AKA

(Paul Daley shows off a completely different kind of punch face.)

There was a time when fighting Matt Hughes meant signing up to get slammed through the mat before being mercilessly pounded on and dominated in a way that makes even tough guys want to go cry in the shower.  Now, instead of being a feared force in the UFC’s welterweight division, he’s the guy everyone wants to fight, preferably soon, before anyone else has a chance to put a beating on him and claim whatever is left of the Hughes luster.  It’s not enough of an indignity for a former champ to have every 170-pounder at AKA putting his name in the streets, now Paul Daley is doing it too:

“I want to fight Hughes, firstly because he's a legend and second he's former welterweight champion. He has a win over the current welterweight champion, and he has all the skills to exploit my weaknesses that the media and my ‘fans’ so often talk about. …I want Hughes, I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to fight me, unless he thinks he's gonna lose.”

First of all, Daley’s two reasons for wanting a fight with Hughes are really one reason: Matt Hughes has a big name.  But he does have a point when he says that Hughes has the tools to help us find out if Daley’s ground game is truly as weak as advertised.  At least, the old Hughes had those tools. 

(Here comes the pain...)

Cain Velasquez is a former All-American wrestler and undefeated MMA fighter who has yet to see what the second round looks like in his pro career.  This Saturday at UFC Fight Night 17 he faces Octagon newbie Denis Stojnic, and all indications are that Velasquez’s undefeated streak will still be intact on Sunday morning.  

In this exclusive interview, Velasquez talks with us about the choice of opponents, his transition from wrestling to MMA, and his thoughts on AKA’s recent dust-up with the UFC over the video game licensing deal.

CagePotato.com: You’re facing a guy who’s making his UFC debut in Denis Stojnic.  What do you know about him and how have you been preparing for him?

The only thing I know about him is from watching YouTube videos of him.  He’s an aggressive fighter, he throws some wild punches, and he’s an extremely tough dude.  I’m working on turning the corner, not really standing there and banging with him, but looking for shots from there for the takedown.

You’re 4-0 and beat a fairly established UFC fighter in Jake O’Brien your last time out.  Why do you think the UFC decided to put you up against a guy stepping into the Octagon for the first time?

I’m not really sure, but they did.  I’m glad they did because that’s just more ring time for me.  When I get up to the big guys, the big names, I’ll be more ready.

(Woody Guthrie would be so disappointed in you, Mike.)

As the UFC's scorched earth policy toward AKA and its fighters unfolds, it's looking like not everyone in the stable is getting cut. In an interview with USA Today, Dana White claims that Mike Swick was the only AKA fighter to call and say, essentially, he'll do anything Dana wants:

The only fighter that called me from AKA was Mike Swick. Mike Swick called me from AKA, that was it. And Mike Swick said, "Listen, I don't know what's going on. I don't care what's going on. I'm with you, I'm in business with you guys. You guys are my partners." And I said, "I appreciate that, Mike. We look at you the same way."

Is Cain Velasquez the future of the UFC's heavyweight division? His AKA teammate Jon Fitch thinks so, and the rest of the MMA world will find out in less than a month when he takes on Brad Morris at UFC 83. In the meantime, do some scouting by watching this December 2006 clip from Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg, which shows Velasquez's second pro fight against Jeremiah Constant. We suggest watching the first four seconds (huh huh), then skipping to the start of the fight at 5:15. Morris might not roll over like Constant did, but the dude definitely seems to have potential...