Former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson must really be feeling better. Apparently not content to have his name in the news just for felony charges and rumors of his November return to the Octagon, now he’s revisiting the topic of his loss to Forrest Griffin. Maybe he felt that his clash with “delirium” after the fight robbed him of the opportunity to talk about it, but he’s making up for lost time with this visit from the Ghost of Shit-Talking Past in a recent interview with the UK’s Fighter’s Only Magazine:

“I just want my fans to know, I was at my worst and Forrest was at his best – and I still beat him. …A man is not a man if he can’t ‘fess up to when he gets his ass kicked. See me, if I get my ass kicked I am like ‘yeah, I got my ass kicked’.

However, Jackson says that when he said those exact words at the end of the fight in July, “I was being sarcastic, because I really could not believe that it went the way it did”.

“I’m not a sore loser, shit happens. But I was hoping that Forrest would be a man and come out and say ‘You know what, I didn’t win that fight’, especially after he watched it.

“I wasn’t really sure, right at the end of the fight… I know he hurt me and punched me in the face a couple of times but I was bobbing and weaving and making him miss, stuff like that. I was hoping that he would come out later after he saw the fight and say ‘yeah, I saw the fight and I lost that fight.”

Daaaaaamn! First of all, Rampage really expected Griffin to come out after the fight and voluntarily say that he did not deserve to win the title? Has Rampage ever met any pro fighters? That’s just not their style. Especially with a fight that close, it’s standard operating procedure for both guys to claim they won and for both to go to their graves truly believing it. So basically Rampage wants Griffin to do what no other fighter, including him, would do in this situation.

(Does Phil Baroni even have control over what comes out of his mouth?)

Following UFC 86 Sherdog ran a story featuring comments from notable MMA fighters regarding their thoughts on the Forrest Griffin-Quinton Jackson decision. It was a pretty standard reaction piece, with the most interesting comment coming from Mac Danzig, who seemed to disparage Rampage’s overall persona.

But then Fightlinker pointed out that Phil Baroni, who had been quoted calling the decision “some bullshit”, was claiming that he never actually gave a quote to Sherdog:

First off I never gave my opinion on the fight being scored wrong to anyone esp a reporter from Sherdog. I never spoke to any media about my opinion the fight. I think its bullshit that Sherdog quoted me. First off I think the fight was a great one. Second I feel the decision was a fair one. I think Forrest is an inspiration and fought his heart out. His career is an inspiration and story book. He did a great job fought like a true champion against Rampage and his entire career. He deserves to be UFC champion and I take my hat off to him.

Now, if that were any other fighter, this claim would be pretty shocking. It’s not like Sherdog to just make up quotes. But since it’s Baroni, there is always the possibility that he a) is just screwing with them, or b) has no idea whether he did or didn’t give that quote.

Steve Cofield has information that seems to indicate it’s the latter.

You can always count on a local morning radio DJ to give you hard-hitting interviews. Richmond, Virginia’s “Morning Sludge” on Y101 (new rock!) has done it here with an exclusive Dana White interview the day before UFC 86. It doesn’t take long before they begin talking Affliction, and White rips right into them for selling “fucking t-shirts for a living.”

The radio host, however, seems more bothered by the people “in the club” who wear Affliction gear and inevitably end up “c-blocking” him. Our condolences, sir.

Other highlights of the interview include Dana White saying that the internet is “where the pussies live” and claiming that the UFC has been in business for twenty years. So, it began in 1988? I had no idea.

In other radio news, Ariel Helwani and I interviewed Jake O’Brien on MMA Rated Radio to talk about his upcoming bout against Cain Velasquez, and let’s just say that the outcome was…uncomfortable. I don’t know if he just didn’t want to do the interview or if O’Brien is some kind of narcoleptic, but it was certainly unique. Give it a listen and bask in the awkwardness.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson did not suffer serious injury in his bout with Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, as was initially feared. Instead of waiting until January to get back in action, the former champ was cleared by a doctor to get back in the gym next week, trainer Juanito Ibarra said:

“After the fight, he had a knot the size of a cantaloupe on his shin,” Jackson’s trainer, Juanito Ibarra, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I’ve never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been in the fight game. It was ugly. The next day it went down. Today, there’s no bump at all. The doctor said he’s fine. It’s a deep bone bruise now. He’s totally fine. There’s no damage. All we’re waiting for now is the rematch.”

[...]

“Forrest said after the fight he didn’t want to do it again, but he had to, remember? He said that because he felt in his heart he didn’t win that fight. Let the kids heal, and let’s get it on.”

This is good news for the UFC, whose options just got better with so many possible light heavyweight matches at their disposal.

As for Ibarra, he insists he is not going back on his vow to retire if Jackson lost:

Dana White has confirmed what BJ Penn has been talking about since last week — a rematch between Penn and Georges St. Pierre could happen by the end of the year:

“If St. Pierre buzzsaws through (Jon) Fitch then yes, we’ll do Penn vs. GSP,” said White.

Though by no means guaranteed, GSP buzzsawing through Fitch is a likely scenario, and Penn would be granted an opportunity to avenge his UFC 58 split decision loss against St. Pierre. Which means, theoretically, Penn could become the UFC’s first two-division champion well before Anderson Silva, who will be attempting the same feat. A lot of “if”s there, I know, but the possibility is compelling. Who ya got on GSP/BJ 2?

In other UFC news…

— Early speculation points to UFC 90 being held on October 25th in Chicago. This would depend on a SpikeTV deal being locked down for UFC 89: Bisping vs. Lebven, which would be held just a week earlier.

— Medical suspensions for UFC 86 have been released, and Quinton Jackson, Marcus Aurelio, Justin McCully, and Jorge Gurgel could potentially be out of commission until January.

— The UFC wants you to know that you can watch all of Anderson Silva’s UFC and PRIDE fights on UFC.com for $9.99. I guess this is for people who don’t have Google?

(Rampage getting jiggy, from Tracy Lee’s Combat Lifestyle.)

Several people have taken note of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s cavalier attitude about his unanimous decision loss to Forrest Griffin over the weekend. In Tracy Lee’s photo album from “Sunday Funday” following UFC 86 we see Rampage, among other MMA fighters, getting his relax on and putting the concerns of the fight game behind him for the day. Rampage did seem to take losing his title surprisingly well, and he doesn’t seem to be letting it get him down here.

Of course, the party had no shortage of booze and scantily clad women (not to mention whatever that is in Rampage’s hand) so it would probably be difficult to stay in too bad a mood. For example…

(Those wacky Brazilians. They even make the gym look fun.)

We’ve heard some great explanations for losing in our time covering mixed martial arts, but Ricardo Almeida has a new one: boredom. That’s what he says cost him in his split decision loss to Patrick Cote at UFC 86, according to Setanta Sports:

“I lost because I got bored…Whatever I say, I know it’s gonna sound biased,” said Almeida, who moved to 9-3 in his MMA career.

“It wasn’t a great fight. I felt I dominated the first round. Then I had the incident with the glove [which needed cutting], and something happened to me mentally right there.

“Even physically, I was just dead in the second round – very very tired. I felt I bossed the third, some good jabs, I got a takedown – and the only reason he got on top was because I tried the guillotine.

“My corner told me to stay on top with 60 seconds left. But I guess because the fight was so boring, I wanted to try a submission and he finished the fight on top – which probably swung it.”

You know, usually post-fight excuses are pretty lame, but this one actually has some merit in a weird way. Guess that’s why you don’t bring Almeida to your niece’s dance recital. He gets bored and it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll attempt a guillotine on you just to liven things up.

(“No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you.” Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

The official payouts for “Jackson vs. Griffin” are below, courtesy of MMA Weekly. Unless otherwise noted, each winning fighter’s salary represents a doubling of their base salary.

Forrest Griffin: $310,000 ($100,000 base salary, plus $150,000 win bonus, plus $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus)
Quinton Jackson: $285,000 ($225,000 base salary, plus $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus)
Gabriel Gonzaga: $100,000
Melvin Guillard: $80,000 (includes $60,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus)
Cole Miller: $80,000 (includes $60,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus)
Josh Koscheck: $70,000
Joe Stevenson: $60,000
Tyson Griffin: $40,000
Marcus Aurelio: $40,000
Patrick Cote: $32,000
Ricardo Almeida: $23,000
Chris Lytle: $14,000
Gleison Tibau: $11,000
Jorge Gurgel: $10,000
Justin Buchholz: $8,000
Corey Hill: $8,000
Dennis Siver: $7,000
Justin McCully: $5,000
Total disclosed payroll: $943,000

Underpaid: Chris Lytle, who was paid a mere $1,000 for every pint of blood he lost against Josh Koscheck. The UFC likely rewarded his gruesome effort with one of those undisclosed “locker room bonuses,” but his base salary still seems a bit low for someone who’s been through so many high-profile wars for the company. Buchholz, McCully, and Siver’s base salaries are hardly worth the time they spent training for their fights — though one could argue that Siver and McCully should have trained a little harder.

Overpaid: Tyson Griffin. As long as you’re unable to finish a fight, you should be getting Jorge Gurgel money.

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Juanito Ibarro is mad. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s trainer told Sherdog that his fighter “was robbed” on Saturday night. He even plans to protest the decision — one of those great and entirely symbolic acts on par with kicking dirt on the umpire’s shoes or voting for a third party presidential candidate.

At the heart of Ibarra’s complaints, it seems, are two points: 1) the first round should have belonged to Jackson on every judge’s scorecard, perhaps even as a 10-8 round, since the most significant action of the round was a knockdown from his right uppercut, and 2) you have to beat the champion.

On the first point, Ibarra has something of a case. Calling it 10-8 for Jackson is a stretch, but knocking Griffin down in a round that saw no other major action should be enough to win the opening frame. On the second point, well, this is where it begins to get tricky.

The conventional wisdom in the fight game says that you can’t win the title with a close decision. You have to go out and really take it away from the champion, either by finishing him or absolutely dominating him. Griffin didn’t do that. Whether you think the decision was the right one or not, the fight was certainly very close. But should the title change hands via razor-thin decision?

(Be careful what you wish for…)

His split decision victory over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 may not have been electrifying to watch, but it was enough to get Patrick Cote a shot at the middleweight title. At least, that’s what the UFC is saying.

“He’s getting a title shot,” Dana White said following Cote’s victory.

The question now is, when? The Canadian Press says that after his fight with James Irvin, Silva will most likely defend his middleweight strap against Yushin Okami at UFC 88 in Atlanta, which would mean less than two months between bouts for Silva. Two months after that, they say, is when Cote is likely to get his chance.

Apparently not everyone was happy with Cote’s performance, though:

There was some drama outside the cage after the fight. Manager Stephane Patry said a UFC official — not White — had berated his fighter for the lacklustre bout. Patry said he promptly complained to UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, who assured him Cote would be treated right.

“Obviously it wasn’t the most exciting fight but Lorenzo’s a good guy, he understands,” Patry said.

Now we get to play everyone’s favorite game, “Guess That Mystery UFC Official”. My money’s on Wilder Valderrama. He’s an official, right?

Get ‘em while they last…

(Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully)

(Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver)

The official judges’ tallies, from Dave Meltzer via Fightlinker:

Adalaide Byrd
Round 1: 10-9 Griffin
Round 2: 10-8 Griffin
Round 3: 10-9 Griffin
Round 4: 10-9 Jackson
Round 5: 10-9 Jackson

Nelson Hamilton
Round 1: 10-9 Jackson
Round 2: 10-8 Griffin
Round 3: 10-9 Griffin
Round 4: 10-9 Jackson
Round 5: 10-9 Griffin

Roy Silbert
Round 1: 10-9 Griffin
Round 2: 10-9 Griffin
Round 3: 10-9 Griffin
Round 4: 10-9 Jackson
Round 5: 10-9 Griffin

Personally, I don’t agree that Rampage was “robbed” in this decision whatsoever — I think Griffin clearly controlled rounds 1, 2, and 5 — but for all three judges to give round 3 to the challenger is very questionable; Rampage found his distance in that round and started landing his lead-fisted punch combos. But then again, all three judges gave round 4 to Jackson, which I saw as a very close frame that could have been scored for Griffin due to his triangle attempt, which came within a ball-hair of finishing the fight. I’m sure the argument will rage on, but there’s one thing we can all agree on: These judges are totally incompetent. Where’s Cecil Peoples when you need him?

As if there was any doubt, Rampage vs. Forrest won UFC 86′s Fight of the Night bonus, with both headliners picking up $60,000 for their event-saving performance. As mentioned earlier, Knockout of the Night went to Melvin Guillard for his 36-second destruction of Dennis Siver, and Submission of the Night went to Cole Miller for choking out Jorge Gurgel; those bonuses were also worth $60k. Full payout info to come as soon as we have it…

Rampage and Opie battle for the light-heavyweight belt, Cote and Alemeida scrap for the #1 middleweight contender spot, Joe Stevenson tries to keep his blood inside his head, Josh Koscheck and Chris Lytle try to make it two in a row…and that’s pretty much it. Not an awesome card, but UFN 14 is just two weeks from now, and sometimes quantity is quality. Results from the UFC 86 undercard and live updates from the PPV broadcast are after the jump; refresh your browser every few minutes to read all the latest, and share your reactions in the comments section.

Yahoo! Sports has an article claiming that Josh Koscheck “wouldn’t mind” dropping to lightweight to take on B.J. Penn at some point in the future. This, apparently, because there is a perceived lack of credible challengers in the UFC’s lightweight division, which is already a questionable thesis to begin with.

But assuming you go along with it, then you’re expected to make the leap to believing that Josh Koscheck is the savior the division needs. Koscheck himself sounds only lukewarm about the idea:

“You never know,” he said, beaming, when confronted about his ability to make the lightweight limit of 155 pounds. “If people would want to see me fight B.J. Penn at 155 for the title, because there is really nobody there for him to fight, I’d do it.”

[...]

“I know B.J. very well, but business is business,” Koscheck said. “We’re friends, but at the end of the day, it’s about making money together. If the fans would want to see it, I’d suck it up and I’d live that life to where I’d do whatever I have to do to make 155.”

These statements make Koscheck seem far from eager to go down in weight and face Penn, but what’s interesting is the assertion that there is “really nobody there for him to fight.”

On the surface this seems kind of true, but only because Penn is so dominant right now that we assume whoever claims the number one contender spot will inevitably be destroyed by him. The reality is that the 155-pound division is one of the deepest weight classes in the UFC and the sport as a whole. Maybe Penn will beat every credible challenger in the division, but shouldn’t he do that before we just assume that he will?

(Can I get a USA chant?)

With Independence Day upon us and UFC 86 just one day away, what better way to celebrate both occasions than by arguing over every insignificant detail of the weekend to come. That’s what we do best, after all, which may mean only that we do everything else exceptionally poorly.

Don’t forget to check out our UFC 86 Liveblog tomorrow night where you can get in on the heated bickering — and in real time!

Who’s next in line for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title after Jackson-Griffin?

Fowlkes: As always in the UFC, who’s next depends on who wins. If Jackson wins, which is the more likely outcome, then the UFC is faced with two distinct possibilities, both of them involving rematches.

Chuck Liddell probably only needs to beat Rashad Evans to be back at the top of the list. That’s not necessarily because a win over “Sugar” Rashad is so impressive, but because the UFC knows they could get big money for Jackson-Liddell III.

The same is true regarding Wanderlei Silva. He needs at least one more win and even then it would be just barely credible to put him in a title fight with “Rampage”, but barely credible is more than enough for the UFC.

If Griffin wins, however, all bets are off. Anyone with anything resembling a winning streak is a candidate, except maybe Lyoto Machida. An immediate rematch with Jackson wouldn’t be out of the question, nor would a Griffin-Liddell scenario. Either way, Liddell should be the odds-on favorite to get the next shot, provided he doesn’t get lay-and-prayed to death by Evans.

Goldstein: Dude? Silva destroyed Rampage twice in PRIDE, which makes him a whole lot more than “barely credible,” no matter what he’s accomplished in the UFC so far. Sure, Wandy would probably need another win just to keep up appearances, but Jackson vs. Silva is the match that needs to happen for Rampage’s title reign to have true legitimacy. And if the UFC felt like playing up their history, they could surely convince the casual Chuck-hugging fans that Silva deserves it more.

(Make your choice, but choose wisely.)

It’s that time again. For betting odds this week we turn to BetUs.com to get the lines for UFC 86. While the undercard might not have the most thrilling match-ups that we’ve ever seen on a pay-per-view event, you can always depend on online wagering to make everything more interesting/nerve-racking.

But before we get to that, let’s start with the main event. If you need some help figuring out how the odds work, or you just generally want to read an interesting primer on MMA betting, check out Damon Durante’s insightful “MMA Betting for ‘Tards”. Don’t worry, simply reading it doesn’t necessarily make you a ‘tard. Reading it and still not understanding how odds work? Yeah, then you’re a ‘tard. Try not to choke on your own tongue.

Quinton Jackson (-260) vs. Forrest Griffin (+200)

This is about what we expected. Griffin deserves to be the underdog, though with his resiliency and his skills it’s not implausible to think he could pull this out. For those of you who like a little semi-insider info before you make a wager, Steve Cofield is reporting that Griffin is tightly wound in his dealings with the media of late. That may be a sign that the pressure of a title fight is getting to him, or it might just mean that he’s sick of answering the same questions from reporters.

If you believe in Griffin’s ability to outlast or out-grapple “Rampage”, those 2-1 odds aren’t bad for small action. The odds on “Rampage” really make it too much of a risk to be worth it, especially if you believe that he may be spreading himself thin living the life of a superstar these days, what Ariel Helwani refers to as “The Lennox Lewis Effect“. Could Griffin be his Hasim Rahman?

Patrick Cote (+110) vs. Ricardo Almeida (-140)

The only reason Almeida isn’t more of a favorite here is because he was out of action for so long and people still aren’t sure what to make of him. He’s got a better ground game than Cote, who has shown a weakness with submissions in the past, though the Canadian is a vastly improved fighter these days. Cote really has to fight mistake free to win, and while that’s not out of the question, it’s also not something you want to bet on with the odds on him so close to even. Smart money’s on Almeida, and the line isn’t bad at all.

(‘Actually Marvin Eastman, your breath is delightful. I am at a loss.’)

Pro MMA conducted an interview with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s father recently, and it really helps put some of his personality traits into perspective. Most notably, Jackson’s penchant for making jokes about how bad other people’s breath smells:

You know Quinton is always telling bad breath jokes. Well I was the first to start it with him. We were in McDonald’s one day, Quinton was deciding on what to order. He said, “I don’t know what I want.” I replied “You know what you need to order?” he said, “What?” I said, ” You need to order a great big Tic Tac.” It was funny. Everybody was laughing. From then on, we would always joke on each other’s breath.

Just think, if his dad had told a knock-knock joke at that crucial moment in Jackson’s development, things might have turned out very differently. And by differently I mean, you know, totally lame.

Is it sad that this is what passes for interesting news in the lead up to this title fight? Kind of.

But in other UFC news, Thiago Alves is said to be facing Diego Sanchez at UFC 89 in England, according to MMA Weekly. If it seems a little odd for Alves to go from dismantling Matt Hughes to facing someone who is probably lower on the welterweight totem pole, well, that’s because it is. Still should make for an interesting fight. Who knows, Alves might even make weight this time. Maybe.

A funny thing happened while Ariel Helwani and I were interviewing Chris Lytle about his upcoming bout with Josh Koscheck at UFC 86. Lytle was at the firehouse, where he works as — surprise — a fireman, and in the middle of the interview he calmly explained that he had to go because there was a fire that needed fighting. As interviews go, that was a first. He came back later and explained what had happened, and also explained what it’s like to be fighting fires just a few days before fighting for the UFC. If that kind of thing interests you, head over to MMA Rated to listen to the radio show. The Lytle interview starts at around the thirty-five minute mark. Yeah, it’s basically a half-hour of us arguing over stuff up until then. That’s what happens when you don’t have a real job.

If that kind of thing doesn’t interest you, then maybe this will. Bas Rutten appeared on ESPN’s “MMA Live” to demonstrate the aptly-named “Exorcist” neck crank. It looks…unpleasant.

The Patrick Cote-Ricardo Almeida bout could turn out to be one hell of a fight when all is said and done at UFC 86. It’s a timely matchup because it helps to slim down the list of serious contenders in the middleweight division, and both guys are at a point where they can’t afford to lose. Plus, I love a good contest of accents.

Check out Cote’s plans for a sprawl-and-brawl victory above. Almeida is after the jump. He might not be the last guy left in MMA who refers to his desire to go out and “represent jiu-jitsu”, but he’s definitely part of a dying breed.

You may think that typing out a sentence about what a no-talent mama’s boy some fighter is has no real effect on anything, but Joe Stevenson begs to differ. In a recent interview with MMA Rated he admitted to scouring the internet in the past to read what people were saying about him:

In (the) rankings, you know, I don’t really check the Internet too much, I stay off of it because when I first started, I remember the headache that I would get from watching people say, ‘oh yeah, this that and the other’ and, I mean, emotionally it does hurt you. You’re like, ‘wait a minute! You jerk!’ You know, it doesn’t really matter if it’s a 13-year-old kid with acne or if it’s a 27-year-old guy that thinks he can do it or someone that’s really legit and has an opinion. It still hurts, words hurt.

As our Cage Potato comments pie chart revealed, the internet is a place for all the negative/racist/sexist/nonsense things people can’t say in polite company, so it’s probably best for Stevenson not to take it to heart. Of course, by writing that I’ve probably opened the door for some thirteen-year-old kid with acne to call me a Stevenson nuthugger while perhaps also questioning my sexual preference.

Also in the interview, Stevenson looks back on his loss to B.J. Penn, especially the now infamous moment where Penn licked his blood off his own gloves.

Check out the intro to SpikeTV’s “Countdown to UFC 86″ special, which features Juanito Ibarra vowing to retire if Rampage loses. Finally, this fight matters!

Here’s a segment on Patrick Cote from the “Countdown” show, which details his hard luck in the Octagon before putting together consecutive wins against Scott Smith, Kendall Grove and Drew McFedries.

And finally, a slam-packed Rampage Jackson highlight clip, courtesy of the UFC.

Forrest Griffin may have started in the UFC as the original “Ultimate Fighter,” but since then he’s proved himself in several tough bouts and endeared himself to fans. This Saturday he faces his first title bout against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 and another career-defining moment.

In this exclusive interview, Griffin spoke with CagePotato about his experiences coaching drunken fighters, his plans for “Rampage,” and much more.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me, Forrest. Tell me, how have you been getting ready specifically for “Rampage”?

You know, a little of this, little of that. I’ve just been having people scowl at me a lot. That’s the first thing you’ve got to prepare for with Rampage. He’s got a good scowl. If you’ve ever watched him fight, have you ever watched him fight?

Yes, I’ve seen him fight.

He’s got a nice little scowl, doesn’t he?

It’s not bad. What else do you think he has in his arsenal, aside from the scowl.

He’s got a good chin. He’s a powerful guy, very explosive. He hits hard.

His trainer mentioned that he expected you to try and stay away from “Rampage” for most of the fight.

Sounds good. I think I’ll do that. Stay on the move. I like that. No, but I don’t want to stand in front of him for too long. Unfortunately he hits harder than I do and has a better chin than I do, so that’s not a good idea.

(They say that shoe is his, but it barely even resembles him.)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of MMA’s most charismatic stars, but the UFC light heavyweight champ has also become one of the world’s best fighters since moving from Pride to the UFC. In this exclusive interview, “Rampage” discusses his evolution as an athlete, his upcoming title fight against Forrest Griffin, and what he hates most about life as an MMA fighter.

CagePotato.com: Hey, “Rampage.” Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. How is your training camp going? I hear that you really don’t like training.

“Rampage” Jackson: That’s true. I hate training. I don’t know why. I guess because I’m lazy. I do it anyway and I train really hard, but I hate every minute of it.

If you hate it so much, how do you get through weeks of it without losing your mind before every fight?

I joke around and have fun in the gym. I like to have fun people around me. It helps me get through it. I also think about what I’m going to do to my opponent, how I’m going to take it out on him for making me do all this training.

How have you been preparing specifically for Forrest? What are you expecting out of him?

I’ve just been training to whip his ass. Other than that I don’t really know. I think he’s probably going to try and use those leg kicks and keep moving. He’s pretty good with leg kicks. But I’m pretty sure that after I hit him a couple of times he’ll forget about all that.

It seems like you’ve become a much different fighter in the last couple of years, ever since coming to the UFC. You look more polished and more technical. What do you think has made the difference?

(Props: MMAMania)

Above is the first video promo for UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin (July 5th, Las Vegas). The main event should be fantastic, but it doesn’t bode well that Cote vs. Almeida is the only other match that warrants a mention in the clip. And even if the winner will technically be “moving up the ranks toward a middleweight title shot,” it’s not like they won’t have to beat 2-4 more guys to get there. The current lineup is below; is it better or worse than UFC 85′s?

MAIN CARD
Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin
Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida
Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio

UNDERCARD
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz

Unrelated, but important: The earth-shattering news that Dana White was promising to deliver tomorrow has been pushed back to this coming Tuesday. My guess? The UFC needs a little more time to obtain rights to “The Hex”…

(“Aim for the one in the middle.”)

Earlier today, we reminded you that a fight between heavyweights Frank Mir and Justin McCully was slated to go down at UFC 86; shortly after, the matchup disappeared from the UFC 86 fight card page. So what happened? Well, if you’ll remember way back to last week, we reported that Mir had signed to be a coach on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, competing against a team led by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. We stand by that report, but it would also make sense that the UFC would now try to convince Mir and Nogueira to headline UFC 85, which still lacks a credible main event — unless they give up and put the card on SpikeTV for free, in which case Bisping vs. Leben is fine by us. We’ll update you if anything is formally announced.

In other UFC news…

— Charles McCarthy has retired. When I first saw that headline I was like, “OMFG, no more Krazy Horse?!” Then I realized they weren’t talking about Charles Bennett, but about that douche who couldn’t fight nearly as well as he trash-talked vs. Bisping last weekend. Good luck with all your future endeavors…?

— The UFC is reportedly negotiating with FOX for a network TV deal, but is going through their entertainment division as opposed to the sports division, just as it tried to do with CBS and NBC. As MMAPayout writes, “In theory, the promotion would enjoy greater editorial control as an entertainment property, which was reportedly a sticking point in its negotiations with HBO and CBS.”

— Brandon Vera’s one-year goal is to win both the UFC’s heavyweight and light heavyweight titles. After he steamrolls through Nogueira (or whoever, really) and Quinton Jackson (or Forrest?), he plans on buying Rampage a car with a vanity plate that says “LOSER.” Just another sad example of the delusional behavior brought on by extended Norco abuse.

(“Maximus” could be battling T-Griffin at UFC 86.)

We mentioned yesterday that lightweight Tyson Griffin would likely be fighting at UFC 86 — the event featuring a headlining battle between Rampage and Forrest Griffin on July 5th. An opponent had not been named, although we suggested it could be Nate Diaz due to Nick’s bro recently calling Tyson out. It now looks like Griffin’s opponent will be Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio.

Griffin is 11-1 and is riding a three-fight win streak. His only loss was to Frankie Edgar 14 months ago. He last fought at UFC 81 when he beat Gleison Tibau via decision — on a side note, Tibau will take on Joe “Daddy” at the same event. Griffin has spent about half his career in the UFC, while Aurelio has three UFC fights under his belt to go with his years in PRIDE. The 16-5 “Maximus” hails from American Top Team and has won his last two — the most recent being an armbar victory over Ryan Roberts at UFC Fight Night 13. Previously, he fell three times in a row, although all was to top talent: Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, and Mitsuhiro Ishida. The Brazilian is — what else? — a BJJ specialist and more often than not, finishes fights. He has 10 subs among his 16 wins, compared to three decisions. All of his losses were via decision.

This could be one of the best match-ups on the card, which currently looks like this (although not all are confirmed):

– Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin
– Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
– Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
– Frank Mir vs. Justin McCully
– Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio
– Justin Buchholz vs. Corey Hill
– Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
– Ben Saunders vs. Jared Rollins
– Cole Miller vs. ???
– Steve Bruno vs. ???

And speaking of Joe “Daddy” and “Maximus”, Joe’s newborn son has been named Maximus. For what it’s worth, my aunt had a cat also named Maximus. It had chronic diarrhea and was blind in one eye.

A handful of fights are being reported for upcoming UFC events, so let’s get to it, shall we? Joe “Daddy” Stevenson has loaded back up on blood since his recent sticky mess at UFC 80 versus BJ Penn, and is ready to get back at it. MMAMania is reporting that Joe Daddy will fight Gleison Tibau at UFC 86. The event is set for July 5th in Vegas and will be headlined by the Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin war.

Joe is 28-8 overall and 5-2 after dropping down to lightweight. His opponent last fought at UFC 81 where he lost to Tyson Griffin. The loss dropped him to 15-5 overall.

In other UFC 86 news, FightNetwork is reporting that Patrick “The Predator” Cote is apparently set to face Ricardo “Cachorrao” Almeida at the show. Although Almeida has not been officially confirmed, it looks like he’s the man:

Although Cote would neither confirm nor deny Almeida as his opponent, longtime training partner and friend David “The Crow” Loiseau said on Monday that the heavy-handed Quebec native would be taking on the decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

Cote has notched a 12-4 pro record and is 6-1 since back-to-back losses in 2005. He has never been knocked out and has won his last three via TKO. The middleweight has spent much of his career in the UFC and is certainly climbing the ladder to — dare we say it — a title shot. Cote has his eyes on the prize and has a “timeline” for that to happen:

“We wanted a big fight,” Cote said. “I have four wins in a row – three in the UFC – and I think I’m ready for a real tough opponent. I want to fight a guy who, if I win, the UFC will put me in a title fight or one more fight before I get my shot.”

Almeida is 9-2 as a professional and would be a great test for Cote. The fighter has beaten opponents such as Kazuo Misaki and Ryo Chonan, in addition to a submission win over Rob Yundt at UFC 81.

So UFC 82 has rightfully dominated not only CagePotato the past 50-odd hours, but much of the MMA world as well. With Anderson Silva’s continued dominance in the bag, the UFC is already looking ahead. Way ahead. Although the date has not been confirmed by the NSAC, Dave Meltzer is reporting in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter that UFC 86 will go down on July 5th in Vegas. The event will be headlined by “TUF 7″ coaches, Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin. The two light heavies were named coaches for the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series back in December, setting them up for a battle at the next UFC event following the end of TUF’s finale.

The light heavyweight fight – which will have Rampage’s title on the line – is so far the only fight “scheduled” for the UFC 86 card. As has been the case lately, once a date drops – be it official or rumored – scheduled fights start falling into place at a frequent pace. The event is four months away and with the recent UFC event cards, the show already has a lot to live up to. And let’s hope they told the 4-year-old who designed the UFC 84: ill will poster what he can do with his crayons and will get a real designer for the UFC 86 poster…like at least an eight-year-old who understands the upper-case/lower-case rule.

When reached for comments, Rampage just said something about “ass” and “whuppin”, while Forrest Griffin would only take questions on what his years were like playing Opie. Apparently Andy Griffith was a prick. Who knew.

(Props BloodyElbow)