Ryan Bader

Could UFC 103's altruistic experiment of airing some of the undercard bouts on basic cable before the main card be a recurring tradition? According to a press release distributed by Spike TV this afternoon, the UFC will be doing another live prelim show on Spike directly before the UFC 104 pay-per-view on October 24th. Guaranteed for the one-hour commercial-free broadcast will be...

Ryan Bader (9-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Eric Schafer (11-3-2, 3-2-0 UFC): TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader, who most recently won a unanimous decision over Carmelo Marrero at Condit vs. Kampmann, will try to take another step up the light-heavyweight ladder against tough ground specialist Eric Schafer, who's coming off back-to-back first-round stoppages of Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes. Seems like a perfect next step in Bader's development, as well as an opportunity for Schafer to prove that he's a legitimate contender.

Antoni Hardonk (8-5, 4-3 UFC) vs. Pat Barry (4-1, 1-1 UFC): It might be win-or-go-home time for these two leg-kick specialists, who will both be trying to bounce back from losses. Hardonk most recently suffered a second-round TKO against Cheick Kongo at UFC 97, while Barry was quickly choked out by Tim Hague at UFC 98. It's too bad that Barry didn't take the Hague loss as a sign that he should drop to light-heavy, because Hardonk's reach advantage is going to be frightening.

Other preliminary bouts could air during the broadcast, if time allows. UFC 104's compelete lineup is after the jump.

(Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

According to Ryan Bader's Twitter page, the TUF 8 light-heavyweight winner will return to action at UFC 104 (October 24th, Los Angeles) against "Eric Shaufer." (We're assuming that means Eric Schafer, the UFC vet who's coming off back-to-back first-round stoppages of Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes.) If the announcement is accurate, it would be a surprisingly quick comeback for Bader, who wrecked his knee during his three-round domination of Carmelo Marrero in April; early predictions said he'd be out of action for up to a year. UFC 104 will be headlined by the light-heavyweight title fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua, and may also feature the heavyweight contenders match between Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez.

(A cunning array of STDs. Photo courtesy of Zimbio.)

What do you get when you cross two wrestlers from Arizona with one porn chick from the Valley? COMEDY GOLD. After sifting through seven pages of captions from last week's impromptu contest, we've decided that these five are worthy of free t-shirts:

bpd: Bader learns the hard way that C.B. stands for "Cock Block"

Landertime: Fucking her would prove nothing, CB. You chose your sexuality when you put on that jacket.

El Famous Burrito: The scent of semen and raw fish in the air causes Ryan Bader to flash back to his TUF days.

Wyatt: Pictured: Three of the biggest pussies you'll ever see.

Homoplata: Gianna: "Sorry Ryan, not tonight, I saw how boring you can be on top."

If you're one of the fab five, please send your name, address, and shirt size to feedback@cagepotato.com, and we'll hook y'up. And congrats to Gianna Lynn for being nominated for Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene (Girlgasmic) at the 2009 AVN Awards. You're so much more talented than those other bitches!

(It was either this or another picture of Bader. Photos courtesy of twitpic.com/photos/ariannyceleste.)

— TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader may have suffered serious knee damage during his unanimous decision win over Carmelo Marrero on Wednesday. As Bader told MMA Weekly, "The doctor said I blew my MCL out and maybe the ACL...One of the first takedowns, I was passing from half-guard trying to pass to side control and I just heard my knee pop, which isn't a big deal because they pop every once in a while. I stood back up and I felt that it was really, really loose. It didn't really do too much as far as impeding me in the fight or anything like that, but it was starting to swell up a little bit. Hopefully the ACL is fine. I don't really want to deal with that." In a worst-case scenario, the injury would require surgery and a long recovery period.

— Bader's Arizona Combat Sports teammate Steve Steinbeiss was reportedly paid his to-show money as well as his win bonus for Wednesday's event, even though his opponent Ryan Jensen was yanked from the fight following a positive test for Adderall.

— I think I got up to take a piss during this particular commercial break, but during a Burger King-sponsored/Amir Sadollah-hosted segment in the season premierewww.cagepotato.com/tuf-91-quick-recap-team-uk-gets-its-elite-8, TUF 9Forrest Griffin confirmed that he'll be coming back to face Thiago Silva at UFC 101 (August 8th, Philadelphia). Griffin hasn't fought since his UFC 92 title fight against Rashad Evans in December, in which he lost his belt and broke his hand. Sadollah also revealed that he'll be making his first post-TUF appearance (as a welterweight) at the August event, though an opponent was not named.

(Props: "BONEtheDOME" on the UG.)

Do we have a cool prize to give away today? Not really, other than some bullshit t-shirts. But this photo of CB Dollaway and Ryan Bader pretending to fight over adult film actress Gianna Lynn at the last AVN Awards show amuses me. Best three captions win a shirt. Winners will be announced early next week-ish. Here, I'll start:

"They lived their lives by a code: Bro's before ho's. Until she came along and turned their worlds upside-down."

Or, this:

"I don't do double-anal. Dollaway, where did you find this chick anyway?"

Good luck.