Josh Burkman

(As if this wasn't humiliating enough, Jason was also forced to pay for his own rape kit. [What, too soon?] Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

— Recent reports have indicated that middleweight Jason Day and welterwight Josh Burkman are the latest fighters to be canned by the UFC. Though Day won his UFC debut against Alan Belcher last April, he then lost back-to-back fights against Michael Bisping and Kendall Grove, both by first-round TKO. Burkman's exit is even less surprising, as his loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 was his third-straight Octagon defeat. Akihiro Gono was also cut last month after dropping two straight.

— After bumbling regional ref Rick Fike stopped their first fight way too early, lightweights Aaron Riley and Shane Nelson will get another chance to tangle at UFC 101 (August 8th, Philadelphia). Nelson was awarded a TKO victory at UFC 96 after knocking Riley to the mat in the first round, but Riley immediately invoked the "what the fuck is your problem?" rule and the crowd backed him up with chants of "Bullshit!"

(Jason Lambert, post-mastectomy. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

In addition to the 5,500 jobs that automaker GM cut last week, struggling light-heavyweight-turned-middleweight Jason Lambert has also joined the growing ranks of the unemployed in America. FiveOuncesofPain confirms that The Punisher — who had been knocked out twice and choked out once in his last three Octagon appearances — has been officially cut by the UFC.

Lambert began his UFC career on an impressive 4-1 tear, earning stoppage wins over Rob MacDonald (at his UFC debut in March 2006), Terry Martin, and Branden Lee Hinkle, and scoring an upset knockout of Renato Sobral at UFC 68; his sole loss during that time came via TKO at the fists of Rashad Evans. But then things started to go south. His occasionally lazy boxing got him smoked by Wilson Gouveia at UFC 80, and again by Luis Cane at UFC 85. Most recently, he made his middleweight debut at UFC 88 in September and succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Jason MacDonald.

Tough break, but that's what happens when you drop three straight (unless you're Houston Alexander, of course). We're guessing that Josh Burkman will be getting his walking papers next; the People's Warrior has been defeated consecutively by Mike Swick, Dustin Hazelett, and Pete Sell, and is now out-of-action indefinitely with a back injury.

('Fixing to go eat, son!')

Thiago Alves got a chubby monkey off his back and made weight by squeaking just under the wire at 171 this afternoon. Good to see some people can put down the fork when the pressure is on (yeah, that was a shot at you, Gina). The only UFC 90 fighter not to make weight today was Josh Burkman, who weighed in two pounds over at 173 for his preliminary bout with Pete Sell. The sad irony is that the former middleweight Sell was the fighter people were expecting to have trouble making the cut. He hit 170 right on the button for what Goldstein expects to be UFC 90's worst bout. Sure is off to a hell of a start.

Before today's weigh-in, Matt Hughes spoke to fans and answered some questions, as he's known to do. When asked about the Randy Couture/Brock Lesnar bout coming up at UFC 91, Hughes sided with Lesnar, saying: "The younger, stronger, better wrestler right now is going to win."

He also said he's voting for John McCain, for those of you who were wondering. Weird, I know. Full weigh-in results after the jump.

(Tyson Griffin could potentially settle his grudge with Nate Diaz in July. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

— Ultimate Fighter 6 semi-standouts Ben Saunders and Jared Rollins will meet at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). Saunders, who has been working out with the death squad at American Top Team, most recently defeated Dan Barrera via unanimous decision at the TUF6 finale last December, while Rollins suffered a third-round TKO loss during his "Fight of the Night" against Jon Koppenhaver on the same card.

— Tyson Griffin will likely be fighting at UFC 86 as well, against a yet-unnamed opponent that could be Nate Diaz. Diaz recently called out Griffin after his star-making triangle-choke of Kurt Pellegrino at UFN 13, and the UFC might give the baby his bottle, so to speak.

— The TUF 7 finale card on June 21st is turning into a full-fledged Fight Night, with three fights booked (so far) that don't involve the show's castmembers. Besides the previously mentioned main event between Diego Sanchez and Luigi Fioravanti, Josh Burkman will take on Dustin Hazelett, and Marvin Eastman claims that he's fighting fellow middling middleweight Drew McFedries; the match will be the last one on the Beastman's UFC contract. Burkman vows to retire if his fight against Hazelett goes to a decision.

(Swick's like "Duuuh" and Burkman's like "waaaah!")

Lotta news coming out in the wake of UFN 12. Let's get to it...

— Nate Diaz was the big money-winner last night, doubling his $15,000 base salary with his submission victory. Patrick Cote was a close second with $28,000 (base x 2), while Mike Swick and Kurt Pellegrino came in third with $20,000 for their wins. The big loser was Joe Veres, who took a $3,000 beating from Corey Hill, although Justin Buchholz, Alberto Crane, and Michihiro Omigawa weren't far behind. Complete figures are here.

— Eight fighters received medical suspensions after their UFN fights. Headliner Mike Swick received the longest suspension, as his effed-up right hand might sideline him until July 22. By comparison, Kurt Pellegrino's grisly face-tear will only put him out of action until March 9.

— Following up his mea culpa speech after his decision victory, Mike Swick issued a formal apology to his fans begging forgiveness for his "lackluster" fight. As he explained:

Burkman is strong and I wanted to prove that I could resist his takedowns and strength. I wanted to stuff his takedowns while gassing him then pick him apart on the feet. By the time the 3rd round came I let it get so close that just one takedown could have seen me going home with a loss and so I was more tentitive than I should have been. I tried to look for the one punch knockout over using my usual combinations and flurries and deeply regret it now. Though I looked frail as some put it, I felt really strong at 170. My mistakes were mental.

— And finally, adding to an astoundingly packed card that already includes Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon, Stephan Bonnar vs. Matt Hamill, Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves, Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson, and Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher [Ed. note: OMFG], the next UFC Fight Night may also include bouts between Clay Guida and Cage Rage vet Samy Schiavo, and Din Thomas vs. Josh Neer. UFN 13 goes down April 2 in Broomfield, CO, and will be the lead-in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7. Let's hope Dana White doesn't decide to stick in an "Interim Something-Weight Championship" fight on the card and charge 45 bucks for it.