This is now even less likely to ever get televised, while Caged is a real show. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Antonio McKee is now officially a free agent. After missing weight by an inexcusable seven pounds for his title defense against Brian Cobb last night- resulting in the fight being changed to a three round non-title affair and McKee forfeiting twenty percent of his purse- McKee was released from his MFC contract. And yes, Antonio McKee defeated Brian Cobb by unanimous decision last night in his last appearance (possibly) under the MFC banner.

For those of you still reading, Brian Cobb also missed weight for the evening’s co-main event. Brian Cobb came in a whopping half pound overweight, resulting in promoter Mark Pavelich telling him that it was now “win or go home” for him as well. Despite taking the third round from a clearly exhausted McKee, Cobb came up short and was subsequently released from the promotion. It would have been interesting to see how the championship rounds would have played out, you know, if both men actually made weight and all.

(When he isn’t fighting, you can find Jimmo at a Karaoke bar.)

Arguably Canada’s top light-heavyweight fighter, Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo raised eyebrows when he turned down an MFC title bout against promotional newcomer Glover Texeira earlier this year because he felt that the Brazilian hadn’t done enough to earn a the opportunity to fight for the strap. Jimmo had to win seven fights in the MFC to be considered for a shot, and figured that anyone else he would have to fight for the belt should have to at least win one fight under the organization’s banner to earn the same..

His decision was met with an even split of support and opposition, but the St. John, New Brunswick native stood by his convictions and was eventually offered another shot at the title vacated by Trevor Prangley against MFC veteran, Dwayne Lewis at MFC 28 on February 25.

If you’re unfamiliar with Jimmo, you likely won’t be for long as 2011 promises to be a breakout year for the two-time Pan-Am medalist and four-time Canadian national karate champion who is riding a 13-fight win streak into his bout with Lewis – a fighter he defeated by decision three years ago.

In 2008 he appeared on the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8, but lost a very close majority decision to Antwain Britt and was sent home.

Since then he switched camps and moved from Nova Scotia to Edmonton where he joined the Hayabusa Fight Team, becoming a more well rounded fighter as a result of his hard work, diverse training partners and methods.

Ryan has offered to give the Potato Nation and inside look at his training and thoughts heading into his fight in February and as such he will be doing an exclusive training camp blog for us every week for the next eight weeks leading up to MFC 28.

Check out his first entry after the jump.

When last we saw Goran Reljic he was knocking out Wilson Gouveia in his UFC debut to keep his undefeated record intact.  He seemed headed for great things, but then a back injury forced him out of a fight with Thales Leites and he had to keep himself busy by heroically saving unfortunate travelers from the perilous Adriatic Sea.  But after an almost two-year layoff and a little back surgery, he returns at UFC 110 to take on C.B. Dollaway.  Fortunately our friends at Raw Vegas are around to follow Reljic through his training at Xtreme Couture, giving us a glimpse of what happens in the weeks leading up to fight night.  Does it include a lot of sledge hammer and medicine ball work?  But of course.

After the jump, get reacquainted with Reljic’s work in the fight that Gouveia says got a little too personal backstage.

(Wilson Gouveia [in the Brazilian shorts] and Alan Belcher [in the Fairyland shorts] slug it out at UFC 107. Photo courtesy of MMA Fanhouse.)

Despite some thrilling moments in UFC 107‘s main card, the UFC awarded all of its traditional end-of-night bonuses to preliminary card fighters. Scoring the $65,000 pay bumps were…

Knockout of the Night: TJ Grant, for wrecking Kevin Burns with a right hook in the closing seconds of their one-rounder, which kicked off the prelims.

Submission of the Night: DaMarques Johnson, who upkicked the wits out of Edgar Garcia, then quickly finished him with a triangle choke in the first round of their fight. The memorable sequence — which was shown at the end of the pay-per-view broadcast — occurred shortly after Johnson was punched to the mat.

Fight of the Night: Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia, which also made it to the PPV broadcast. Though their match was the second-shortest of the night, it was a fast-paced striking war that ended with Gouveia crumpling under Belcher’s onslaught. And really, are you going to give it to Clay Guida three fights in a row? You know he’ll just blow it all on shampoo and energy drinks…

(Props: Caposa3 via "CRE" on the UG)

Less than three full months into 2009, and we’ve already seen some of the most creative submissions and brutal KOs in recent memory; this new highlight comp collects the best of them. Between the slo-mo footage and understated, ambient soundtrack, moments like Demian Maia‘s triangle choke of Chael Sonnen (1:17-1:47) and Nate Marquardt‘s devastation of Wilson Gouveia (3:46-4:02) seem even more epic. Enjoy. 

Props to MMA Weekly, UFC.com, The Sun, and the “UFC 95: The Aftermath” set on Combat Lifestyle.                       

(Photo courtesy of SI.com)

Another UFC event is in the books, which means it’s time again to see who’s up and who’s down according to the Potato Index’s arbitrary numerical rankings system.  It’s kind of like Bob Reilly’s poll, only we admit it’s total bullshit.  And at least this particular brand of bullshit is more fun.

Diego Sanchez +123

“The Nightmare” proved he can cut almost forty pounds and still go three rounds at a steady pace.  That could be bad news for some other lightweight contenders, though it would still be interesting to see how he stacks up against one of the better wrestlers in the division.  Sean Sherk’s not too busy, is he?

Joe Stevenson -88

Another disappointing performance for Stevenson leaves us wondering where he can possibly go from here.  He just doesn’t seem to have enough in his toolbox to hang with the top fighters, and secluding himself in Victorville, which is not known for its elite training facilities, certainly isn’t helping.

Demian Maia +204

If you’re going to do only one thing, you’d better do it extremely well, and Maia does.  He forces another quality opponent to fight on his terms and puts him away with impressive ease.  Is there any middleweight not named Anderson Silva who can pose a significant threat to him at this point?

(Props: MMA Scraps)

Diego Sanchez engages in a kickboxing bout, while Joe Stevenson fights a boxing match.  When that happens, you can usually guess who’s going to win.  A strong debut at lightweight for Sanchez.  As for Stevenson, instead of considering your own drop in weight, as you may be tempted to, how about getting with a good camp and learning some new tricks?

More videos, including Maia-Sonnen, Koscheck-Thiago, and more are after the jump.

("Look, I’m not saying you have to touch your foreheads together like some of the other guys, but you have to understand how retarded this looks right now." Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

Like the light from a distant star that died out millions of years before it can be seen from Earth, here we are about to watch the transmission of a UFC event that already happened, hours away and across an ocean. If you were able to avoid spoilers up until this point, pat yourself on the back. And I’d just like to take this opportunity to warn you that if you want to keep this experience totally pure, maybe stay away from the comments section for a while, because there’s always gonna be some sad loser who takes perverted joy in ruining things for the rest of us, when they’re not masturbating in their own feces. (No offense to "COOL!" or the guy currently pretending to be "Kadumel." You seem like a couple of interesting dudes and I’d love to get a beer and a burger with you sometime. Please get in touch with me here.)

Live Tape-delayed results and commentary for UFC 95 are after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes to see all the latest…

(Diego will try anything to get to 155.  Anything.)

With UFC 95 (which we’ll be liveblogging) just a day away, we took some time to berate one another regarding some of the more pressing issues surrounding the UFC’s trip to London.  Okay, so there’s essentially no main event here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have some fun with a night of free fights on Spike.  Plus, there are Chael Sonnen’s ridiculous claims to discuss, and so much more…

What are Diego Sanchez‘s chances as a lightweight contender? Who has the skills to beat him?

BG: His chances are freakin’ excellent. Sanchez was already the fifth best welterweight in the UFC by my count (after GSP, Alves, Fitch, and Koscheck), and he’s looked incredibly dangerous in his last two wins over David Bielkheden and Luigi Fioravanti. I was particularly surprised to hear that he was dropping to lightweight because it seemed like he was gathering steam for a title shot at welterweight. Think about it: Fitch and Kos have already been dominated by St. Pierre, and if Alves can’t beat the champ this summer, who else is ready?

(Two best middleweights, or just Demian Maia and some dude in a track suit?  Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle’s UFC 95 presser gallery.)

As UFC 95 approaches you may find yourself itching to do some prognosticating, but whither the pick –em contest?  Have no fear, Potato Nation.  Thanks to user Contraband, bragging rights are on the line in the (Un)Official Cage Potato UFC 95 Pick-em Contest, now jumping off in the forums.

Why not head over there and prove to the rest of us newbs how much you know about MMA by slamming down your picks for Saturday night’s event?  While you’re there, might as well comment on your favorite and least favorite MMA techniques, and take a look at Edith’s ass.  I mean, it’s right there.

If you’re curious as to how we see UFC 95 going down, our picks are after the jump.  And don’t forget about the liveblog on Saturday night.  Seriously, just don’t.

(You call that a mean face?  Shiiieeeet.)

Betting odds are out for this Saturday’s UFC event on Spike TV, which we’ll be liveblogging as usual.  If you’ve still got the disposable cash and the devil-may-care attitude necessary for online gambling in this bleak economic climate, allow us to steer you in the right direction for this one.  

The juiciest lines on the internets come to us courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Joe Stevenson (+281) vs. Diego Sanchez (-295)
Dan Hardy (even) vs. Rory Markham (-108)
Nate Marquardt (-258) vs. Wilson Gouveia (+250)
Demian Maia (-256) vs. Chael Sonnen (+236)
Josh Koscheck (-450) vs. Paulo Thiago (+450)
Terry Etim (-220) vs. Brian Cobb (+205)
Junior Dos Santos (-260) vs. Stefan Struve (+240)
Mike Ciesnolevicz (-115) vs. Neil Grove (-105)
Per Eklund (-160) vs. Evan Dunham (+140)
Paul Kelly (-290) vs. Troy Mandaloniz (+290)

Thoughts…

(‘Khaaaaaaannn!’)

Wilson Gouveia’s rise through the UFC middleweight ranks was slowed last May when Octagon newcomer Goran Reljic staged a come-from-behind victory via second-round TKO.  For Gouveia the loss was the direct result of a very specific mistake on his part, and one he’s vowed to learn from but never to repeat as he heads into his UFC 95 bout with Nate Marquardt.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me, Wilson.  How is your preparation coming for the fight with Nate Marquardt?

The training has been very intense.  I’m taking this fight very seriously.  I think it’s going to be the most important fight of my career so far.  Right now I feel very good.  I’m in great condition, no injuries, just ready to go.

Are you doing anything specifically to prepare for him?

Not really, to tell the truth.  In all my fights I try to be prepared for everything.  With Nate it’s no different.  He’s a pretty well-rounded fighter.  He’s good at everything.  I have to try and be prepared for the worst-case scenario.  He’s a good wrestler.  He’s got better takedowns than me.  I’ve been training a lot of jiu-jitsu off my back, a lot of stand-up.  

I think he’s good in everything, but I don’t think he’s great in anything.  I think his jiu-jitsu is good, but it’s not amazing.  His wrestling, I think, is his greatest strength.  But even with that, I don’t think he’s the best wrestler in the UFC.  His striking is good, but if you watch his last fight with [Martin] Kampmann, he spent like ten or more punches to put him away.  I really don’t need ten punches to put someone away.  I just need one.

You were on a good roll in the UFC until your loss to Goran Reljic.  What do you think went wrong for you in that fight?

(Props: MMA Weekly)

Weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 8 finale went down earlier today at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, and every fighter successfully made weight — except for Wilson Gouveia, who came in four pounds heavy for his middleweight tilt against Jason MacDonald. Way to set a good example for the new guys, Will. Full results are below…

MAIN CARD
Efrain Escudero (156) vs. Phillipe Nover (155)
Ryan Bader (205) vs. Vinicius Magalhaes (205)
Kevin Burns (171) vs. Anthony Johnson (171)
Wilson Gouveia (189) vs. Jason MacDonald (184)
Junie Browning (156) vs. Dave Kaplan (156)

UNDERCARD
Shane Primm (202) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205)
Jules Bruchez (205) vs. Eliot Marshall (203)
Kyle Kingsbury (205) vs. Tom Lawlor (204)
Shane Nelson (156) vs. George Roop (153)
Roli Delgado (155) vs. John Polakowski (152)

Update from UFC.com: "Gouveia did not make weight and for safety reasons, the Nevada State Athletic Commission won’t allow him to make a second weight cutting attempt. The bout will go on at a catch weight of 189 pounds, and Gouveia will forfeit 20% of his purse to MacDonald." Weigh-in photos are here.

(Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer; props to MMAScraps.)

The UFC’s customary end of the night bonuses were worth 30k for Ultimate Fight Night 15. It’s too bad there was no time to replay any of the undercard fights, because it seems there were a lot of stoppages to choose from. Here’s who got the extra bumps:

Fight of the Night: Nate Diaz and Josh Neer for their always-competitive and action-packed main event battle.

Knockout of the Night: Alessio Sakara for Cro Copping poor Joe Vedepo.

Submission of the Night: Wilson Gouveia for his armbar of Ryan Jensen.

We’ll add gifs/videos of the last two as soon as we find ‘em…

(Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

The BF half of the Cage Potato duo is in Omaha for tonight’s Ultimate Fight Night event. If you’re headed to the Civic Auditorium later this afternoon for the event, keep an eye out for the handsome devil with the laptop. I’ll be sitting behind that guy, scribbling my thoughts on a wax tablet. What? I just think all this new technology is a fad. It’ll blow over.

But if you can’t get to the fights tonight but want to find a way to make yourself sweat over the results anyway, allow me to suggest gambling. BestFightOdds.com has compiled all the lines for tonight’s event, and here’s what it’s looking like at the moment:

Nathan Diaz (-200) vs. Josh Neer (+200)
Clay Guida (-121) vs. Mac Danzig (+125)
Houston Alexander (-212) vs. Eric Schafer (+215)
Ed Herman (-220) vs. Alan Belcher (+215)
Joe Lauzon (-675) vs. Kyle Bradley (+500)
Drew McFedries (-200) vs. Mike Massenzio (+210)
Wilson Gouveia (-350) vs. Ryan Jensen (+326)
Alessio Sakara (-115) vs. Joe Vedepo (+128)
Jason Brilz (-209) vs. Brad Morris (+215)
Dan Miller (-110) vs. Rob Kimmons (+105)

Some thoughts…

(Yeah, you should probably get that looked at.)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that six fighters have received medical suspensions related to their losses at UFC 84. They are…

Sean Sherk: Suspended until July 7th, with no contact until June 24th (laceration on right cheek)

Keith Jardine: Suspended until November 21st, with no contact until July 9th, but could be cleared by a doctor to compete as early as July 24th (nasal fracture)

Tito Ortiz: Suspended for six months or until clearance by a doctor (injured left hand and wrist)

Wilson Gouveia: Suspended for six months or until clearance by a doctor (broken nose and ribs)

Kazuhiro Nakamura: Suspended for six months or until clearance by a doctor (broken nose)

Jason Tan: Suspended for six months or until clearance by a doctor (broken nose)

Update from MMAMania:

Goran Reljic — The Croatian is suspended until June 24 and there is no contact allowed until June 15.
Antonio Mendes — The Brazilian is suspended until June 24.
Terry Etim — The British lightweight is suspended until June 24 and there is no contact allowed until June 15 because of a right cheek laceration.
Christian Wellisch — “The Hungarian Nightmare” is suspended until June 8 and there’s no contact allowed until June 1.

After the jump: The third episode of ESPN’s “MMA Live,” where Jon, Kenny, and Franklin run down Kimbo Slice’s controversial main event status, UFC 84′s results, Sunday’s WEC show, and the matchup between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia; plus, Bas Rutten demonstrates another nasty neck-crank.

($225,000: Enough to buy a new pickup truck and a healthy white baby.)

Official salary and bonus numbers for UFC 84′s fighters have been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Here’s how the guys stacked up:

B.J. Penn: $250,000 ($125,000 to show, $125,000 to win)
Wanderlei Silva: $225,000 ($150,000 to show*, $75,000 for Knockout of the Night)
Tito Ortiz: $210,000
Lyoto Machida: $100,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Wilson Gouveia: $93,000 ($18,000 to show, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rousimar Palhares: $85,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win, $75,000 for Submission of the Night)
Goran Reljic: $81,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $80,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Thiago Silva: $50,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 to win)
Rich Clementi: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Dong Hyun Kim: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Sean Sherk: $35,000
Kazuhiro Nakamura: $20,000
Ivan Salaverry: $20,000
Shane Carwin: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Terry Etim: $10,000
Keith Jardine: $10,000
Christian Wellisch: $10,000
Jon Koppenhaver: $8,000
Antonio Mendes: $4,000
Jason Tan: $3,000
* Wanderlei Silva’s guaranteed $150,000 salary doesn’t depend on a win bonus.

Overpaid: Wilson Gouveia. Looking back on UFC 84 a year from now, is the two-round almost-war between Gouveia and Goran Reljic going to be remembered by anyone? Yes, Reljic’s relentless left head-kicks were pretty, but Gouveia should have eventually figured out that they were coming. (For us, the presence of Mirko Cro Cop in Reljic’s corner was the early tip-off.)

Underpaid: A lot of people — particularly Shane Carwin, whose Knockout of the Night bonus was robbed from him by Wanderlei Silva. The way I saw it, Carwin’s single-punch, mouthpiece-ejecting KO of Christian Wellisch was more deserving then Wandy’s slightly more prolonged ground-and-pound TKO of Jardine, and Carwin could probably use the money more. Other than that, what the fuck is up with the UFC’s newcomers making three, four, and six thousand dollars to show? Goddamned slave wages. The UFC made $3.7 million off of “Ill Will”‘s gate; they could certainly afford to establish a minimum base salary of $10,000 for their fighters if they wanted to.

(Wilson Gouveia in at UFC 84.)

Some fight cards saw additions today, one scheduled for May and the other just three weeks away.

-UFC 84: MMA Junkie reports that the newly signed Goran Reljic will start his work for the UFC on May 24th against Wilson Gouveia. Reljic is a Croatian light heavyweight who is a BJJ specialist and occasionally trains with Roger Gracie in the U.K. The Croatian fighter signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC last month and will try to improve on his 7-0 MMA record. Wilson Gouveia is 10-4 and is riding a four fight win streak. He most recently pulled off an out-of-nowhere KO of Jason Lambert during UFC 80.

-Strikeforce at the Dome: This Tacoma, Washington event is being hyped as Bob Sapp’s cagefighting debut – because he’s actually fighting in a cage. Clever. Regardless of the walking punch-line Bob Sapp, there are some solid up-and-comers and veterans on the card. And now two more bouts have been added. Sherdog is saying that Jorge Masvidal and Ryan Healy will meet on February 23rd at a catch-weight of 160. Ryan Healy is 9-2-1 and likes to sling it. Jorge Masvidal is 12-2 and is riding a six fight victory wave. In a match-up of two fighters trying to right their ships, welterweights Brad Blackburn and Ray Perales will also square off. Blackburn is 10-9-1 and is seeking to get back on track after a spotty IFL record. Ray Perales is 9-13, but is 2-1 since snapping a five fight losing slide.

Stay tuned for updates on fight card additions for the many events slated in the coming weeks.

(Paul Taylor bashes Paul Kelly during their “Fight of the Night.”)

Things are tough all over, I guess. The UFC released its customary bonuses after UFC 80, but each one was only $35,000, a full $20,000 less than the bonuses handed out after UFC 79. This is the first time we can recall that the bonuses actually went down from one event to the next. We knew European expansion was a bitch, financially speaking, but it’s unfortunate that the fighters had to tighten their belts to recoup some of the costs. Anyway, here’s who got the extra cash:

Fight of the Night: Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor. Each Brit got $35k, primarily for the insane brawl that kicked off the first round; after that, it was fairly dull GnP domination from Paul Kelly, who won a unanimous decision.

Knockout of the Night: Wilson Gouveia earned $35k for his out-of-nowhere comeback blast of Jason Lambert.

Submission of the Night: B.J. Penn collected $35k by default for his rear-naked-choke of Joe Stevenson, UFC 80′s only tap-out.

Thus, I went 1-3 in my predictions. And commenter MattyLight owes commenter Olie $5. (Sorry buddy!) Feel free to work out the exchange in the comments section.