(Please don’t bust on my shaky interviewing skills for this one; we can’t all be Helwani.)

While in Boston for CagePotato’s first (and last) UFC Fan Expo appearance, I had the opportunity to meet Nick Newell, an undefeated lightweight fighter from Massachusetts. After teaching me how to use my microphone, Newell discussed how he got into MMA, and the advantages and disadvantages of being a congenital amputee. The worst part about having one hand? Nobody wants to fight you. Here’s what he told us last year:

“The last five fights I’ve trained for, I’ve only gotten to do two of them, from people pulling out. Last time I was supposed to fight a guy and he never even showed up to weigh-ins. So it’s real hard for me to get fights. I’m not picky with who I fight, I’ll take whoever. And I feel like a lot of leagues are afraid to use me, because they don’t want to be labeled as a ‘freak show’ match. But it’s not like that at all. I train probably harder than anyone else, and I dedicate my life to this.”

For the five men who were actually brave enough to step into the cage with Nick in professional fights…well, they lost. Nick has finished all of his opponents in the first round, submitting the last four in under two minutes. And yet he still can’t find regular work in this sport — which is why a contract with Shark Fights would be so important for his career.

Visit Nick’s Proving Ground page to watch him demolish three of his past opponents, and click his Facebook “Like” button if you want to see him represent CagePotato.com at Shark Fights 19!

A rare photo from the Cage Potato staff Christmas party.

When it comes to fan interaction and brand building, the UFC is rewriting the book for sports promotions. Between broadcasting fights on Facebook, their latest Twitter crusade, their ever-growing Fan Expo series, and even some brave fighters doling out their phone numbers, the opportunities for fans to connect with fighters and invest themselves in the world of MMA are plenty. Continuing in that mission, the UFC has launched the “UFC Octagon National Tour”.

Overall, this sounds like a pretty cool chance to meet some fighters, get some autographs, and pick up some UFC schwag. The tour will jump around the country, often making pit stops at large festivals like Bonnaroo and the X-Games. If you’ve ever attended any MMA-related event, you know all too well the type of sophisticates that turn out. For every educated fan, you have two guys in chromed-out Ed Hardy shirts talking about how tough Kimbo Slice is. One component of the tour sure to bring out the meatheads is the competitive physical fitness tests. Fans can weigh-in and test their might at pull-ups, vertical jump, and punching strength. Better than simply flexing their barbed-wire tatted biceps for those in attendance, competitors will be given a stats-card designed for Facebook posting so all of cyberspace can taste their machismo.

Any bets as to which member of the Potato Nation will post the highest scores? A schedule of upcoming tour dates and locations is after the jump…

For the benefit of those who couldn’t make it, here are some of the notable faces (and other body parts) in attendance at last weekend’s UFC Fan Expo in Toronto. Check it out, if only to see Chan Sung Jung‘s #1 fan at the 0:04-0:06 mark. Those eyes haunt my dreams.

(Props: MMAWeeklyVideos)

…and here’s why. More proof that Dana White at UFC Fan Expo Q+As — much like a mafioso on the day of his daughter’s wedding — is highly receptive to outlandish requests.

Speaking of Fan Expos, the UFC has officially announced that their next one will take place October 7th and 8th at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The two-day event will coincide with a yet-to-be-announced UFC pay-per-view card on 10/8, which will likely be hosted at the Toyota Center.

They may have blocked us from having a booth at next weekend’s UFC Fan Expo, but that won’t stop us from trucking up to Toronto and hangin’ with our Canadian fans. If you’ll be in town for the UFC 129 festivities, we cordially invite you to the CagePotato.com UFC 129 ‘Banned’ Meetup Extravaganza (!), which goes down at Shoeless Joe’s (276 King St. West), next Thursday, April 28th, from 7-10 p.m.

While there will be many different parties and events happening around Toronto on Thursday night, ours is different in one very important way: OPEN FREAKIN’ BAR. That’s right, CagePotato will be covering beer, well drinks, and appetizers until our money runs out, so be sure to get there early. You’ll also get a “Free CagePotato” t-shirt (as supplies last), as long as you can look us directly in the eyes and promise that you’ll wear it to at least one day of the UFC Fan Expo on Friday or Saturday. (And if you see Sammie Black there with his silly little fake-ass jump rope, please make sure to make fun of him as hard as we did in Boston.)

If you can make it out, all we ask is one thing: Please RSVP by e-mailing cpbanned@breakmedia.com with your real name, commenter name (if you have one), and the number of guests you plan on bringing along. We need to get a head-count for this thing by Tuesday, or else Shoeless Joe himself is going to kick our asses. To summarize…

(The ‘Free CagePotato’ t-shirt — coming soon.)

Got some bad news, folks. Our grand plans to bring love, positivity, and a punch-machine to the Toronto UFC Fan Expo (April 29-30, Direct Energy Centre) have been officially shot down by the UFC top brass.

We should have seen this coming. After UFC president Dana White personally promised to ruin us following our leak of Arianny Celeste‘s Playboy photos, CagePotato.com has been blocked from all UFC media events, most notably the MMA legalization press conference at Madison Square Garden in January. (We were initially approved for attendance by MSG organizers, but then told we had been vetoed “due to a recent leaked magazine cover.”) A shame, considering we’ve been one of the foremost online supporters of the MMA in NY regulation efforts.

Still, we held out hope that this wouldn’t affect our appearance at the upcoming UFC Fan Expo in Toronto, considering that we had (without exaggeration) one of the most popular booths at the last UFC expo in Boston, and we were paying a couple grand for the privilege of being there. It turns out the UFC doesn’t even want our money anymore. That’s how you know things have spun out of control.

By now, you may have already seen that video going around of Pat Barry kicking the stuffing out of our punch-machine at the UFC Fan Expo. When KLM Vending dropped off the machine at our booth, they gave us strict orders to not let any drunken tough-guy idiot try to kick the bag. But when HD Barry drops by and starts rolling his shorts up, you’re pretty much helpless to do anything except smile nervously and move out of the way.

Of course, Pat wasn’t the only one who was drawn to the punch-machine at the CagePotato.com Fan Expo booth. As VH and ReX already explained, we had a thick crowd of participants and gawkers all weekend, many of whom turned into hooked rubes who couldn’t stop pleading for "one more turn" on the thing. And my God did they take it seriously. So here’s our video tribute to their efforts, edited by Break Media’s Matty Sumida and soundtracked by Fort Minor. Enjoy, and we hope to see you guys at the next one…

UFC Boston – Ariel Helwani Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

At this point, MMA interviewer/analyst Ariel Helwani is more famous than a lot of the people he interviews. If you’ve ever spotted him at an MMA event, you know that he can’t get ten feet without being swarmed by another group of fans, who follow his work intently at MMAFighting.com and Versus. Keep in mind that Ariel Helwani is not a fighter. He’s just a dude who started with a dream and went on to become the most well-known interviewer in our sport. To put it simply, he’s come a long way since Andrei Arlovski’s pee-pee-pee. 

So here’s something special for all the Helwannabes in the house: Ariel stopped by the CagePotato.com booth at the UFC Fan Expo on Saturday and spent some time on the other side of the microphone. Watch the video above to learn about Ariel’s journey from sports fan to "liver of the dream," his love of Howard Cosell, and of course, why he thinks we’re so awesome. Many thanks to Ariel for giving us his time and, at least for one moment, lending the CagePotato.com carnival booth some measure of legitimacy.

Note: Keep your eyes peeled around 2:41 and 2:56 to watch some amazing background work from ReX13. Yep. That’s what I had to deal with all weekend.

UFC Boston – Bruce Buffer – Watch more Funny Videos

In one of my absolute favorite moments from our trip to the UFC Fan Expo in Boston, I had the opportunity to interview beloved UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, who was at the expo in part to promote his new Round 5 collectible figure. (Come on. You know you want that thing in your cubicle.) After giving us the scoop on "Mini B" and Round 5′s Versus set, Bruce shares his favorite name to announce in the Octagon, how he keeps his voice in shape for every show, and lessons learned from the World Series of Poker. And then, he gives CagePotato.com the full Buffer treatment with a stunning UFC-style introduction. God bless you, Bruce. We are not worthy.

A side-note on why I appear to be screaming like a jackass through this entire interview: The microphones were high-quality enough to block out ambient noise, but trust me, it was deafening in there. You can catch a glimpse of Sammy "Jumpin’ Ropes and Blastin’ Shitty Music" Black, behind us in the red tank top. As you can see, Bruce and I were standing directly in front of the CagePotato punch machine, and it’s a little difficult staying relaxed while a bunch of dudes are launching haymakers two feet behind your head. (Remember that amazing scene in Boogie Nights where Dirk Diggler and his gang are trying to screw Alfred Molina on a drug deal while an Asian houseboy keeps throwing firecrackers in the background? That’s pretty much what this felt like.)

Plus, let’s face it, it’s Bruce Fucking Buffer, and I’m meeting him for the first time. You try controlling the volume of your voice in a situation like that. 

UFC Boston – Wes Sims Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

One of the most visible figures at last weekend’s UFC Fan Expo was "The A-Hole Show" himself, Wes Sims. When he wasn’t creating havoc around the convention center, the wild-’n'-crazy UFC vet was stationed at the Bonafide Tough Guy booth, just a stone’s throw away from CagePotato.com’s setup, and was kind enough to grant us an interview (after spending some time whacking our punch machine and threatening nearby children).

As you’ll see, I ask Wes what he’s been up to since TUF 10, completely forgetting his subsequent loss to Bobby Lashley in Strikeforce; I’m sure he’d like to forget that fight too. He doesn’t have his next match set up yet, but he does explain his dim mak striking technique, and shares the story of how doctors accidentally cut four pounds of penis off of his new son, Max Ruckus.

I’ll tell you something — I’ve never felt more like Mean Gene Okerlund in my life. Big props to Wes for making CagePotato’s UFC Fan Expo booth that much more entertaining, and sticking around afterwards to sign autographs. More to come…

(Doug "ReX13" Richardson [right] spends time with a wheelchair-bound guest at the expo. If we put a smile on that poor, rotund man’s face, then the whole trip was worth it.)

As the Boeing 757 descends in to Boston Logan Airport, I look out the window and contemplate the path that’s led me here. One year ago, I was just another guy on one of the world’s most popular MMA blogs. Now, I’ve ducked out of work for a couple of days to attend the UFC’s Boston Fan Expo as a guest of my favorite website. I’m not just a fan; I’m taking what I hope to be another step toward actually working as a writer. Somewhere down there, Ben Goldstein is carrying around an exhibitor pass that has my name on it. I claim my baggage, which is split evenly between electronics and clothing, and hustle out to catch a taxi. A Ugandan cabbie asks for my destination, and speeds away toward the Hynes Convention Center. I pepper him with questions (because that’s what I do when I meet people) but he’s not in the mood to talk, so I settle back for the short ride and get my first look at Boston. Mostly, I get a good view of the results of the Big Dig, Boston’s massive twenty-five year freeway improvement project that has six lane highways routed under the Boston Harbor. Once we leave the turnpike, however, the views of the Harbor and the Charles River are incredible. Everything is vibrant, people and dogs are everywhere, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.

We find my hotel, and I spend very little time settling in. It’s Thursday, and I’ve gotten it in my head that I’m needed. I walk to the Hynes Center, and mange to locate Ben after a few texts and a phone call. We shake hands, and walk back to booth 2017. There, Ben shows me the signage he’s already erected, and the swag he’s brought to entice the hordes that will descend upon us tomorrow. On one side is the punch machine, a simple carnival game that most of us have seen plenty of times. Ben hits the start button, and rips a nice right hook at the bag. "You take boxing classes, right?" I ask. "Yeah," Ben says, "Muay Thai." I help him with a few last minute touches, including checking on a table rental for the booth, but most of the work is done. Ben checks his watch, and announces that there’s really nothing left to do here: "Wanna go get a drink?"

("Viva Hate" and Pat Barry: A true meeting of the minds. Photos in this post courtesy of ReX13.)

By CagePotato.com Fan Expo video contest winner Chris "Viva Hate" Morse

First, let me start by saying welcome aboard to all the new readers and members of CagePotato Nation. It was a pleasure and joy to meet, chat, hang, and beat down the punch machine with each and every one of you. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the complete experience of Cage Potato. Now, let’s get to the fun.

The experience began at the Semi Official Cage Potato meet up that went down on Thursday night at Champions Sports Bar. It was somewhat casual and to be honest some people may have had some trouble finding the group. Thank you to all of those that did come out. Hopefully everyone was able to try the Championship Tower, it was amazing and I would highly recommend it. I would also recommend you carry an AED with you as well, just in case.

The UFC Fan Expo was an amazing experience and the Cage Potato booth was extremely popular. I do feel somewhat bad for the punch machine that was literally having the stuffing knocked out of it by mid day on Friday. For those of you who were not lucky enough to make it to Boston, here are some notes from the booth…

(Photo courtesy of ChampionsBoston.com)

As many of you know, CagePotato.com will be in Boston this week for UFC 118 and the UFC Fan Expo. To commemorate the occasion, CP’s dedicated superfan-lackeys Viva Hate and ReX13 have organized a Potato Nation meetup on Thursday night for folks who live in Beantown or will be visiting for the fights. (Seriously, they made a Facebook page and everything.) Here are the details…

When: Thursday night, from "8:30 or so" onward
Where: Champions, a very classy-looking sports bar located on the second level of the Boston Marriott Copley Place (110 Huntington Ave.), with an astounding beer selection and more TV screens than a drunk person could possibly count.
What: Drinking; lots of drinking. The opportunity to hang out with your Internet friends. Trying to convince the waitress to put one of the TVs on Fox Sports Net so we can watch Bellator.

If that’s not enough to get you out to Champions, we have one more thing to share…

CagePotato Contest – Watch more Funny Videos

After considering all three (3!) of the submissions that came in for our UFC Fan Expo/2010 SuperFan of the World video contest, we are proud to present the winner. Thanks to his colorful accent, the subliminal shout-outs to the Potato Nation, the unexplained inclusion of a giraffe in the background, and the fact that he actually lives in Boston, we’ve decided that beloved commenter Viva Hate deserves our extra exhibitor pass for the Expo. (August 27-28 at the Hynes Convention Center! Booth #2017 bitches!) Hate’s hilarious entry is above. Congrats buddy, we’ll be in touch. 

Before we get to the runners-up, I’d just like to take the time to say that CagePotato’s appearance at the UFC Fan Expo is going to be amazing. We will have a punch machine at our booth, where you can test your might against other expo fans. We will be holding contests where visitors can win UFC 118 tickets, an MMAWarehouse gift card, Six Deuce gear, and BRAND NEW CAGEPOTATO.COM KEYCHAIN BOTTLE OPENERS!!!?!1111. You will get to meet BG and shake his hand. You will get to meet Viva Hate and kick him square in the balls. You may get to drink with us at the various pre-parties and viewing parties going on around town, assuming that you don’t give us the creeps.

Anyway, ReX13 and steampunk22 also submitted amazing videos, which you can watch after the jump. Since they don’t live anywhere near Boston, we felt that Viva Hate was the more worthy candidate — but there’s still hope for them. Read on…

(Image courtesy of UFCFanExpo.com)

We already know a few of you will be attending the UFC Fan Expo in Boston on August 27-28, and hopefully stopping by CagePotato’s booth (#2017), where we’ll be giving away loads of t-shirts and gear and hanging out with our fans. The question is, who wants to get in for free? CagePotato has one extra exhibitor badge on hand, and we’d like to award it to one of our devoted readers. So if you live in the Boston area and you’d like to help us spread CP’s message of positivity, here’s what you’ll need to do:

– Record a video of yourself explaining why you should be selected as CagePotato’s 2010 SuperFan of the World. Please describe how CagePotato has changed your life (for the better), and the ways you would help promote our site at the UFC Fan Expo.
– Upload the video to Break.com by next Thursday (8/19) at midnight.
– When the video’s live, send the link to contest@cagepotato.com.
– Come back Friday the 20th to see who we’ve chosen.

We only expect two or three of you to actually go through with this, so really, your chances of winning are pretty damn good already. Any questions, let us know in the comments section. Good luck.

Related: Keep submitting your CagePotato desktop wallpapers for our Throwdown contest!

Good news, Potato Nation: CagePotato has secured a booth at the 2010 UFC Fan Expo, which takes place August 27-28 at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston, in support of UFC 118. As with the two previous Fan Expos in Las Vegas, the event will provide fans with opportunities to meet fighters, attend training sessions and seminars, and collect craploads of free swag from the estimated 150 industry vendors that will be hawking their wares. We’ll keep you posted on the fun stuff we have planned at our own little space (booth #2017, write it down), but for now we just wanted to give you an advance heads up that we’ll be there, spreading our message of PotatoPositivity.

Hit up UFCFanExpo.com for more info on the two-day spectacle and to purchase tickets ($30 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, $50 for both days). Let us know if you’re planning on attending, and if you are, please make sure to stop by and say hi!

(Georges St. Pierre schools Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque in a friendly grappling match last week; action starts around 4:03. Props: danieltricolore)

Sorry for the delay on this, link dump fanatics; we were experiencing some technical difficulties on Friday afternoon. Anyway, here’s some interesting stuff to go with your morning coffee…
 
- The scariest fan at Moosin: God of Martial Arts. (MiddleEasy)

- Exactly What is Strikeforce Hoping to Accomplish with Challengers Events? (MMA Fighting)

– DREAM light-heavyweight grand prix slated for July 10th show; Aoki vs. Kawajiri also possible. (Sherdog)

– UFC’s third Fan Expo to coincide with UFC 118 in Boston. (MMA Junkie)

– Josh Koscheck goes out partying, tries on a cop’s helmet. (TMZ)

- The LaRosa fable unravels at Moosin. (CageWriter)

– Enson Inoue discusses his love of gangster MMA. (Fight Opinion)

– Who wouldn’t want to watch a cartoon series about two guys playing video games and insulting each other? (Fightlinker)

- Mike Russow – Aiming to Derail the Duffee Train (UFC)

– The 10 Best Trash-Talkers in MMA. (Bleacher Report)

(That terrified white kid could be you! Photo courtesy of ufcfanexpo.com.)

Man, did you come to this site on the right day. We’ve received word that our homeboys at Break.com are giving away a kickass "UFC Ultimate Fan Experience" prize package, which includes airfare to Las Vegas, two nights’ stay at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, and a pair of tickets to the next UFC Fan Expo, which goes down May 28-29 in support of UFC 114. And unlike the contests on CagePotato, you don’t have to humiliate yourselves by writing awful photo captions that will be mocked by your peers later. Nope, to enter this contest, all you have to do is go here and plug in your name and e-mail address. That’s it. Watching the trailer to Sherlock Holmes — available now on Blu-Ray and DVD — is completely optional. Enter now, or regret it on your death bed!

Last weekend, Grapplers Quest hosted a two-day submission grappling tournament at the UFC Fan Expo. Videos of the event’s headlining "superfights" were posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, and if you’re a fan of crazy, high-level, top-of-the-food chain jiu-jitsu, you need to check them out. Above: Shooto legend Rumina "Moon Wolf" Sato ties Cobra Kai instructor Ulysses Gomez into a knot. After the jump: UFC lightweight Joe Stevenson falls short against Bill "The Grill" Cooper, and EliteXC/Bellator vet Wilson Reis can’t quite figure out 22-time Grapplers Quest champ Jeff "Pipelayer" Glover. Also, a 49-pound feature that’s surely a Superfight in the eyes of their parents.

As predicted, five-time UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and TapouT founder Charles Lewis Jr. will be inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame this week, according to a press release published last night. From UFC.com:

(The lovely Edith and Logan. Who needs Fabio to have a good time? Photo via MMA Mania.)

If all the fighter appearances, Hall of Fame inductions, grappling superfights, and Kimbo sightings aren’t enough of an incentive to check out the UFC Fan Expo (July 10+11, Mandalay Convention Center, Las Vegas), maybe this will convince you. From UFC.com:

(Please just tell me there’s a dancing seminar by Gono.)

The UFC sent out an email today announcing their first ever UFC Fan Expo around UFC 100 in Las Vegas this summer.  It includes training demos, autotgraph sessions, and “keynote addresses,” possibly from Dana White and/or Lorenzo Fertitta (though details on anything are very sketchy at the moment).  Basically, a lot of fun stuff for UFC fans in the days leading up to what is supposed to be the biggest UFC event to date.  Sounds great.

The trouble is, you have to buy a ticket, and they aren’t cheap.  You can get a two-day pass for $50 if you buy in advance, or a one-day pass for $30.  This way the UFC gets you to pay for the fights, whether you watch them live or on pay-per-view, and also gets you to pay for some idle entertainment before the fights, like watching Matt Hughes demonstrate how he choked out Frank Trigg’s pompous ass, or listening to Dana White swear his way through a speech about professionalism and ethics in business. 

Okay, those things would both be worth paying for.

If you’re headed to Vegas for UFC 100 you should a) put aside some money to buy me a beer at the Hofbrauhaus, and b) keep an eye on this website for Expo information.  It doesn’t offer much help at the moment since they just announced it, but the last question on the Frequently Asked Questions list is worth a chuckle: