(Vid: MMA Weekly)

At his worst, Joe Rogan can come off as an arrogant blowhard with skin like an aging professional wrestler and a voice like a blender left too long on its ‘puree’ setting. At his best, he’s still one of the most articulate and insightful analysts MMA has been able to dredge up after almost 20 years of searching in America. If you really think about it, that’s pretty astounding. In the above video from MMA Weekly, Rogan appears to be in top form during a Q&A session with fans in Seattle just prior to the UFC’s recent “Fight Night” show, especially when the inevitable Fedor questions get tossed up on stage. On the topic of the former consensus No. 1 heavyweight, Rogan says what we’ve all been thinking for the last couple of years, but manages to put it all in the kind of direct (yet somehow elegant) language few other MMA broadcaster have been able to muster.

“I think Fedor is an amazing talent and an incredible athlete,” Rogan says. “I really admire his mind and his mindset when he goes in to compete. It’s really fun to watch that he’s so nonchalant with his big belly and goes in there and fucks people up. But the reality is that’s not going to work at the upper echelon of the sport anymore.”

(“Next!” Pic: Bellator)

And then there was one. It’s been almost three weeks since the news broke that Zuffa, LLC. had purchased Strikeforce – this week Our Octagon Overlords allegedly began signing SF fighters to their own airtight contractual arrangements – and it just now dawns on us what this means for Eddie Alvarez. Put simply, the continued Dana-fication of the MMA landscape means Alvarez is the only US-based 155-pound fighter anywhere near the Top 10 (or, hell, Top 20) not currently owned in a roundabout way by Big DW and the Fertitta Bros. God, that must be lonely.

As if on cue, and just a few days before he’s set to put his Bellator title on the line against tournament winner Pat Curran at an event we all keep forgetting about, Alvarez made some fairly stock claims this week to SI.com’s Jeff Waggenheim about how a lot of UFC lightweights would be “nobodies” without the promotion’s PR muscle behind them. Boy, we’ve heard this one before, right?

(Apparently the tipping point in negotiations was Fedor’s refusal to try Pinkberry)

Well it looks like Dana White is sending a message to fighters whose camps think they’re bigger than the UFC.

According to a report by LifeSports.ru, which cites “a source close to the fighter,” Zuffa has passed on a proposed deal with M-1 to sign the Russian management group’s biggest client, Fedor Emelianenko to a new UFC contract.

M-1′s failed dealings with the UFC over the past few years have been well documented, which no doubt left a bad taste in White’s mouth and likely contributed to the UFC president’s decision to pass on locking in the former number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter.

(Almeida retires with a record of 13-5)

In 2008, after a near four-year absence away from fighting, Ricardo Almeida’s desire to return to compete in MMA coaxed him out of an unannounced retirement to sign with the UFC. Since then he has fought eight times, losing three and winning five.

At 34 years of age, Almeida has decided to walk away from the sport despite having a few good fights left in him to spend more time with his family and to focus on running his Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy.

It’s been a pleasure watching you fight, Big Dog. Props for realizing when it was time to call it quits.

Read Ricardo’s statement after the jump.

(No really, it’s good for you. Pic: DLAnderson.com)

It should come as no surprise that MMA fighters on the whole seem particularly susceptible to hokum and gimmickry. After all, in this sport everybody is looking for an edge. In an industry where your ability to keep up with the Joneses (pun totally intended) can be the difference between fighting in the Octagon in front of thousands of screaming fans and having a job where one of your main responsibilities is walking the girls to their cars at the end of the night, guys will do almost anything to stay on top.

Everybody wants to be the first to discover the next big thing, that next little trick that’s going to push them to the win. In other words, MMA fighters will try anything once. Naturally, that leads to guys dabbling in some crazy shit. Does some of it really help them? Sure, probably. Is some of it just utter crap? Definitely. With that in mind, here are our choices for the eight strangest things some MMA fighters believe …

(“Business as usual,” should include putting on the best fights Zuffa can.)

Since Zuffa announced two weeks ago that it had purchased its closest competitor, Strikeforce, MMA fans and analysts have been clamoring for dream bouts that seemed impossible when the organizations were owned by two different companies.

Although UFC president Dana White has repeated the same three words since the news broke, “Business as usual,” and reports have emerged stating that there won’t likely be any cross-over bouts until Strikeforce’s current fighter contracts run out and they can be locked into new deals with the UFC, that doesn’t stop the inner fanboys in us from licking our chops over some of the fights we want to see happen in the Octagon (or Hexagon).

Check out our list of 20 intriguing post-Zuffa Strikeforce purchase fights we’d get behind.

When Tito Ortiz tweeted the message above Wednesday night rumors began swirling that the injury-plagued former UFC light heavyweight champion may be walking away from the sport of MMA in spite of an impending UFC 132 bout with Ryan Bader.

It now looks like “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was referring to his relationship with former adult film actress Jenna Jameson and not his mixed martial arts career when he said he was out.

When asked last night about what Ortiz meant by his cryptic message, the mother of his twin two-year-old sons, Journey and Jette, played coy.

By Cage Potato contributor Jason Moles
(“Read my lips: ‘TNA WRESTLING F*CKING SUCKS!’”)

Recently the MMA community witnessed another watershed moment as Dana White announced that Zuffa, parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, had once again purchased the competition. This time the victim was San Jose based Strikeforce. Whether or not we look back upon favorably in the future depends on how the suits handle the situation. If history is any indicator, and it is, and I can compare a legitimate sport in MMA to a male soap opera in professional wrestling, and I can, then there is nothing to fear. Yo Dana, I know you’re reading so sit down and take some notes, class is about to begin.

At least we’ll probably get this in the next UFC videogame…

There is zero need for sarcasm here. No reason at all for me to act like you haven’t already heard that Strikeforce has been purchased by the UFC. Mac Danzig is a fan of the acquisition. Paul Daley, not so much. While most of the implications of this merger are still up in the air at this point, let’s make one thing clear: There will NOT be any UFC vs. Strikeforce cards. If Dana White says it, which he did, then he’ll never, ever reconsider. Just ask Karo Parisyan.

Are we really to believe that Strikeforce will be the UFC’s version of the D-League? Dana White purchased his biggest rival in the hopes of harvesting a small time promotion that occasionally produces a Chris Andersen, but usually produces a bunch of journeymen? Or maybe he plans on giving his new acquisition the Bamboo Lounge treatment. Well…

“Konichiwa, bitches!”

There are a lot of things we’ve come to know about Dana White over the years. He loves his Pink Berry. He relieves stress by pulling mediocre pranks on his subordinates. He’s an astute, cut throat businessman. And he holds a grudge like a mother fucker. It’s these last two traits that we’ll be examining at this time. With the UFC’s latest acquisition, Dana is in the position of working directly with many of the folks he’s either banned from the UFC or burned bridges with when attempts to work with them didn’t pan out. Aside from the recent legal quandary surrounding Roy Nelson’s employment, Zuffa has proven through aggressive litigation and hard ball negotiation that they know their way around a contract. This makes it very likely that Dana will do just as he says in honoring all current Strikeforce related contracts.

But virtually all contracts come to an end at some point, and when Strikeforce’s agreements reach their expiration date it’s a whole new ballgame. Some Strikeforce staples, such as open, non-exclusive contracts and event co-promotion are sure to disappear. The same is certain for many of the organization’s familiar faces, both in front of the camera and in the cage. Despite Dana’s vindictive nature, he didn’t get where he is today by letting hard feelings get in the way of good business. Let’s take a closer look at who’s on the chopping block when the legal obligations dissolve and Dana is wielding the axe.

“Who has two thumbs and rules the entire MMA universe? This guy!”

The landscape of MMA has once again changed forever. Just like the UFC’s purchase of Pride, the UFC has enveloped another key competitor and solidified their stronghold on the MMA marketplace beyond what was previously thought possible. In his exclusive twenty-one minute interview with star reporter Ariel Helwani , Dana White sticks to the mantra “business as usual”, insisting that Strikeforce will continue to operate as its own entity. Sound familiar? Fortunately, running Strikeforce won’t entail dealing with the Yakuza. In fact, Dana casually likens the deal to purchasing a house. A house full of dudes that beat the shit out of each other for a living on national television.

Excerpts and notes from the interview are after the jump, but do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing.

(“This motherf*cker is going to buy my kids new Maseratis.”)

Tatame reported yesterday that, despite how screwed up Fight of the Night voting at UFC 124 ended up after Zuffa opened up the polls to the fans to decide who should win the award (prompting Dana White to assert that fans would never decide such things again), the promotion has decided to allow fans to have their say about which 12 Brazilian fighters will fight on the August 27 card in Rio de Janeiro.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WandFightTeam)

If DoggedTV keep putting out awesome videos like this, there may be a challenger to The Reem’s title of “Cage Potato’s favorite mini-web documentary series.

The latest instalment opens with Wand telling the camera as he walks into the doctor’s office to find out if his knee is healed sufficiently to resume training and competing, about how emotionally taxing being faced with the prospect of not being able to fight again has been since he sustained a potentially career-ending knee injury. After getting the all clear from his surgeon to begin upping his training intensity if he can quell the tendonitis in his leg, “The Axe Murderer” outlines his plans to get back on top as one of the best fighters in the UFC’s 185-pound class.

Knockout Entertainment Canada announced the line-up today for its historic first sanctioned mixed martial arts event held in the province of Ontario in a press release sent out this morning.

MMA: The Reckoning will take place on April 2 at Casino Rama in Orillia and will feature a range of veterans from several notable promotions. The main event will feature a welterweight tilt between UFC veteran Josh Burkman and up-and-coming Canadian fighter Jordan Mein. A former training partner of Jason Day, Mein, who defeated Joe Riggs via second-round TKO in January and won his last bout in February by rear-naked choke is said to be on the UFC’s radar, so a win over an Octagon vet like Burkman, who is 3-0 since being dropped by the promotion would likely elicit an invitation to fight for the Vegas-based promotion. Conversely, a win over a highly-touted prospect like Mein would almost definitely earn Burkman a call back from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

Also on the card will be former IFL and WEC lightweight Chris Horodecki, Shooto veteran Antonio Carvalho, three-time Sengoku fighter Nick Denis, TUF 9 contestant Dean Amasinger, and Canadian grappling standout Misha Cirkunov.

The event, which promoters say could feature at least one additional big name bout, is the first of several shows already approved by the Ontario Athletic Commission for the first quarter of 2010.

(In his next fight, Bader would like to face someone of great historical significance. Anybody got Kimo’s number? Pic: MMA Convert.)

Contrary to popular belief, the UFC middleweight division has not quite cornered the market on making strategically advantageous call-outs. While the world’s 185-pound fighters are lining up to let everybody know how much they’d all love to fight Michael Bisping – which is like so 2010 – their light heavyweight brethren are also making requests of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. It seems that at least a couple of 205-pounders have been spending some time on the “Fighters” page over at UFC.com and thinking to themselves, “Let’s see here, who can I beat?”

Ryan Bader, for one, emerged this week from whatever dark room he’s been huddled in, rocking back and forth since UFC 126 to tell ESPN.com he’d very much like to fight Tito Ortiz. Cuz, why not? Sure, just a withered shell of his former self, Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since 2006, is barely clinging to his career and seemingly can’t make it to the cage without a serious back injury, cracked skull or giant laceration over his eye, but still … fighting him would mean A LOT to Bader. You know, on a personal level.

(Image courtesy of MMAViewers.com)

By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles

Never before in the history of MMA has there been a more heavily anticipated fight than the one we may see in the not-too-distant future between UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and welterweight champ Georges “Rush” St. Pierre. This is the Ali vs. Frazier of our sport.

UFC President Dana White has said that should St. Pierre beat welterweight contender Jake Shields at UFC 129, he would put the two fighters in the Octagon to let them answer the question talking heads have debated for so long: Who is the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the world?

Nevertheless, one has to wonder how likely it is that the super fight actually comes to fruition. Some would argue that there is too much money to be made for this not to happen. Yeah, go tell that to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Others would have you believe that if the fans want something, Uncle Dana gives it to them — like another fight on the free prelims after a thousand or so RT’s. We here at CagePotato don’t enjoy raining on your parade, but we do enjoy poking holes in your sails if it will keep you from inevitable heartbreak. With all of this in mind, know that for every reason this fight could and should happen, there are three more for why it cannot. Below is a quick rundown on the obstacles and potential problems facing the fight of the decade.

(Not a good day for the brothers Lauzon.)

UFC vet Dany Lauzon was stabbed outside a Bridgewater, Mass. pub early this morning during a fight involving a group in the parking lot of the establishment they had been drinking in. EnterpriseNews.com is reporting that Lauzon was stabbed in the shoulder and sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Dany’s brother, Joe was also indirectly injured as a result of the incident.

(FYI: If you shine this signal into the sky, Bruce Buffer shows up at your door with a carload of chicks and some party favors.)

It looks like the UFC may be saving Toronto for big money superfights in the future based on the record sellout of April’s upcoming UFC 129 event — the promotion’s first in the Canadian province of Ontario.

With a pre-estimated 55,000+ attendance and more than $11-million live gate that blows away the previous record of $8-million set by a 2008 regular season Buffalo Bills game, it’s no surprise that Dana White and co. would want to bring their marquee fights back to the city’s Rogers Centre in the future.

White told Yahoo’s Dave Meltzer that “Hogtown” has hopped to the front of the line of go-to stadium venue locations ahead of Dallas, Texas where Zuffa will likely host superfights like the proposed Georges St-Pierre-Anderson Silva bout that the promotion is hoping to make before the end of 2011.

(“Hi. My name’s Pee-Wee. I’m here for the orgy.”)

It looks like the UFC scooped up its second Sengoku Raiden Championship fighter in a week.

As we reported last week, the promotion’s middleweight champion Jorge Santiago walked away from the promotion in the hopes of signing with either the UFC or Strikeforce. Although the Amercian Top Team fighter says he has not inked a deal with either promotion, several sources have confirmed that he has signed with the UFC and will face Brian Stann in his first outing at UFC 130 May 28 in Las Vegas.

Now reports have surfaced that Dave Herman has also received a requested release by the struggling Japanese organization. Although his manager, Shu Hirata confirmed today that his client had parted ways with the promotion, he would not commit to substantiating a handful of anonymously sourced reports that “Pee-Wee” has signed with the UFC.

(Video of you purchasing the weapon? Check. Tape of you admitting to the crime? Check. Incriminating text messages sent to the victim? Check. Women on the jury still think you’re innocent? You must be a professional fighter. PicProps: VCStar.com)

Two months after he stunned his attorney midway through trial by pleading guilty to raping his former girlfriend in 2008, UFC washout Jeremy Jackson was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday in California. A Ventura County Superior Court judge said she had “little or no discretion” in deciding Jackson’s sentence after the plea, according to a newspaper report.

The Ventura County Star – whose reference to Jackson as an “Ultimate Fighter” in its headline is only excusable because of his stint on the UFC’s reality show of the same name – had the details of Monday’s proceeding, which we have to say are kind of bizarre. Even though he admitted last December that he raped his ex-girlfriend while burglarizing her home on June 28, 2008, the Star reports that a female juror in the trial asked the court if she could “make a statement on Jackson’s behalf” during sentencing. The same juror later told the paper she thought Jackson was innocent and that he “only pleaded guilty because he was depressed and wanted the trial to end.”

We’re sure there’s a terrible joke to be made here about the women who fall in love with prison inmates – especially since the sentencing came down on Valentine’s Day, which probably felt like the worst possible timing for everyone involved – but we’re not going to do that. That’s what user comments are for, right?

(VidProps: YouTube/OnceIWasAChampion)

If you’re looking for an excuse to get a little bit misty-eyed this morning, you should definitely check out the above trailer for the forthcoming documentary about the late Evan Tanner. Titled “Once I Was a Champion,” the movie – produced at least in part by Tapout Films, according to the trailer – is reportedly being submitted for review by film festivals this month, where hopefully it’ll get some widespread play. If there’s one dude from MMA who deserves to have a film dedicated to his life, it’s probably Tanner. The former UFC middleweight champion certainly had his fair share of adventures (and perhaps personalities) which helped shape a quirky public persona, prior to his untimely death in the fall of 2008.

The trailer is legitimately pretty stirring and it seems like the full documentary itself is going to be pretty awesome. There are a slew of MMA luminaries involved, sharing their mostly positive remembrances of Tanner, while giving a nod to the troubled fighter’s “natural frailty.” Then you get to Chael Sonnen’s brief appearance at about the two minute mark and you think producers must have taken these comments out of context, not even Sonnen is this big of a dick. Then you watch the expanded video of Sonnen’s comments and you realize, nope, he really is a dick. See Sonnen’s performance and a few more fighters talking about Tanner after the jump.

(They can beat up pretty-boys and clowns, but how will Florian and Griffin do against the featherweight elite?)

Now that the UFC has a 145-pound division, it was only a matter of time before a few lightweight contenders decided to chase the belt where the competition’s a little smaller. The biggest name so far is Kenny Florian, who told ESPN.com yesterday that he’s taking himself out of the lightweight mix to try his hand at featherweight:

“I started playing around with the idea: could I make 145? Originally, I didn’t think it was possible,” Florian said. “I spoke with a few nutritionists, got their opinions, told them what my body fat was, my walking-around weight, all that stuff and the general consensus was that it was very possible…[The UFC] is very supportive. They’re very excited about the move…My goal is to get the 145-pound belt, and then go up to 155 and challenge for that belt as well.”

(Finally, some competition. PicProps: MMA Core)

From yesterday’s conference call where Nick Diaz accused Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre of fighting lesser competition as Diaz himself prepares to defend his Strikeforce title against, uh, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos to Cesar Gracie telling Ariel Helwani that he doesn’t think Greg Jackson is actually that good of a coach, things are just getting bizarre with the Scrap Pack these days. Whatever planet these dudes are living on, it’s clear that they own the place, while the rest of us are just visiting.

Enter Gilbert Melendez, who tells RingsideReport.com this week that he’s the man to beat at 155-pounds right now. All this noise about Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard? Melendez ain’t trying to hear that, see. But just in case you’re wondering if Melendez might be interested in proving his point, of signing with the UFC so he can actually fight the other top contenders in his weight class: Forget it. It’s those guys who should be coming to him.

(The last time Big Daddy got paid on time and in full.)

By Cage Potato contributor Chris Colemon

Only 17 years removed from its inaugural bout, the UFC is just now exiting its awkward teen years and developing into a suave, sophisticated adult. After an extended bout of growing pains that at times threatened the sport’s very existence, MMA is finally coming into its own. Today’s fans witness seemingly daily achievements and milestones that speak to the sport’s rapid expansion. In 2010 alone, the UFC held its first events in Abu Dhabi and Australia, opened offices in China, set a new North American attendance record for an MMA event, crowned its first Mexican heavyweight champion, and launched their first attack in the Battle for New York.

But the UFC’s epic tale is not unlike any other in that each chapter begins where another one ends. For every historic first, there is an all but forgotten last.

Here is a short list of some of the UFC’s important lasts – the rules and regulations sacrificed in the fight for our sport’s survival.

Check them out after the jump.

(Another case of life imitating art.)

Our friends at MiddleEasy.com scored a pretty awesome exclusive interview with someone claiming to be Lee Murray who says he was texting them answers to their questions via a cell phone he smuggled into the Moroccan prison he’ll call home for the next 25 years.

According to the story, someone close to the former UFC fighter got wind of ME’s "Free Lee Murray" shirts and offered to facilitate the Q&A, which seems pretty legit.

It looks like "Lightning" might be planning an appeal and hasn’t given up hope that his fate is sealed as he told MiddleEasy that he couldn’t talk about his part in the Securitas heist, which he is purported to have put together.

We won’t steal their well-earned traffic by copy and pasting the interview, but we will post an incredible quote from Murray in which he takes a shot at Tito Ortiz, who Lee is said to have knocked out during a street fight in London.

"…i pass some time by reading some books or mags, watch some DVDs, UFC, movies. I see a great porno of Tito’s wife getting the life fucked out of her by a bunch of dudes. That was pretty fun…not for him i bet …It’s not too bad. Not the first three years four months I done by myself in solitary confinement. I didn’t see no one. It was a fucking hole with rats & shit coming out the hole u piss in It’s not a prob when you piss, it’s a prob when you have to squat over it to take a s***, praying a rat don’t jump out and grab your balls "

Apparently lot can change in a few years.

Maximum Fighting Championship president Mark Pavelich had a change of heart and has re-signed lightweight Drew Fickett to a multi-fight deal with the Edmonton, Alberta promotion. The news wouldn’t be as interesting if Pavelich hadn’t proclaimed in 2008 that "Knight Rider" would never fight in the MFC.

To recap what led up to Pavelich’s assertion that Fickett’s days as an MFC fighter were numbered before he ever cashed a paycheck from the promotion, it all started when "The Master" breached a clause in his 2008 contract by taking a fight within two months of a scheduled MFC bout.

But that’s not the reason he was banned by Pavelich.

When the promoter read online that Fickett had agreed to fill in for an injured Joe Riggs on a Strikeforce challengers card last-minute participation, he attempted to contact the fighter’s camp to tell them that he would be breaching his contract if he took the fight as he had an MFC bout less than a month later. When his calls and messages went unanswered, he contacted Scott Coker to tell him that Drew couldn’t fight on the card and the Strikeforce promptly rescinded the offer to Fickett.

(Video courtesy YouTube/MMAPromo)

When Chuck Liddell isn’t looped on Nyquil and ether, or teary-eyed from announcing his retirement, he’s actually pretty well spoken and has incomparable knowledge about the sport of MMA.

In this interview with HDNet’s Mike Straka, The Iceman talked about his recently announced retirement, reflected on his career and talked about about how he can’t stand when non-fighters and reporters criticize the men who put it on the line in the ring or cage.

Well, that explains why he refused to do an interview with us last summer…that or he’s read the site.

Hopefully Chuck’s fancy new position with the UFC doesn’t entail him "having a word with" bloggers who aren’t a friend of theirs.

Part two is after the jump.

(Now that MMA is legal in Ontario, the bandwagon will undoubtedly carry in a glut of Dana White wannabes. Let’s hope the OAC knows how to weed out the legit promoters from the scumbags.)

It looks like the UFC might get beaten to the proverbial punch when it comes to holding the inaugural sanctioned MMA event in Ontario.

CagePotato.com has learned from a source close to the situation that several promotions, including San Jose-based Strikeforce and Edmonton’s Maximum Fighting Championship have applied for promoter’s licenses in Ontario and pending approval by the Ontario Athletic Commission, at least three shows have been penciled in ahead of the UFC’s April 29 show in Toronto.

Although none of the shows have been given the go-ahead by the province as of time of writing, a number of venues have been tentatively reserved — some by first-time promoters — across the province in such locales as Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Orillia. 

(Somehow we see this tournament going down before Strikeforce’s HW GP.)

With the current buzz surrounding the recently announced Strikeforce 2011 heavyweight grand prix, we figured we’d take a look at what kind of tournament the UFC could put on if they were so inclined.

Contrary to popular opinion, the calibre of the UFC’s HW GP would be just as good, if not better than Strikeforce’s. The only noticeable difference is that there really wouldn’t be any mismatches in Zuffa’s heavyweightpalooza.

Even if Joe Silva decided not to put the matches together that we hypothesized in order to save some of the more anticipated pairings for the sem-final and final rounds, shuffling the card around would not cause a great disparity in the calibre of opponents.

(Video courtesy Vimeo/MMANews.se)

Our Swedish friends from MMANews.se caught up with Chuck Liddell following the UFC’s announcement yesterday that "The Iceman" retired and effective immediately would be taking on the role of Executive Vice President of Business Development with Zuffa LLC and it seems that the former UFC light heavyweight champion is unsure about what his job will entail.

Chuck attempted to explain his role as diplomatically as he could from what little details he had been given about the job, but the iconic UFC fighter admitted he wasn’t quite sure what he would be doing from day to day.

"Well, we’re gonna get more into the details of it, but it’s business development, so I’m gonna be working with all the new projects and different things trying to help and promote the sport and the UFC. I’m gonna be doing that. I need something. I’m competitive and I need something to keep me driven. I need something to go after and do. I think this is probably the best way that I can keep continuing to grow the sport."