The stands at Fight for the Troops 2 are filled with well-deserving service men and women from Fort Hood. A group of them got to meet Allison Diehl, the winner of the UFC's contest to vote in the best Hooters Girl for Octagon Girl duties.

The UFC makes more than just an amazing night for the troops. In addition to bringing the fights to Fort Hood, they are raising money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund with an auction and donation drive. If you donate at least $50, the UFC will send you a free gift.

Football fans know that on Sunday, the Bears will play the Packers for a shot at the Super Bowl. It's kind of a big deal here in Chicago (you can read all my Bears-related blogging here, and all of Yahoo! Sports' awesome NFL coverage here), but the Bears might not have reached the NFC Championship game without Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher. It turns out that Brian Urlacher might not be where he is without the kindness of MMA legend Bas Rutten.

So on behalf of all Bears fans, thank you, Bas, and thank you to the bouncers who stepped in and prevented Urlacher from getting the liver shot that Bas would have definitely delivered.

Thanks to Chicago's MMA.

At the beginning of each UFC pay-per-view, the UFC plays an opening video that likens the UFC to gladiators, like this one from UFC 124:

But how much do today's fighters have to do with the gladiators of ancient Rome? Quite a bit, it turns out. Like Maximus, they put their bodies through hell so that you'll be entertained, but they don't give much thought to the future. In a column from MMA Fighting, Strikeforce fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller recognizes the risks, but says it doesn't change anything.

"Athletes know this stuff. We do," said Miller. "We're not dumb. It's like that new research that links head injuries and Lou Gehrig's disease. Well, duh, science. Thanks for telling us what athletes already know. We know what we're doing to ourselves. It's the elephant in the room. We're giving our bodies for the entertainment of the masses. I'm okay with that. I've had plenty of surgeries. I know there's a chance that I could be retarded. I know that."

MMA is far from the only sport

UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones escaped disaster on Wednesday, walking away from a car accident just weeks before his bout with Ryan Bader at UFC 126. He tweeted a picture of his car afterwards, and said that the other driver had to be taken away in a stretcher.

This was a stroke of luck for Jones, because the bout with Bader is key to both men's careers. They have both risen through the ranks of the UFC, seemingly on a collision course. But was it luck? Or is he ... unbreakable?

In a rough and tumble sport like MMA, Jones has suffered very few injuries or cuts. Though he's broken an opponent's face, Jones has never even had a medical suspension for his UFC bouts. That could be because he is young and in excellent condition, or it's because he's the inspiration for the 2000 M.Night Shymalan movie "Unbreakable."

*He's not actually starring in "Unbreakable 2," because I'm pretty sure "Unbreakable" was too terrible of a movie to duplicate.

A few weeks ago, we told you how you could bid on various UFC items, like dinner with the Octagon Girls or a VIP fight weekend, to benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund as a part of the UFC's Fight for the Troops 2. You can still bid on those items, or on the new items the UFC has just added to sweeten the pot.

Now, you can bid on the canvas from "Fight for the Troops 2." This strikes me as a really cool piece of memorabilia that I'd have no clue what to do with. Do I cover my wall with it? Do I have it made into a couture dress? Would the blood and sweat stains from Melvin Guillard, Evan Dunham, Matt Mitrione and the rest make an interesting table covering?

Click here to bid on the canvas, dinner with the girls, a training session with Randy Couture and Forrest Griffin, or any of the other items up for auction.

Oh, why hello, there. I am Fedor Emelianenko, the greatest fighter in the world. It's so nice to meet you. Wait, what did you just say? Fabricio Wer-who?

That's funny. You ... you, my friend, are funny. I did lose to Werdum. It is true. But did you hear about the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix?

I was stopped dead in my tracks when I heard about. The chance to fight Fabricio again? Or Alistair Overeem? Yes, that made me think.

I have to win that grand prix.

I'm going to show who the best heavyweight in the world is, even if it means I have to spar in a Stalin-era pool hall. (No, wait. Why am I here? I'm the greatest fighter in the world, and I'm training at a place where any Sergei Schmo can come in off the street to play nine-ball?)

I'll do it for you, my friend. I'll do it for you, and of course, to impress the ladies.

You'll see on Feb. 12, my friend.

All pictures courtesy of Fedor's website. Thanks to Fightlinker for the heads up.

The UFC just wants you to like them. Literally -- if you "like" them on Facebook, then you'll get to stream two preliminary fights from this weekend's "Fight for the Troops."

Head to the UFC's fan page, click on the "like" button, and then you can watch Cody McKenzie take on Yves Edwards in a fight that McKenzie promises to finish, and also watch DaMarques Johnson face Mike "Joker" Guymon for free. To the press release:

“I’m always looking for ways to give fans fights for free and this is just another example of that,” UFC President Dana White said. “Facebook is such a great tool for people to stay connected and we’re excited to put two live fights on our UFC page for free.”

Those fights will happen before the rest of the card -- headlined by Evan Dunham vs. Melvin Guilard and Tim Hague vs. Matt Mitrione -- airs on Spike TV for the cost of basic cable.

While you're at Facebook, check out the Cagewriter Facebook page. We can't give you any free fights, but hey, we were nice enough

Cody McKenzie made his name on the 12th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," showing off a nasty guillotine that he renamed the "McKenzie-tine." He gets another chance to pull it off against Yves Edwards at "Fight for the Troops" on Saturday, but he still considers himself unathletic.

McKenzie has 11 straight wins by guillotine, not including his wins on TUF. He'll have his hands full with MMA veteran Yves Edwards, whose last submission loss was to Mark Hominick at UFC 58.