(Photo courtesy of FightNewsExtra.)

— Josh Koscheck, who faces Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 on February 21st, has inked a 20-month contract extension with the UFC. Said Kos: "The UFC is the only show in town. If I wasn’t with them I would be a struggling fighter looking for work in a struggling country…I want to fight five to six times this year. I’ll be very unhappy if the UFC can’t get me fights."

— BJ Penn‘s head trainer Rudy Valentino took offense to Dana White’s accusations that BJ Penn isn’t taking training seriously, as shown on the debut episode of UFC Primetime. "He makes it out to be that [BJ] is on vacation, not training and not taking [the fight] seriously. This fight is the most serious fight of all time. We’re not playing around…[Dana] will pull out drama in anything he does. He’s not a drama queen, he’s a drama king. [Dana] didn’t understand what we have to do….because he’s not a fighter. We don’t want [BJ] burning out or peaking at the wrong time."

— A lightweight match between Melvin Guillard and Octagon newcomer Ronnys Torres is slated for UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). Torres is a 14-1 veteran of Jungle Fight and Shooto Brazil who works out with the Nova Uniao camp. Guillard, who had to pull out of UFC 90 due to a probation violation, last competed at UFC 86 in July, where he scored a 36-second knockout over Dennis Siver.

— Tyson Griffin will also compete on the April 1st card, for the first time since his unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk in October; his opponent hasn’t yet been confirmed.

— For many young mixed martial artists, being picked for the cast of The Ultimate Fighter is a dream come true. For Tom Egan and John Hathaway, it’s something to be avoided at all costs.