirmed the bout with sources close to both camps.

(They don’t like smiling. Put that in your little notebook.)

Dana White confirmed with MMAFighting.com over the weekend that Brock Lesnar‘s expected title defense against Cain Velasquez will come at UFC 121, slated for October 23rd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The meeting will come nearly four months after Lesnar’s comeback submission win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, and eight months after Velasquez stormed through Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110.

Though betting odds for the fight opened with Lesnar as a minor favorite (-125 to Cain’s -105), Lesnar has already moved as high as -160, due to money flooding in on the champ. At this point, the only other matchup reported for UFC 121 is a lightweight scrap between Sam Stout and Paul Taylor. In other booking news…

(We’re a little freaked-out too, Mike.)

UFC 120 (October 16th, London) is one of those international events that will be shown for free on Spike, so we didn’t really expect a massive headliner, but still, this is a bit of a slap in the nuts. Fighters Only reports that the card’s main event will be a middleweight contest between soap-opera star Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Yes, that Yoshihiro Akiyama, the one who was submitted by Chris Leben last weekend. Akiyama deserves a headlining spot about as much as Mark Hunt deserves a UFC contract after going winless for four years.* Of course, the prospect of Bisping beating up a foreign fancy-boy will probably be enough to get the locals to come out. We’re just glad we don’t have to pay for this one. The rumored UFC 120 lineup currently looks like this…

Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
John Hathaway vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Spencer Fisher vs. Kurt Warburton
Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Quieroz
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Cyrille Diabaté
James Te-Huna vs. Tom Blackledge

* Turns out, the UFC contractually owes Mark Hunt fights due to their 2007 purchase of PRIDE.