(Alex asks that you respect his privacy at this time, and would like to state for the record that Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos were originally his idea. / Photo via MMAWeekly)

And the hits just keep coming, folks. In the immediate wake of Lavar Johnson’s apparent steroid bust after UFC 157, two more fighters have been flagged for failed drug tests following their performances at UFC on FUEL 8: Silva vs. Stann. With no regulating body in place, UFC officials oversaw the testing of fighters at the March 3rd event in Saitama, Japan.

First up on the naughty list is Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, who tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his split-decision win over Kyung Ho Kang during the UFC on FUEL 8 prelims. Caceres will be suspended six months, and must attend drug rehabilitation classes and pass a drug test before he’s allowed to return. Furthermore, his victory over Kang — which would have been his third-straight in the UFC — has been changed to a no-contest. Caceres joins Matt Riddle, Thiago Silva, Dave Herman, Nick Diaz, and Nick Diaz’s friends in the growing list of publicly-outed potheads.

Also caught in the latest drug-sweep was Japanese middleweight Riki Fukuda, who lost a decision to Brad Tavares on the night in question. According to MMAJunkie, Fukuda tested positive for the banned stimulants phenylpropanolamine (never heard of it), norpseudoephedrine (never heard of it), and ephedrine (love that stuff). Sadly, Fukuda isn’t getting off with a suspension — he’s already been released by the UFC. The loss to Tavares dropped Fukuda’s Octagon record to 2-3, with all fights going the distance.

Damn…steroids, weed, and uppers in the same day — or as we like to call it, “The Tijuana Triathlon.” Get your shit together, UFC fighters.

(We don’t care what any of you say, post-all out war Wandy is the happiest Wandy. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.) 

Heading into last night’s co-main event, it seemed as if everyone involved in the production of UFC on FUEL 8 was actively trying to underperform. Chalk it up to jet lag perhaps, but in a decision-filled card that saw the hype trains of Siyar Bahadurzada and Hector Lombard come to a screeching halt (or in the latter’s case, go completely off the rails and crash into an orphanage), referee and judging incompetence was once again forced down our throats like fat jokes in a Kevin James movie.

Split decisions were seemingly handed out at random, costing Takanori Gomi a much deserved victory over Diego Sanchez and astonishingly nearly granting Lombard one in his lopsided loss to Yushin Okami. Even Herb Dean seemed out of it, at one point threatening a standup in the Kim/Bahadurzada fight while Kim had mount. It was an event that basically highlighted all the negative things Big John McCarthy had to say about the current state of MMA, and one so tedious at times that it managed to draw boos from the Japanese. The Japanese, you guys.

But then, that freakin’ co-main event happened. Was Mark Hunt‘s back and forth brawl with Stefan Struve the most technically advanced thing you’ve ever seen? No, but has any Stefan Struve or Mark Hunt fight ever gone down in that fashion? As with the main event that would come after it, Hunt vs. Struve was a good old fashioned slobberknocker that showcased the heart of its participants more than anything else. And if you can’t appreciate that, well, you probably can’t appreciate the finer points of a crippling meth/child porn addiction either.

(Photo of Stefan Struve’s broken jaw courtesy of Stefan Struve’s Twitter account)

After Mark Hunt dropped Stefan Struve with a left hook last night in Japan during the featured heavyweight bout on the UFC on Fuel 8 card and just walked away with his hands raised, you may have thought that referee Herb Dean was premature in stepping in and stopping the bout. Well, you’d be wrong.

Turns out that while Struve was still conscious, Hunt had broken his jaw and was just bad-ass enough to know he had before anyone else did. Struve got on twitter last night and told followers, “Thanks for the support everybody, I wanted Herb to take the tooth out of my cheek and continue but then it turned out my jaw was broken..”

To make matters worse for the giant, the ambulance he took to the hospital from the arena did not have any pain killers. “45 minutes to the hospital without painkillers.. Man, please choke me out.. Jaw is hurting like crazy.. “ Struve tweeted.

Man, tweeting with a broken jaw and no pain killers – that guy is a straight soldier. Later in the night Struve tweeted the above X-Ray photo of his skull, featuring his cracked jaw.

Dana, get this man a twitter bonus!

Struve eventually got pain killers and was happily “tripping” when he let fans know that he’d be flying back to his home of Holland today and getting surgery to repair his jaw, asap. Another great job by Hunt, another demonstration of Herb Dean’s expert eyes in action and an amazing demonstration of communication skills and good humor in the face of adversity and pain displayed by the young Struve.

- Elias Cepeda

(Video courtesy of the UFC’s Youtube channel)

“I don’t know what happens in Japan, but makes me feel young again.” Wanderlei Silva returned to the scene of his many glorious crimes last night at UFC on Fuel 8, knocking out Brian Stann in the second round of their main event bout.

At the post-event press conference, a proud and happy Wanderlei reflected on his win, his career and looked towards an uncertain future. Wanderlei reigned supreme in the now defunct Japanese Pride Fighting Championships organization for years but had not fought in his adopted professional home since 2006.

“I’m happy to make a good fight. Brian Stann is a tough opponent…this victory is for my fans, who give support to mem” he continued at the post-presser.

“I don’t have words for how happy I am right now. This job is a tough job. After so many years of fighting, every time it is harder to do that.”

Watch and listen to everything else Wanderlei and other UFC on Fuel 8 fighters had to say last night after the action.

- Elias Cepeda

(I don’t know, man. It’s just not the same without Joe Rogan creeping into your personal space. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Wanderlei Silva, Mark Hunt, Takanori Gomi, the Saitama Super Arena — if you squint your eyes, maybe you can convince yourself that PRIDE, in fact, neva die. The UFC is back in Japan today with a crowd-pleasing lineup of battle-scarred legends, rising stars, and whatever you’d call Diego Sanchez and Brian Stann at this point. (“Reliable bangers”? Yeah, I guess that works.)

Taking us through the action is George Shunick, who will be stacking live results from the FUEL TV main card after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and share your own feelings in the comments section.

(Sanchez’ unorthodox weight-cutting method did not work as well as he had hoped)

Diego Sanchez signed on to move back down to lightweight for the first time in three years for the opportunity to fight legendary former champion Takanori Gomi in his home nation of Japan at tonight’s UFC on Fuel 8 event but at yesterday’s weigh-ins did not make the category’s weight limit. A smooth-fleshed and drained looking Diego weighed in two pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156 pounds.

Gomi could have refused to fight Sanchez at that point but has reportedly agreed to still fight Sanchez. Diego will now be docked 20% of his purse by the UFC.

Ordinarily, in states like Nevada, when a fighter misses weight, 20% of their purse is taken by the athletic commission. Half of that amount is given to their opponent and the other half is taken by the commission and given to their state’s general budget.

UFC on Fuel 8 is being self-regulated by the UFC and, at this point, it is unknown what, exactly, the organization will do with Sanchez’ penalized purse percentage. In any case, the fight is on, and Sanchez took to twitter to apologize to his opponent and fans….wait, no.

That would make too much sense. Our freewheeling, cartwheeling, mean-mugging friend actually used his twitter account after weigh ins to preemptively complain about Gomi and taunt the Japanese fighter.

“Gomi better not be crying I missed weight, after I win because those 2 lbs cost 24 thousand dollars. If I could have cut it I would have “ Sanchez tweeted early this morning.

(If you haven’t already seen this video of TUF 10 castmember Justin Wren introducing his arm-hair and beard to a village of astounded children in the Congo, watch it, because it’s awesome. Props: Justin Wren on YouTube)

UFC on FUEL TV 8: Top 10 Facts You Need To Know (FightDay)

Must-See GIF: Adrian Cruz’s Scarf-Hold Armlock From Bellator 91 Prelims (Reddit_MMA)

UFC Star Nick Diaz Says GSP Is Crazy: ‘I Would Be Asking for Anderson Silva’ (BleacherReport)

UFC On FUEL TV 8′s Hector Lombard Fearful Of Boring Fight And Possible Release (MMAJunkie)

Veteran Jason MacDonald Retires From MMA (MMAFighting)

Q&A With Cro Cop’s Former Manager: The Man Who Brought Down PRIDE, Part 1 (LiverKick)

Tae Kwon Do Master Nails the Flying Quadruple Hurricane Kick (Break)

The 50 Most Unbreakable Records in Sports History (Complex)

Cleavage Wars: Oscars Edition (KillerFries)

Inside the Mind of Porn Star James Deen (MensHealth)

7 Things I Hate About Skyrim on Xbox 360 (EgoTV)

Accidentally Rich: 3 Inventions That Started As Mistakes (DoubleViking)

Girls With Gorgeous Faces, Part 4 (WorldWideInterweb)

(Demetrious Johnson had never seen a giraffe in person before this photo was taken. He still hasn’t, but don’t tell him that.) 

Despite being a relatively humble guy by fighter’s standards, Stefan Struve isn’t afraid to make a bold statement every now and again. Or in today’s case, a couple obvious ones. First, Struve spoke to UFC.com about his upcoming UFC on FUEL 8 tilt with PRIDE legend Mark Hunt (check out an awesome promo for the event here). After making such straightforward statements as “[Hunt] will not try and take me down” and “I’m fine when I keep my distance,” Struve ended the interview by declaring that “I’m not a boy among men anymore, you know? Now I’m a 265-pound, seven-foot monster.” Which is fine, until you see how he made that statement.

One thing’s for sure, it will be interesting to see how Struve is accepted by the people of Japan, who have a somewhat rocky history with creatures his size.

After the jump: Struve makes some more obvious statements about the implications of a win on Saturday. What do you mean it’s a slow news day?

For a man who made his reputation by striking fear into the hearts of his opponents, few people on Earth can express pure joy as well as Wanderlei Silva. Whether it’s the result of a well-earned victory, time spent with his loving family, a room full of bikini models, or a simple clove of garlic, Silva has found plenty of reasons to smile during his enviable life and career. So, in honor of his fight against Brian Stann tomorrow in the main event of UFC on FUEL 8, we decided to round up 21 photos of the Axe Murderer just being a happy-go-lucky son-of-a-gun. All of his violent curb-stompings are nice and all, but this is the way we’d really like to remember him.

As announced at yesterday’s UFC on FUEL 8 pre-fight press conference, South Korean TV personality and pop singer SuJung Lee (aka Su Jung Lee, aka Lee Su Jung) will serve as a guest Octagon Girl at this weekend’s “Silva vs. Stann” event in Saitama, Japan, where she’ll be joined by the returning Azusa Nishigaki.

“It’s really nerve-wracking but also exciting to be chosen as a UFC ring girl,” SuJung said. “I want to show all the fans the charms of a Korean ring girl.”

Check out some of our favorite SuJung Lee photos in the gallery after the jump — as well as a video from her UFC photoshoot — and follow her on Facebook for lots more.

We don’t know about you, but there are so many UFC events being strewn across so many different channels these days that we are starting to forget some of them even exist until about a week out. It’s not something we’re complaining about, but by a show of hands, how many of you realized that UFC on FUEL 8 is going down this weekend in Japan? Well, it is, and it features a headlining fight between Brian Stann and Wanderlei Silva that all of the world’s leading scientists have predicted will end inside of three rounds.

Scheduled just one fight before Stann vs. Silva, however, is a heavyweight contest that shines a spotlight on two of the division’s most unexpected rising stars: Mark Hunt and Stefan Struve. After suffering brutal knockout defeats at the hands of Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson, and Travis Browne, many MMA pundits were content to write off Struve as an upper-level gatekeeper who simply wasn’t title-contender material and probably never would be. However, following his most recent TKO victory over the then-undefeated prospect in Stipe Miocic at UFC on FUEL 5, Struve established himself as a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division, one who would make his case for a future title shot with a win this weekend.

But perhaps no fighter in the UFC possesses a greater comeback story than Hunt, who saw his career resurrected in the UFC following a six fight losing streak between 2006-2010. In the time since, Hunt has collected three straight wins in the octagon and even survived a fight with Cheick Kongo with both testicles intact. Despite his introverted nature, “The Super Samoan” has become an inspirational figure if there ever was one, and that inspiration takes center stage in the latest UFC on FUEL 8 promo.

We’ve placed the video above, so check it out and let us know if Hunt’s inspirational story will somehow help him overcome the 12.5 inch reach disadvantage he will be facing against the 6’11″ Struve this weekend. My guess is it won’t, but where inspiration oft fails, an atomic butt drop usually succeeds.

-J. Jones

The UFC confirmed last night that a middleweight matchup between knockout king Hector Lombard and perennial contender Yushin Okami has been added to the PRIDE fanboy circle-jerk that is UFC on FUEL 8: Silva vs. Stann, March 3rd in Saitama, Japan. Both fighters scored victories last month, with Lombard destroying fellow fireplug Rousimar Palhares in the first round of their match at UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson, and Okami (somewhat less impressively) earning a decision against Alan Belcher at UFC 155.

In keeping with the theme of UFC on FUEL 8′s main card — which will feature such legends as Wanderlei Silva, Takanori Gomi, and Mark Hunt — Lombard and Okami also competed for PRIDE early in their careers. Lombard lost decisions to Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi under the PRIDE Bushido banner in 2006, while Okami submitted Steve White via strikes (at PRIDE The Best Vol.3 in 2002) and outpointed Ryuta Sakurai (at PRIDE Bushido 2 in 2004). Video proof is after the jump.

Though Michael Bisping might argue that he and Vitor Belfort are the only two middleweights worth a damn at the moment, another savage knockout performance from Lombard could place him in the proverbial “mix.” Your predictions for this one, please.

(“Yeah, I have a question for the group: Is anybody *not* getting too old for this shit?” / Photo via Sherdog)

A pair of former PRIDE champions will be anchoring the UFC’s return to Japan. As confirmed by the promotion yesterday, UFC on FUEL 8 is slated for Sunday, March 3rd, at the Saitama Super Arena, with Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann booked for the main event. [Update: The fight will take place at light-heavyweight.] Both men are coming off of decision losses, with Silva dropping his rematch to Rich Franklin at UFC 147 in June, and Stann losing to Michael Bisping in September.

Though Silva probably has little recollection of the last time he competed in Saitama, the Axe Murderer became an MMA superstar in Japan, where he went undefeated through his first 20 fights in PRIDE and held the middleweight title for over five years. But his current stint in the UFC — where he’s won just three of eight fights since 2007 — has suggested that Silva is nearing the end of the road, and his next bad loss could be his last. Can he come up with another heroic effort against the All American?

Speaking of PRIDE legends, longtime lightweight champ Takanori Gomi will be welcoming Diego Sanchez back to the lightweight division at UFC on FUEL 8. Gomi has won his last two UFC fights against Eiji Mitsuoka and Mac Danzig, while Sanchez is coming off a decision defeat against Jake Ellenberger in February. Sanchez hasn’t competed at 155 pounds since being utterly shredded by BJ Penn during their lightweight title fight three years ago.

Pretty damn good for a free card, right? Keep in mind that the event will also feature the heavyweight battle between Mark Hunt and Stefan Struve, plus the following newly-announced supporting bouts…

(Even in the off-season, the dude stays in killer shape. Props: @ryanbader)

We’ve got four new UFC fight announcements for you this morning. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, just remember your safe word, and pray that I have mercy on you, you worthless little dung beetle.

- As first reported by ESPN, light-heavyweights Ryan Bader and Vladimir Matyushenko will meet at UFC on FOX 6: Johnson vs. Dodson, January 26th in Chicago. Both guys are returning from being smashed in their last fights: Bader suffered a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in August, while the Janitor has been sidelined due to injury since being TKO’d by Alexander Gustafsson last December.

- MMAWeekly reports that streaking heavyweights Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt will meet at the UFC’s next Japan event — UFC on Fuel 8, March 2nd at the Saitama Super Arena. The beanpole Dutchman and stocky Kiwi were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 146 back in May, but Hunt was forced to pull out of the fight on short notice with a knee injury.

A proven fight-finisher, Struve has stopped his last four opponents in the Octagon (Pat Barry, Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson, and Stipe Miocic), while Hunt has earned victories over his last three (Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell, and Cheick Kongo). Though Hunt will enjoy a sort of home-field advantage — he’s had nine previous MMA fights at the Saitama Super Arena, while Struve will be making his Japanese debut — he will also be giving up 13 inches (!) in height.