Ricardo Almeida

Unless Jon Fitch is just screwing with us by purposely spreading false information, it seems like he will not be fighting Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106 on November 21.  Fitch announced via Twitter that Almeida had injured his knee and been forced to pull out of the bout, so Fitch will get “a bigger, better fight instead.”  If you’re wondering how the UFC got a big star to agree to face Fitch on a month’s notice, don’t.  Fitch says the bout has been moved to a later date, which flings the door open wide to allow almost any UFC welterweight to walk in.  So before we speculate wildly we must ask ourselves: who would Fitch’s fans have wanted to see him fight for a long time? 

(Another otherwise-lovely photo ruined by red-eye. Props to JunieBrowning.com.)

TUF 8's man-you-love-to-hate is close to finalizing his next Octagon appearance. Junie Browning and TUF 5 castmember Cole Miller have reportedly agreed to face each other at UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). Still a perfect 3-0 as a professional, Browning most recently submitted Dave Kaplan via armbar at last month's TUF 8 finale, and has been trying to get his game tightened up at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Miller (14-3) is an American Top Team member who last fought at UFC 86 in July, where he choked out Jorge Gurgel. Sounds like a solid step up in competition for "The Lunatik" — will he rise to the challenge?

In other fight-bookin' news...

— UFC Fight Night 18 will also host a middleweight bout between Ricardo Almeida and Matt Horwich, who are both coming off losses. Almeida dropped a split decision to Patrick Cote at UFC 86, while former IFL champion Horwich lost a decision to Dan Miller in his Octagon debut at UFC 90. As accomplished and talented as both fighters are, the loser might find himself without a contract.

— Junie Browning's Team Mir drinking buddy Shane Nelson, who clawed out a split decision victory over George Roop at the TUF 8 finale, is being brought back to take on Aaron Riley at UFC 96 (March 7th, Columbus). Just like Cole Miller, Riley's last appearance was also a win over Jorge Gurgel, at UFC 91 in November. Poor Jorge Gurgel.

(He's damn near a middleweight at this point. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

— Brandon Vera, who will be facing Keith Jardine at UFC 89 (October 18th; Birmingham, England), is currently walking around at 202 pounds. "My whole outlook on everything has changed," he told UFC.com. "I am serious about this stuff now. It’s my diet, and my strength and conditioning coach, the 2004 Judo Olympian Rhadi Ferguson, it’s everything. It’s going to be bad for the 205ers, man. Bad. News." At this rate, Vera will weigh-in at 197 and de-hydrate down to 189 by the night of the fight, because he's a total genius. In other Truth-news, Vera was held at gunpoint Saturday morning at the home of world champion grappler Lloyd Irvin, but Irvin disarmed one of the two gunmen and scared off the other. Full story here...

— Georges St. Pierre has signed with CAA Sports, a division of entertainment/sports mega-agency Creative Artists. CAA, along with St. Pierre’s manager Shari Spencer, will work to secure marketing and endorsement opportunities for Rush. Said Spencer: "Georges’ appeal transcends the Octagon and I am confident that together we can introduce Georges, and the entire sport of MMA, to a wider audience." As MMA Payout described the signing, "It may not seem like much now, but in one year it could be remembered as a seminal moment in the sport’s development."

— Ricardo Almeida has suffered a mystery injury and will not be able to fight former IFL middleweight champ Matt Horwich at UFC 90 (October 25th, Chicago). Replacing him will be Dan Miller, another former IFL middleweight champ. It will be Horwich's first fight in the UFC and the second for Miller, who choked out Rob Kimmons at last month's UFC Fight Night 15.

— TUF 7 goofball Matt Riddle, who won his first professional fight with a unanimous decision over castmate Dante Rivera in June, will be returning to the Octagon at UFC 91 (November 15th, Las Vegas) against Ryan Thomas, who lost his UFC debut against Ben Saunders at UFC 87.

— MMA Weekly hears that the TUF 8 finale on December 13th will be headlined by a fight between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.

(Those wacky Brazilians. They even make the gym look fun.)

We've heard some great explanations for losing in our time covering mixed martial arts, but Ricardo Almeida has a new one: boredom. That's what he says cost him in his split decision loss to Patrick Cote at UFC 86, according to Setanta Sports:

"I lost because I got bored...Whatever I say, I know it’s gonna sound biased,” said Almeida, who moved to 9-3 in his MMA career.

“It wasn’t a great fight. I felt I dominated the first round. Then I had the incident with the glove [which needed cutting], and something happened to me mentally right there.

“Even physically, I was just dead in the second round – very very tired. I felt I bossed the third, some good jabs, I got a takedown – and the only reason he got on top was because I tried the guillotine.

“My corner told me to stay on top with 60 seconds left. But I guess because the fight was so boring, I wanted to try a submission and he finished the fight on top – which probably swung it.”

You know, usually post-fight excuses are pretty lame, but this one actually has some merit in a weird way. Guess that's why you don't bring Almeida to your niece's dance recital. He gets bored and it's almost guaranteed that he'll attempt a guillotine on you just to liven things up.

(Be careful what you wish for...)

His split decision victory over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 may not have been electrifying to watch, but it was enough to get Patrick Cote a shot at the middleweight title. At least, that's what the UFC is saying.

"He's getting a title shot," Dana White said following Cote's victory.

The question now is, when? The Canadian Press says that after his fight with James Irvin, Silva will most likely defend his middleweight strap against Yushin Okami at UFC 88 in Atlanta, which would mean less than two months between bouts for Silva. Two months after that, they say, is when Cote is likely to get his chance.

Apparently not everyone was happy with Cote's performance, though:

There was some drama outside the cage after the fight. Manager Stephane Patry said a UFC official -- not White -- had berated his fighter for the lacklustre bout. Patry said he promptly complained to UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, who assured him Cote would be treated right.

"Obviously it wasn't the most exciting fight but Lorenzo's a good guy, he understands," Patry said.

Now we get to play everyone's favorite game, "Guess That Mystery UFC Official". My money's on Wilder Valderrama. He's an official, right?