Mustapha al Turk

(Cain Velasquez cracks Brad Morris at UFC 83. Photo courtesy of video.ufc.tv.)

As a couple of you pointed out yesterday, a match between Cain Velasquez and a foreigner with "a terrorist name" would have been perfect for UFC's "Fight for the Troops" event on December 10th. Unfortunately, the Velasquez/Mustapha Al-Turk bout is in danger as the American fighter recently suffered a knee injury in training, and is currently recovering from arthroscopic surgery. According to MMAWeekly, a final decision on Velasquez's status will be made in two weeks, but his fight will probably be rescheduled to UFC 92 (12/27) or 93 (1/31).

"Fight for the Troops" — which aims to raise millions for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence — will be broadcast for free on Spike. So far, the card looks like this:

Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet
Steve Bruno vs. Luke Cummo
Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Wyman
Luigi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber
Eddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully
Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill

Update: Al-Turk will now face Cheick Kongo on the main card of UFC 92 (December 27th, Las Vegas).

(Image courtesy of MMA Fight Girls.)

— Rachelle Leah's nude Playboy pictorial hits newsstands October 17th...and will probably hit this website shortly after.

— It looks like Cain Velasquez (4-0) has found his next opponent. The heavyweight up-and-comer will reportedly face London Shootfighters product Mustapha Al-Turk (6-3) at "UFC Fights for the Troops" (December 10th; Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina). Al-Turk, who recently signed a four-fight contract with the UFC, is the current Cage Rage British Heavyweight Champion; like Velasquez, all of his wins have come via first-round stoppage.

— TUF 7 embarrassment Jesse "Mongo" Taylor has booked his next fight against another UFC vet who famously can't keep his shit together. He'll be facing Drew Fickett at Total Combat 32 on October 2nd, at the Syucan Casino near San Diego. Total Combat claims that the card will be televised on MTV3 (?).

— The UFC is planning to hold its first show in the Philippines next summer. Lorenzo Fertitta was blown away by the rabid public response to an appearance by Chuck Liddell at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Sunday, saying "Chuck is a rock star over here...We’re probably more mainstream in the Philippines than we are in the US. We’re going to be moving the show around the world, and we’re creating the UFC global footprint."

— BetUS.com has established the odds for UFC 90's Anderson Silva/Patrick Cote scrap as -800/+425, with the Spider as the runaway favorite, obviously. Once Cote's line gets up to about +16,000, we'll consider throwing a sawbuck on him.