(“Someday,” Johny thought. “Someday *I’ll* be the one with all the beverages.” / Photo via Sherdog)

As confirmed in a report from Ariel Helwani on yesterday’s installment of UFC Tonight, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long-awaited title defense against Johny Hendricks on November 16th in Las Vegas (venue TBA). The event, which is currently slated as UFC 167, will also serve as the UFC’s 20th anniversary show. The UFC had previously hoped to hold its 20th anniversary event at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, but with MMA regulation in NY shot down for another year, UFC president Dana White has respectfully moved on.

St. Pierre is on an 11-fight win streak including eight belt-defenses, and has become known (and often criticized) for his steady, methodical domination of opponents; GSP’s last six fights have gone to five-round decisions. Meanwhile, Hendricks’s six-fight win streak includes Knockout of the Night-winning beatdowns of Martin Kampmann and Jon Fitch, and he most recently outpointed Carlos Condit at UFC 158 in March. Hendricks has enough wrestling skills to avoid being ragdolled by St. Pierre for 25 minutes, and enough power in his left hand to end the fight at any moment. Basically, if Hendricks can’t beat Georges St. Pierre, no 170-pounder on Earth can.

At this point, there are no other matches tied to UFC 167, but we’re expecting big things from the UFC’s 20th anniversary show. Another title fight? A Hall of Fame induction? Teila Tuli and Gerard Gordeau as guest commentators? Dare to dream in the comments section.

(Gustafsson and Jones, both trying to hide their excitement about meeting Bob Sapp. Photo via @AlexTheMauler)

It’s official: UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones will attempt to defend his title for a record-breaking sixth time against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, September 21st in Toronto, Ontario.

The last time we saw Bones in the Octagon, he was trying not freak out about the destroyed toe he accidentally sustained during his UFC 159 whupping of Chael Sonnen. But luckily, the digit was simply dislocated, which has made a five-month turnaround between fights a possibility. By the way, this will be the third time in two years that Jones has competed at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto; he previously made belt-defenses against Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort at the venue.

As for Gustafsson, an ouchie of his own prevented “The Mauler” from facing Gegard Mousasi back in April, but Gustafsson’s six-fight win streak still makes him qualified for his crack at the belt. Fun fact: Despite being an inch taller than Jones, Gustafsson will still have to deal with an eight-inch reach disadvantage.

Yes, this blows apart our dream for an October double-title-fight mega-card in Cowboys Stadium — especially when you consider that GSP vs. Hendricks is likely going to happen in November now. I’m feeling super-bad for October at this point.

Anyway: Jones vs. Gustafsson — your predictions, please.

(Now there’s a guy who’s probably tied some women to railroad tracks in his day. Photo via CageWall.com)

Once upon a time, Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall was considered by many to be the #1 flyweight fighter in the world. Of course, this was back in 2011, when the UFC didn’t have a flyweight division, and the 125-pound MMA scene in America was pretty much limited to the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.

Public opinion of McCall has changed dramatically since then. First, he went 0-1-1 in a pair of fights against Demetrious Johnson during the UFC’s inaugural flyweight tournament in 2012, and followed that up by losing a decision to Joseph Benavidez at UFC 156 this past February. (Along the way, he soldiered through problems both personal and legal.) So even though McCall is still officially listed as the UFC’s #3 flyweight contender — despite being winless in three Octagon appearances — it’s clear that his back is against the wall, and his next fight is of the “must win” variety.

On Saturday, the UFC announced that Ian McCall will return at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro) against Iliarde Santos, a Brazilian scrapper who lost his UFC debut last month when he was KO’d by Yuri Alcantara. On paper, this is a fight that McCall should win. Unfortunately, paper goes out the window when you’re talking about UFC events in Brazil, where Brazilian fighters have been winning over 80% of the time when matched up with non-Brazilian opponents. (Brazilians enjoyed a 7-0 sweep against foreigners at UFC on FUEL 10, by the way.) Can McCall rescue his UFC career with a win against Santos? Or will he just give the bloodthirsty — and occasionally shirtless — Brazilian fans another reason to celebrate?

The current UFC 163 fight-lineup is after the jump…

(Leites sells tickets to the gun show while Marc Ratner continues to stare at Arianny’s tits. / Photo via Sherdog)

You know, there was a time when this website thought that Thales Leites had a legitimate shot at beating Anderson Silva, or could at least give him a good fight. Neither of those things turned out to be accurate, but at the very least, Leites was a top ten middleweight who had strung together five straight UFC wins in 2007-2008, including first-round submissions of Floyd Sword, Ryan Jensen, and Drew McFedries.

Leites’s title challenge against Silva at UFC 97 was both uncompetitive and dull as hell; there was a lot of butt-flopping from Leites, and a lot of weird crap from a clearly disinterested Silva. Leites followed up the unanimous decision loss with a split-decision defeat against Alessio Sakara, and the UFC gave him his walking papers.

Since then, Leites has gone 6-1 competing for promotions like MFC and Superior Challenge, and is riding a three-fight win streak with victories over Tor Troeng, Jeremy Horn, and Matt Horwich. And so, the UFC is giving Leites another chance, three years after his last Octagon appearance, booking him at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis (August 3rd; HSBC Arena, Rio De Janeiro), against former BAMMA champ Tom Watson. Watson is currently 1-1 in the UFC, and is coming off a TKO win over Stanislav Nedkov at UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald.

Can Leites prove his worth the second time around? Do any of you care? In other UFC 163 booking news…

(YES, MY LIEGE. / Image via 2Jupes on the UG)

Think of what you were doing 11 years ago. Most of you might envision a moment in your life that probably seems like ancient history now. George W. Bush was in his first term, Nelly was on the radio; I was fresh out of college, working at an Urban Outfitters, hoping that I’d eventually find a better job. (I did, fortunately.) The year was 2002, and it was the last time Josh Barnett competed in the UFC.

Most of you already know the tale: Barnett beats down Randy Couture in the second round of the their headlining title fight at UFC 36, then tests positive for steroids and is stripped of his title. He spends the next six years competing almost exclusively in Japan, gets himself in more PED trouble while fighting for Affliction, and has a minor career rebirth in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix of 2011-2012, where he finishes Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov with startling ease (both by arm-triangle-choke), but gets his ass handed to him by Daniel Cormier.

Perhaps against their better judgment, the UFC has given Barnett one more chance to fight in the Octagon, and he’s just gotten his return opponent. The UFC confirmed last night that Barnett will face Frank Mir — himself a former heavyweight champ from a bygone era — at UFC 164, August 31st in Milwaukee. [Ed. note: They want us to refer to this event as "UFC 164: Harley Davidson Hometown Throwdown" but fuck that.]

There’s a few ways to look at this match…

(Why do I get the feeling that I’m about to have sand kicked in my face? / Photo via MediaTakeOut.com)

MMAJunkie breaks the news that Alistair Overeem will make his Octagon return at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 — which takes place August 17th in Boston — where he’ll face dangerous heavyweight Travis Browne. (Sorry, Milwaukee-area Reem-fans. You’ve been duped.) According to the Junkie, the Overeem vs. Browne match will not be the show’s main event, which gives some credence to Dana White’s bold claim that UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 will be “the best television card we’ve ever done.”

Overeem and Browne have some shared history, in that they were both flattened in recent fights against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite coming in as heavy favorites against the Brazilian future champion. Since then, Browne has rebounded with a quick-knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale — aided by some controversial elbows — while Overeem has been inactive due to injury.

A year ago, I would have predicted “Reem by murder.” But now…I’m not so sure. Who would you put your money on for this one?

(Look on the bright side — things can’t get much worse for him, right?)

Though we know him best these days as a light-heavyweight can-crusher with only a single victory to his credit in the last three years, Brandon Vera started his career as a devastating force at heavyweight, racking up an 8-0 record including four nasty stoppages in the UFC. But after back-to-back losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum, Vera decided to cut some weight and drop to the 205-pound division in 2008. It hasn’t exactly gone well. For every win over low-level talent like Reese Andy, Mike Patt, and Eliot Marshall, he’s eaten losses against superstars like Jon Jones, Randy Couture, and (most recently) Mauricio Rua.

Now, it looks like Brandon Vera is looking to bring back his old self. MMAJunkie reports that Vera is heading back to heavyweight for a meeting with Ben Rothwell at UFC 164, August 31st at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Rothwell has compiled a 2-3 record during his time in the Octagon, and last competed in January when he was choked out by Gabriel Gonzaga. Though neither fighter is riding a long losing streak, their lack of consistent success in the UFC makes this one a must-win fight for both men. Can “The Truth” re-energize his career at his original weight class, or will Rothwell be stealin’ that soul?

(“When I slide through the place my swagga walk is what they diggin’ / I stick my leg out on the floor and start jiggin‘.” Photo via Getty Images)

After his upset KO loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156 in February, Alistair Overeem was slated to meet Junior Dos Santos later this month at UFC 160, but was forced to withdraw from that fight in March due to a torn quad muscle. According to a new report from MMAJunkie, the Reem has now been re-scheduled to appear at the recently announced UFC 164 (August 31st, Milwaukee). An opponent for Overeem hasn’t been announced yet, although outlaw twitter-journalist FrontRowBrian claims that Alistair will be facing fellow heavyweight Travis Browne, who’s coming off his controversial stoppage of Gabriel Gonzaga at last month’s TUF 17 Finale.

Overeem hasn’t scored a victory since his beat-down of Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, a year and a half ago. (Man, time flies when you can’t apply for licensure due to a laughably elevated T/E ratio.) Alistair’s reputation as a fearsome, elite-level heavyweight took a major hit when he crumbled in the third round against Bigfoot, after maybe having a little too much fun toying with the cement-fisted Brazilian during the first two-rounds of their match; the below-average testosterone levels revealed by his UFC 156 drug test raised even more eyebrows. Will Overeem get his act together in his return fight? And is there a different opponent you’d rather see him fight instead of Browne?

(John Moraga leaves Ulysses Gomez in a heap during his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC on FOX 8 bookings continue to pile up, with a pair of high-profile matchups announced last night by the UFC. First off, the July 27th event in Seattle now has an official main event: flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. fast-rising challenger John Moraga, a matchup that was originally supposed to headline the TUF 17 Finale earlier this month before Mighty Mouse was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Johnson is coming off his first title defense in January — a unanimous decision win over John Dodson at UFC on FOX 6 — while Moraga’s two-fight stint in the UFC has produced stoppage victories over Ulysses Gomez and Chris Cariaso…and that’s pretty much all it takes to get a title-shot at 125 pounds these days. Before starting his MMA career, Moraga was a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, and he currently trains at The Lab in Phoenix alongside Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the fighter-weight spectrum…

(Step one: Distract the Lizbos. / Photo via Miesha’s Facebook page)

Following her loss to Cat Zingano at the TUF 17 Finale, Miesha Tate was slapped with a medical suspension due to a busted nose that would put her on the sidelines for up to six months. But if she can get ENT clearance in time, she’ll return to the Octagon at UFC on FOX 8 (July 27th, Seattle), where she’ll face former title-contender Liz Carmouche. UFC Tonight correspondant Ariel Helwani was the first to report news of the planned bantamweight matchup. For the record, Tate says her nose is fine and the damn doctors are just over-protective.

Carmouche has been inactive since her armbar loss to Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in February, although she made some headlines recently with her campaign to become the first openly-gay athlete sponsored by Nike.

UFC on FOX 8 is already scheduled to feature the women’s bantamweight match between Julie Kedzie and Germaine de Randamie, so if Tate vs. Carmouche gets the green-light, the 7/27 UFC card will be the first to feature two women’s bouts on the same night. Any early predictions?

(Julie Kedzie steals the show at the EliteXC: Destiny weigh-ins, while some creepy chick named Gina lurks in the background. / Photo via George Ruiz)

What the hell, guys…it’s like the UFC is actually assembling a real women’s bantamweight division, with contenders and prospects and even gatekeepers. Color us impressed. The UFC’s latest female fight-booking is veteran Jackson’s MMA product Julie Kedzie vs. Dutch kickboxer Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie, both of whom spent time in Strikeforce before that organization’s collapse. As first revealed by FOX Sports, the two fighters will meet at UFC on FOX 8, July 27th in Seattle.

A decorated practitioner of the “Fuck This” fighting style (seriously), Kedzie has unfortunately lost her last two contests against Miesha Tate and Alexis Davis, which dropped her career record to 16-11. Since then, she’s kept busy as a member of the Invicta FC broadcast team, and according to Wikipedia, Kedzie is also Greg Jackson’s personal assistant.*

(MacDonald shifts around some of BJ Penn’s organs during his most recent appearance at UFC on FOX 5 in December. / Photo via Getty Images)

In the wake of Rory MacDonald‘s UFC 158 injury withdrawal and all the hype surrounding that card’s remaining welterweights, the trenchcoat-wearing sociopath temporarily became a forgotten man in the 170-pound division. Fortunately, “Ares” will be back this summer to continue his rise to the top. The UFC has confirmed that MacDonald will face Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8, July 27th at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.

While MacDonald is riding a four-fight win streak dating back to his domination of Nate Diaz at UFC 129 in April 2011, Ellenberger is coming off his nasty knockout of Nate Marquardt at UFC 158, which upped his Octagon record to 8-2. With previous UFC wins over Jay Hieron, Diego Sanchez, Jake Shields, and Mike Pyle, Ellenberger has become one of the most accomplished fighters in the division, and this fight could go a long way to secure the future title prospects of the winner.

The only other match booked for UFC on FOX 8 is Mac Danzig vs. Melvin Guillard; a main event has yet to be announced. So will MacDonald look sharp in his return fight, or will Ellenberger wear his teeth as a necklace?

(The Zangief Piledriver: You’re doing it wrong. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Melvin Guillard‘s falling out with the Blackzilians and subsequent rejection by his old Jackson’s MMA team temporarily left the veteran UFC lightweight without a training home. Yesterday, MMAJunkie reported that Guillard has set up shop at the Grudge Training Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, where he has the full support of trainer Trevor Wittman:

“I feel me and him have a very good connection, and I know him pretty well,” Wittman said. “I feel we can really help him turn his career around…He asked me to hit mitts with him for the week, and it was a very good connection, and I think that was a part of what helped him make his choice to come here.”

“Melvin’s one of those guys that’s a spot fighter. He has shown spots of greatness…Seeing a guy like that, you can either be at the top of the game or the bottom of a game, or you can be a gatekeeper. When you’re mind is not right and you’re fighting for the wrong reasons and [acting] outside of what you do well, that’s where you see an athlete going downhill. To me, it’s all about where you are mentally.”

Though Grudge has long had a strategic affiliation with Jackson’s MMA — with fighters like Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, and Shane Carwin shuttling between the two camps in the past — the Colorado facility is an independent operation, not subject to the edicts of Pope Greg. And with a fresh start at Grudge, the Young Assassin will look to snap his two-fight losing streak this summer.

(Make no mistake — when Edgar’s at his best, he’s capable of losing a close decision to any fighter in the world. Photo via Getty Images)

UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman is turning out to be a can’t-miss showcase for featherweight talent. With Ricardo Lamas vs. Chan Sung Jung already on the lineup, the UFC has just added two more big-name 145-pound scraps to the July 6th card in Las Vegas…

- Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira: Following his unsuccessful title challenge against Jose Aldo — which gave Edgar his third decision loss in a row — “The Answer” returns to the featherweight division to face dangerous grappler Charles Oliveira. Though Oliveira hasn’t competed since his knockout loss to Cub Swanson at UFC 152, his two previous fights resulted in submission victories over Jonathan Brookins and Eric Wisely. It’s a logical rebound fight for Edgar, and a huge opportunity for Oliveira.

- Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver: Speaking of Swanson, the Jackson’s MMA product is red-hot lately, with four straight victories in the UFC (three by KO/TKO). Fresh off his recent decision win over Dustin Poirier, Swanson will try to add to his streak against the hard-striking Dennis Siver, who is 2-0 since dropping to featherweight, with decision wins over Diego Nunes and Nam Phan.

In other notable UFC 162 news…

(“I…[*punch*]…HATE…[*punch*]…FRIGGIN’…[*punch*]…CLOWNS!!!” Photo via MMAWeekly)

From threatening a year-long vacation to suggesting far-less-worthy challengers, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his management team did their best to avoid fighting undefeated contender Chris Weidman. But according to a new report from Mark La Monica at Newsday, the match is going to happen, whether they like it or not. Here’s the scoop:

ALBANY — Chris Weidman will finally get the title shot against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva on July 4th weekend at UFC 161 in Las Vegas, Newsday has learned. [Update: The fight will actually headline UFC 162, on July 6th. UFC 161 is the Winnipeg event that will be headlined by Barao vs. Wineland.]

UFC chief executive Lorenzo Fertitta on Wednesday told Weidman, a Baldwin native, in the Capitol building that he spoke to Silva and that he agreed to the fight.

“Dream come true,” Weidman said. “Ever since I’ve been fighting, Anderson Silva has been the champion and I’ve been visualizing beating him. Now I have the opportunity. I have to make the most of it.”

(Keep in mind that Rashad makes $300,000 to show. Flowchart rules are officially in play. / Photo via USA Today Sports)

As confirmed by UFC president Dana White, the UFC will make its first visit to the Canadian province of Manitoba for UFC 161, which is slated for June 15th at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. Two big-name light-heavyweight bouts are already tied to the card.

First up, Dan Henderson will try to bounce back from his split-decision loss against Lyoto Machida with a match against Rashad Evans, who could also use a little redemption following his own low-energy loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156. That defeat made it back-to-back losses for Suga, who previously fell short in his title challenge against Jon Jones. (Fun fact: The “Blackzilians” team that Evans belongs to currently holds a record of 12-15 in the UFC, with only Michael Johnson batting above .500.)

Speaking of Lil’ Nog, the Brazilian vet will be carrying a two-fight win streak into the Octagon with him at UFC 161 when he faces Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who’s coming off his defeat against Alexander Gustafsson. The fight will come eight years after Rua won a decision against Nogueira in their first meeting at Pride Critical Countdown 2005, during the quarterfinals of PRIDE’s 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix — and apparently, these guys have been jawing about a rematch for some time now. But of course, Shogun isn’t the young phenom he used to be, and Nogueira definitely has some miles left in him. Any predictions for the rematch?

(“Laundry day. Shit. It’s still only laundry day.”)

In a booking that will surely spur flashbacks of Mauro Ranallo shrieking into a microphone, two of Strikeforce’s top middleweight talents will be making their Octagon debuts against each other at the UFC’s next Brazilian event. As first reported by MMAJunkie, Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie are slated to face off on the UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold card, which goes down May 18th at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. [Update: GracieMag says the fight will instead take place at an event on July 6th.]

Kennedy compiled a 4-2 record in Strikeforce, with both of his losses coming in five-round title fights against Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold. He most recently choked out Trevor Smith at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine in January, and has been trying to stir up interest in a fight against Gracie since last July.

Gracie, who began his MMA career at heavyweight before dropping to light-heavyweight when he entered Strikeforce in 2010, has gone 2-0 during his current stint as a middleweight, scoring wins over Keith Jardine and Anthony Smith. For Roger, the fight with Kennedy is an opportunity to not only secure his place on the UFC roster, but to snap a UFC losing streak for the legendary Gracie clan. During the Zuffa era, the Gracies have gone 0-3 in the Octagon, with Royce Gracie and Renzo Gracie getting beat up by Matt Hughes, and Rolles Gracie Jr. shitting the bed against Joey Beltran.

In other UFC on FX 8 booking news…

(Looks like T-Wood traded his lay-n-pray for some float-n-gloat. / Photo via Getty Images)

In terms of job security, Jake Shields has every strike against him right now. He’s coming off a six-month drug-suspension, his UFC appearances have been either forgettable or memorable for the wrong reasons, his official Octagon record is an uninspiring 2-2, and he’s even more expensive than Jon Fitch. It’s safe to assume that Shields will need to win his next match to avoid the axe — and according to new reports, that’s not going to be easy.

As first revealed by MMAJunkie, a welterweight bout between Shields and Tyron Woodley is being targeted for a June 15th UFC event in Canada (city/venue TBA). The fight will mark Shields’s return to the 170-pound division after his brief trip back up to middleweight at UFC 150, where he defeated Ed Herman by decision before that victory was overturned.

Like Shields, Tyron Woodley has endured “boring fighter” criticisms in the past for the way he’s used his suffocating wrestling to prevent opponents such as Paul Daley from standing and banging. But in his UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 156, Woodley showed off his tremendous knockout power, blitzing Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds. T-Wood’s previous fight against Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce was also an entertaining scrap, although it ultimately led to the first loss of Woodley’s career.

So will Shields fight any differently when it’s clear that his job is at stake? How do you see this one going down?

(That’s right, DJ. Pose through the pain. / Photo via Sherdog)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming title defense against John Moraga, which was scheduled to go down at the TUF 17 Finale (April 13th, Las Vegas). At this point, it’s unclear when Johnson will be back in action, or if Moraga will remain on the card.

To make up for the loss, the UFC has booked a new fight to take the main event spot — a bantamweight scrap between Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen. Faber is coming off an impressive first-round submission over Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157, while Jorgensen snapped a two-fight losing skid by choking out John Albert at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, a performance that won him both Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. Fun fact: Urijah Faber has gone 6-0 in his last six non-title fights, and 0-5 in his last five title fights.

The TUF 17 Finale will also feature Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Travis Browne, Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano, and probably Uriah Hall vs. some other guy from the show.

(It is reported that Cerrone’s final words were “Hold my beer, and watch this.” / Photo via Sherdog)

Two more big matchups have been added to the already-beefy UFC 160 lineup, which is slated for May 25th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In addition to the previously reported Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva heavyweight championship headliner and Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem, the card will feature…

- Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons (lightweight): The always entertaining “Cowboy” Cerrone, who followed up his ass-whuppin’ at the hands of Anthony Pettis last month by nearly falling to his death in a recent rock-climbing incident*, will welcome former Strikeforce boxing-specialist KJ Noons to the Octagon. Noons has hit a rough stretch lately, losing four of his last five fights, all by decision. His last match ended in a split-decision loss against Ryan Couture.

- Glover Teixeira vs. Ryan Bader (light-heavyweight): Coming off his decision win over Rampage Jackson at UFC on FOX 6 — his third-straight win in the UFC and 18th-straight overall — the much-hyped Teixeira will get another solid test in the form of Ryan Bader, who choked out Vladimir Matyushenko in just 50 seconds at the same event.

We expect Cerrone and Teixeira to be solid favorites in these fights. Anybody predicting an upset?

* Don’t blame me, I wanted to go bowling.

(Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Getty Images)

In the wake of Rory MacDonald‘s UFC 158 injury withdrawal — which is now confirmed to be a “severe neck and back strain” that will sideline him for three to four weeks — the UFC has shifted some talent around to make sure all the welterweights on the “St. Pierre vs. Diaz” supporting card still have dance partners.

As previously reported, MacDonald’s scheduled opponent Carlos Condit will face top 170-pound contender Johny Hendricks, who was originally supposed to face Jake Ellenberger. (The UFC first offered the Condit fight to Tarec Saffiedine, who reportedly declined.)

Now, Ellenberger’s replacement opponent at the March 16th event in Montreal will be none other than Nate Marquardt. The fight will be Marquardt’s first appearance in the Octagon since he was fired from the UFC in 2011 due to a testosterone-related misunderstanding, then reappeared in Strikeforce as a welterweight, KO’d Tyron Woodley to win the promotion’s vacant welterweight title, and lost it last month in a painful decision loss to…Tarec Saffiedine. See? It’s all connected, man. [*Huffs more keyboard duster*]

And there’s one more element that makes this story even more confusing…

(But other than that, how was the fight, Antonio? / Photo via Getty Images)

As first reported by a “random Irish person” and officially confirmed last night on UFC Tonight, Cain Velasquez will defend his heavyweight title at UFC 160 (May 25th, Las Vegas) in a rematch against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, just one year after Velasquez tore Silva apart at UFC 146. Though Bigfoot is coming off back-to-back stoppages of Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem, the news still comes as a bit of a surprise; even Bigfoot’s management felt that he should win a couple more fights before testing his fate against Cain Velasquez again.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many better options in the heavyweight division right now. Velasquez won’t fight his teammate Daniel Cormier, and the rest of the UFC’s heavyweight contenders either have their next fight booked already, or lack the kind of hype that Bigfoot currently carries after his comeback win over The Reem. And what are you going to do, have your champion sit out until a totally legitimate contender emerges? Come on. That’s not how you run a business.

So will Velasquez smash Antonio Silva for the second time, or should we start preparing for “The Bigfoot Era”? (Step one: Stock up on canned goods. Step two: Limber up.) In other UFC 160 heavyweight booking news…

(If only he used his moustache powers for good. Photo via Tracy Lee/Yahoo!)

With his UFC 157 appearance up in smoke due to an injury withdrawal by Manny Gamburyan, featherweight contender Chad Mendes has been officially removed from the February 23rd card, and was just given a new match at UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez (April 20th, San Jose). Mendes, who is coming off back-to-back knockout victories in what could charitably be called “rebound fights,” will face Clay Guida, who is coming off a questionable split-decision victory in his featherweight debut against Hatsu Hioki, which followed his Worst Fight of the Year runner-up against Gray Maynard.

For Mendes, the matchup represents a return to tough competition that’s long overdue. For Clay, it’s another opportunity to bounce around the Octagon between takedowns and long stretches of top-control. (I’m just saying, remember the beast-version of Clay Guida who put in legendary battles against Roger Huerta and Diego Sanchez? Well, he got tired of losing fights and changed his strategy a bit. It is what it is.)

In addition to the headlining lightweight title fight, UFC on FOX 7 will feature Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir, Nate Diaz vs. Josh Thomson, and Dan Hardy vs. Matt Brown.

(MY GOD DEM ARMS. NOT SURE IF WANT. / Photo via allelbows)

No matter how Ronda Rousey‘s UFC 157 title fight against Liz Carmouche turns out, at least one more women’s bout will take place in the UFC this year — and it’s a good one, too. UFC officials confirmed today that former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate will make her Octagon debut at the Ultimate Fighter 17 finale (April 13th, Las Vegas), where she’ll face 7-0 prospect Cat “Alpha” Zingano.

A native of Broomfield, Colorado, Zingano’s most recent appearance was at Invicta FC 3 last October, where she submitted Raquel Pennington by second-round rear-naked choke. Prior to that fight, Zingano pulled off a body-slam KO against Takayo Hashi, TKO’d Carina Damm, and won Ring Of Fire titles at bantamweight and flyweight. In other words, this lady is serious business. And forget Cris Cyborg — Zingano is probably the most absurdly-jacked female fighter we’ve seen since Rin Nakai.

So will Zingano be successful in her UFC debut, or will she suffer the blankety wrath of Takedown Tate? Shoot us your prediction — as well as your general interest level in this fight — in the comments section.

(An off-the-cage superman punch? Huh. I wonder how he came up with that one… / Photo via Esther Lin @ MMAFighting.com)

Following Jose Aldo‘s unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, top lightweight contender Anthony Pettis reportedly sent a text message to UFC president Dana White saying that he’d like to drop to 145 and challenge for Aldo’s belt — and that was all it took to set up the UFC’s next featherweight title fight. White confirmed to USA Today Sports/MMAJunkie that Aldo will indeed make his next title defense against Pettis at an event on August 3rd.

“Aldo is a tremendous fighter,” said the stunt-kicking Roufusport product. “I have all the respect in the world for his skills. I just want to be one of the best in the world, and the only way to do that is to beat the best…I wouldn’t call him out if I didn’t really feel confident I could beat him…It’s a superfight, and I want to be a part of these fights.”

Of course, timing was clearly another consideration in requesting the matchup. Though Pettis’s recent destruction of Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 6 arguably made him the rightful #1 contender in the lightweight division, Gilbert Melendez already has dibs on the next shot at Benson Henderson’s 155-pound belt. And given how prone the lightweight division is to immediate rematches, Pettis could be waiting a long time for his opportunity. One title fight is just as good as another, right?

(Well that is just *completely* out of character. / Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

As first reported by ESPN, the UFC 159 light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen will be supported by a middleweight co-main event between Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher.

Both fighters are coming off of losses that set them back in the 185-pound pecking order. Bisping was recently knocked out by Vitor Belfort in Brazil, while Belcher — who has been calling for a fight against the Count since last May — saw his four-fight win streak come to an end via a unanimous decision loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 155. Following that fight, Bisping gleefully rubbed salt in Belcher’s wounds on his Yahoo! blog, writing:

“Belcher lost every minute of every round in a fight so boring I was afraid my brain was going to melt and start to dribble out of my ears. It was like someone detonated a nuclear bomb of boredom in the arena — everyone in the seats around me was playing Angry Birds. What delusions of grandeur Belcher has. This is a guy who didn’t fight for a year after giving himself career-threatening eye-strain by watching too much internet porn, and he thinks he’s god’s gift to MMA…This is a guy who got his arse kicked by two guys I smashed (Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jason Day) but he thinks he can not only beat me on a couple weeks’ training, but also assumed he was getting passed Okami, who is not to be underestimated. Anyway, now we don’t have to listen to this guy anymore. Back to the undercard, sunshine!”

Now, Bisping is fighting the very same man he just cursed to an eternity of curtain-jerking. That might be a tough pill to swallow, but Mike actually seems okay with the booking, tweeting today:

(Above: “Grrrrrr.” / Below: “Haaaaaay!”)

After coming up short in his title challenge against Ben Henderson last month, UFC lightweight Nate Diaz will be returning to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 7: Henderson vs. Melendez (April 20th, San Jose), where he’ll face former Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson; CSNBayArea broke the news yesterday.

Thomson hasn’t competed in the UFC since his 2-1 stint for the promotion in 2003-2004, which ended in an unfortunate/incredible highlight-reel knockout against Yves Edwards. Since then, “The Punk” has spent most of his career fighting for Strikeforce, where he built an entertaining rivalry against Diaz’s training partner (and UFC on FOX 7 title challenger) Gilbert Melendez. Thomson briefly held Strikeforce’s lightweight title after winning a decision against Melendez in June 2008, and has picked up wins over Pat Healy, Gesias Cavalcante, and KJ Noons since then. His most recent appearance resulted in a split-decision loss to Melendez during their rubber-match last May.

Of course, the other thing Thomson is known for is his frequent injuries, and there’s a lot that can go wrong between now and 4/20. Let’s hope this one sticks together. In related news, the UFC has added three big matchups to their UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen card, which takes place the following weekend (April 27th) in Newark, NJ…

(Oh no. You used the pillow I farted on, didn’t you. / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

Already packed with a lightweight title fight and a must-see heavyweight feature, UFC on FOX 7 (April 20th, San Jose) has just picked up a welterweight battle between two crowd-pleasing sluggers who are riding career comebacks.

As first reported by ESPN, former welterweight title contender Dan Hardy will face Matt Brown at the April event. Hardy, who was mercifully kept on the UFC roster despite losing four straight matches in 2010-2011, won back-to-back fights against Duane Ludwig and Amir Sadollah last year. But his second-life in the UFC could come to a screeching halt against Matt Brown, who had the best year of his career in 2012, going 4-0 with big wins over Mike Swick and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Like Hardy, Brown bounced back from a demoralizing stretch in 2010-2011 where he dropped four out of five matches.

(Frank Mir, master of the male bitch-face. / Photo via Getty Images)

It’s official: The heavyweight battle between Daniel Cormier and Frank Mir will go down at UFC on FOX 7, April 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Yahoo! Sports reported the booking today, also confirming that the Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez lightweight title fight will be on the card.

Cormier and Mir were originally scheduled to fight under the Strikeforce banner in November, but the former UFC heavyweight champ had to pull out of the match due to injury. Mir hasn’t competed since his TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146 in May. For the record, Mir wasn’t too impressed with Cormier’s TKO win over Dion Staring this weekend, telling MMAJunkie:

(Photo via Esther Lin for Strikeforce)

Update: The booking has been confirmed.

According to a new report from MMAFighting that cites “sources with knowledge of the situation,” reigning UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will attempt to make his third title-defense against longtime Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7, which is slated to go down April 20th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

Henderson is coming off arguably the most impressive win of his career, dominating Gilbert’s homey Nate Diaz for five rounds in their meeting last month at UFC on FOX 5. It was the sixth-consecutive win for “Smooth” since he migrated to the UFC from the WEC, though Henderson has yet to score a stoppage victory in the Octagon. That’s not likely to change against Melendez, who has never been knocked out or submitted in 23 professional fights.

Melendez picked up his seventh-straight win in May 2012, winning a split-decision in a rubber match against Josh Thompson. Since then, the Cesar Gracie product has been sidelined by injury after injury. And though we were skeptical of Melendez’s latest withdrawal — the Cesar Gracie fighter had much more to lose from a fight against Pat Healy at Strikeforce’s final event than he stood to gain, and may have acted accordingly — it’s clear that his devious plan worked.

But before you go booking your travel plans, MMAFighting adds this caveat: