Carlos Condit

(Props: The Sun)

The UFC is reportedly making its first visit to Virginia for UFC Fight Night 20 (January 11th; Fairfax), and the lineup is starting to come together. Here's what we're hearing:

— Josh Koscheck (13-4), fresh off his first-round TKO over Frank Trigg at UFC 103, will be taking on Mike Pierce (9-1), who most recently scored a big upset over Brock Larson in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 19. Koscheck is under the impression that he'll be getting Georges St. Pierre soon, though he's probably still in line after his teammate Mike Swick.

— TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero (12-0) and Nik Lentz (17-3-1) have agreed to meet each other in a lightweight bout. Escudero's last win was a first-round TKO over Cole Miller at UFC 103, while Lentz defeated Rafaello Oliveira by decision at the same event. Not exactly a step up the ladder for Escudero, but the UFC has a way of building up their TUF winners slowly.

(Jake Ellenberger vs. Jose Landi-Jons, 11/3/07. Fight starts at  the 5:52 mark and ends a few seconds later.)

UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard is set to pop off this Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, directly before the TUF 10 season premiere, and as usual, we'll be getting some new blood with our old, familiar faces. Only Jake Ellenberger is guaranteed TV time in his broadcast-opening bout against the Natural Born Killer, but if time allows, you may be seeing some other UFC newbies trying to make their mark in the Octagon. Get to know them below...

JAKE ELLENBERGER (WW)

Experience: 21-4 record (15 wins by stoppage due to strikes), with multiple appearances in the IFL, M-1 Challenge, and Bodog Fight. Most recently knocked out Marcelo Alfaya in 42 seconds, at a Bellator event in June.
Will be facing: Carlos Condit (23-5, 0-1 UFC)

Lowdown: This 24-year-old Team Quest product has been fighting professionally for over four years, and is stepping in for the injured Chris Lytle against Carlos Condit. Regarded as a well-rounded fighter, Ellenberger is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. As he told UFC.com: “Having been through a Marine Corps boot camp, it makes you tougher mentally. Everything you prepare for in the Marine Corps is for war. We train for the worst case scenarios, and that’s an advantage I think I have mentally in a fight.” Jake employs his twin brother Joe Ellenberger as a wrestling coach and training partner.

(You know, Cub, in bull riding this would have been considered a victory. Photo courtesy of Newsday.)

— According to an interview on intheguard.tv, WEC featherweight/human highlight-reel Jose Aldo says he'll be getting a much-deserved shot at Mike Brown's belt at WEC 45 (November 11th, location TBA). Aldo has racked up five consecutive TKO/KO victories during his stint in the WEC, most recently slicing Cub Swanson's head wide open in 8 seconds at WEC 41 last month. Brown made his second successful title-defense at the same event, out-pointing Urijah Faber in a classic five-rounder to pick up his tenth straight win. 

— With Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le out of action due to a blossoming acting career, Scott Coker has announced that Jake Shields will fight for the organization's interim middleweight title in October; the exact date, location, and Shields's opponent will all be announced later. Shields has long been known as one of the best welterweights in the world, but his first-round choke-out of Robbie Lawler last month proved that he could be very competitive at a higher weight. Plus, his homey's already got the welterweight division on lock...

(This is the point where I may have uttered, 'Oh no.' Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

It was not a bad night for the Gambling Addiction Enabler.  If not for Jorge Rivera pulling out a decision victory over Nissen Osterneck, it would have been absolutely perfect.  Alas, it wasn’t to be, though I can’t really complain.

The Bet: $20 on Martin Kampmann at -120
The Result: Won $16.67
Thoughts: I’ll admit it, when it came time for the judges’ decision to be announced and I heard the phrase “Judge Cecil Peoples scores the bout…” I was prepared to see my money go swirling down the drain.  Thankfully there were two sane men at Octagonside, so justice prevailed.  And like Thomas Jefferson said, “The best brand of justice is that which pays cash money, dog.”

(Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann)

Last night's "Condit vs. Kampmann" card brought in a live gate of $626,077, thanks to its 10,267 spectators — which made it the most well-attended Fight Night show in UFC history. $120,000 was re-distributed to the fighters in the form of $30,000 end-of-night bonuses. Taking home the extra cash were...

Fight of the Night: Tyson Griffin and Rafael Dos Anjos, as mentioned earlier. Don't ask us why their sloppy slugfest got the nod over the technical back-and-forth battle of the main event.

Knockout of the Night: Aaron Simpson's first-round stoppage of Tim McKenzie in the night's opening bout turned out to be the only TKO on the card, so he scored the bonus by default.

Submission of the Night: Rob Kimmons earned the bump with his first-round guillotine choke victory over Joe Vedepo, which put Vedepo to sleep for the second time in his short UFC career. It was nice knowing you, buddy.

More videos from the main card after the jump...