(Getty)As the head coach, UFC veteran Duane Ludwig has helped Team Alpha Male fighters make major strides towards title shots. What's his secret? Well, he likes to break down fighting tape in an altered state.

"It's freakin' legal. Let me address this issue," Ludwig said to MMA Mania. "When I watch film, I watch film normal how I am now. Then I watch film when I'm high on marijuana. I also watch the film again when I have Alpha Brain in my system. I watch film from three different states of consciousness just to get different looks at things. Just to see if maybe I missed a step or a nice little detail just to get different looks on things. I take this serious as hell."

Alpha Brain is a supplement that claims to help customers find "lucid dreams, mental drive, focus and mental acuity." Sure. The fine people at WebMD say marijuana affects people differently. Some of its effects include euphoria, calmness, anxiety, or paranoia. Other possible effects include distorted sense of time, magical or "random" thinking, short-term memory loss, and anxiety and depression.

Ludwig lives in California, which is governed by medical marijuana laws. Marijuana laws are loosening up around the country, so as Ludwig says, "It's freakin' legal." It's an interesting method. We'll see if it continues to work for his fighters.

(Twitter)Last week, Chael Sonnen called out Wanderlei Silva over a years-old dispute they had over a misunderstanding that was caught on videotape. A week later, the fight hasn't been made. Sonnen has now stepped up his game, trying to get a fight with Silva on the UFC on Fox Sports 1 card in Boston in August.

Sonnen was nice enough to even make the poster. He added the image at right to his Twitter background. Not only does he want to fight Silva in August, but he's hoping for a five-round bout in the headlining spot.

Thiago Alves is expected to take on Matt Brown on this card, and Connor McGregor has been campaigning for a bout. Sonnen wants this fight so badly he's even willing to give up a portion of his purse to help Silva's hometown.

Wand- you have 24 hours to accept. If you do, I will donate 10% of my purse to help schools in your hometown of Curitiba .. I mean, VEGAS.

— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 9, 2013

Silva was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, and still identifies with Brazil, but his gym is in Las Vegas. Sonnen was able to talk his way into a fight with Jon Jones. Will he get his wish here?

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The MMA world sometimes resembles a traveling circus. It moves from one city to another, as the UFC or Bellator sets up shop, puts on its show, then moves on. But some stops stand out.

Here are Cagewriter's best fight towns. Cities were judged on support of MMA cards, local MMA scenes, strength of commission and just an overall feeling of MMA love. Here, in no particular order, are the eight best cities for MMA.

Montreal -- Canadians LOVE MMA. They're nuts about it. Nowhere is that better exemplified than in Montreal, which consistently packs the Bell Centre when the UFC rolls into town. UFC 83, the event where native son Georges St-Pierre won the welterweight championship belt back from Matt Serra, was the fastest sellout in UFC history. Their fervor hasn't died down, and they are the home for Tri-Star MMA, the training home of GSP.

(Getty)After a 12-2 career, UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin announced his retirement on Twitter on Tuesday night.

Officially retired 2day:-) thank you to my family, friends and fans! #dreambig GOD BLESS!!!

— Shane Carwin (@ShaneCarwin) May 8, 2013

Of Carwin's 12 wins, not one went to the judges. He had seven knockouts and five submissions. He hasn't been in the cage since 2011. The last time he was in the spotlight was in the fall of 2012, when he was a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter." Unfortunately, his knee was injured before he could fight opposing coach Roy Nelson.

I remember hearing about Carwin well before I saw him fight. It was back when preliminary fights weren't aired. Everyone who had watched him fight couldn't stop talking about this guy who quickly knocked out Christian Wellisch and Neil Wain. Then at UFC 96, I watched him absolutely destroy Gabriel Gonzaga in just over a minute. He hadn't been overhyped. After that, he knocked out Frank Mir in the first round of their bout.

What most MMA fans will remember about Carwin is that he came within seconds of taking out the then-invincible Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. But after losing to Lesnar in the second round, a dropped decision to Junior dos Santos at UFC 131 and a host of injuries, Carwin has decided to hang up his extra-large gloves.

Fighters can also use this technique, here shown by Wagner Prado. (Getty)After eye pokes were a huge problem at UFC 159, the UFC said they will propose a rule change to have doctors decide if fights should end because of an eye poke. On Cagewriter's Facebook page, we asked readers what could be done in fights to reduce this foul that has messed up too many bouts.

One reader thinks fighters should have to take more responsibility for when certain kind of strikes go awry.

Fine Michael Bisping for sure. You shouldn't be allowed to throw a punch with your index finger extended and say sorry, it was an accident. When there is a disincentive to pawing at each others' faces openhanded they will stop doing it and eye pokes will go down. -- Knowa Metcalf

Bisping's eye poke is what ended his bout with Alan Belcher. Fining athletes to change their behavior has a precedent. The NFL has levied fines for certain types of hits, though inconsistency in enforcement has been a problem.

Changing up the equipment used in fights could also be a solution.

(Getty)UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is $50,000 lighter today, as he was fined that amount for skipping out on a day of media in Los Angeles. Silva is scheduled to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 162. Ignoring promotion of that fight didn't sit well with UFC president Dana White.

"He doesn't like talking to the media, but it's part of his contractual obligation," White said to USA Today. "Everybody wants more money, more money, more money, but nobody wants to sell the fight or go out and talk to the media. Talking to the media is part of your job, whether you like it or not."

The UFC's newly instituted code of conduct opens the door for the promotion to fine fighters who engage in conduct that "puts at risk the promotion of a UFC event," including "failure to deliver, engage in or otherwise execute any and all promotional responsibilities."

(Getty)UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has already changed the UFC. As the first woman to sign with MMA's biggest promotion and its first champion, Rousey made history when she beat Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. According to one magazine, Rousey isn't just changing MMA. She is one of Business Insider's "50 Women Changing the World."

Ranked 42nd on the list, Business Insider points out that the trash-talking Rousey has changed the sports world. She shares the list with fellow athletes Brittney Griner and Serena Williams, as well as Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rousey's mark on the sporting landscape is unquestionable, but BI is right to say she is having an effect beyond sports. Her popularity proves that her reach is far beyond MMA fans.

And her popularity is not slowing down. Rousey was on the cover of ESPN the Magazine's 15th anniversary magazine, and recently posed for Maxim magazine's Hot 100. She will coach against Cat Zingano in the next edition of "The Ultimate Fighter," slated to premiere in September.

Williams and Marzouki in happier times. (AP)A Super Bowl ring isn't the only piece of jewelry on Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams' mind. The former Houston Texan is suing to get back an engagement ring from former fiancée Erin Marzouki.

According to a suit filed in the Harris County state district court in Texas, Williams gave Marzouki a 10.04 carat engagement ring worth $785,000 in February of 2012. When their relationship ended in January of 2013, Marzouki refused to give the ring back. The lawsuit alleges that Marzouki never intended to marry Williams, but was in a relationship with him just to acquire gifts. It also alleges she charged $108,000 to an American Express card he gave her, and $230,000 in other luxury items.

Both etiquette and laws dictate whether engagement rings should be returned. Emily Post says to give the ring back.

"If the engagement should be so unfortunate as to be broken off, the engagement ring and all other gifts of value must be returned," Post wrote in her 1922 book, "Etiquette."

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