When walking out to the cage, fighters have to acknowledge their sponsors. This is how the fighters make their money. I understand that. But must they do it in a way that is so ugly?

This is Rich Franklin's official UFC 93 walkout shirt, and I'm sorry, I just can't hear you over this shirt. It's too loud. The stars, the stripes, the pink, the brown, the sponsors -- it hurts my eyes just to look at it. To add insult to the assault on the eyes, this shirt costs $50.

If you have suggestions for MMA Marketplace, drop us a line.

From Dan Henderson's official MySpace:

Saterday nite's alrite for fyting.

Is your computer Y2K compliant? Oh, and did you catch that new show, "the West Wing," last night? It's fantastic. I also just watched "American Beauty," and I think Kevin Spacey might win a few awards for that one. And how about that Jim Gray? It was not right for him to ambush Pete Rose like that.

What? It's not 1999? You might want to tell that to the people of Concord, N.C., who just passed an ordinance banning "extreme fighting" from public facilities. I have no idea what "extreme fighting" is, but if they're referring to mixed martial arts, they've missed the boat.

The city council in Concord referred to MMA as "human cockfighting," a term that even John McCain doesn't use any more. Their ignorance of the sport, supported by the inane comments that follow the news story, is almost quaint. Clearly, the town's inability to get out of 1999 has restricted their use of the Internet, because basic Internet searches would reveal the safety of the sport, and that it's well-regulated.

Marcus Davis knows how he doesn't want to win over Chris Lytle this Saturday. Not by submission, not by a cut, not on the ground, not by ground and pound, not in a house or even a hut. He would not, could not in a box, he could not, would not with a fox.

Davis is setting himself up for disaster by being so choosy about the way he wants to win this fight. He has made it perfectly clear that he wants to stand and bang, so the smart fighter would say, "Let's take it to the ground."

The limitations Davis is putting on himself make me think he will not beat this fighter man, he will not beat him, Sam-I-am.

Yahoo! Sports celebrates the beginning of 2009 with a look at the best upcoming fights and the fighters who are likely to pop this year. Cheick Kongo (pictured) celebrates the beginning of 2009 with an ugly jacket.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson plead out on his July arrest, putting behind him a bizarre six months while also endorsing Wal-Mart.

A boy saved his friend from a pitbull -- not this one -- with a rear naked choke and becomes a hero.

Roger Huerta will fight the last bout in his contract and then pursue a career in acting.

The winner of Franklin vs. Henderson will get the honor of coaching the next season of the Ultimate Fighter, though it's not really the most desirable job.

The WEC is expanding to include flyweights. (Little, little guys.)

Clay Guida took time out of his training for UFC 94 to talk with Cage Writer.

The EliteXC fighters are still twisting in the wind as Pro Elite tries to figure out what to do with their assets.

Welcome home Tim Kennedy, mixed martial artist

As Home Depot proudly states on its Web site, they have employed 570 Olympic hopefuls since they started the Olympic Job Opportunity Program in 1992. That will all change as of March 2, when the company discontinues the program. They dropped their sponsorship of the USOC, so why keep around the employment program?

Maybe because it's the right thing to do.

The attractive part of working for Home Depot for many Olympic athletes was that they were given a steady stream of income and a flexible schedule. They could leave for competition and know that their job was still there when they returned home.

The athletes will be given a chance to keep their jobs, but without the flexibility, there is not much of a point. Does it hurt that much to keep the program going for the small percentage of employees who are in the program?

Photo via Getty Images

In addition to being a fighter and a carpenter, Clay Guida is a wrestling fan. Cage Writer caught up with him at the Midlands wrestling tournament, where he, like anyone who has sat through a long wrestling tournament, followed each match, filled out brackets and discussed the possibilities of each bout. After the tournament, Guida talked with Cage Writer about why he's a wrestling fan, his upcoming bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 94, and the many hours he puts behind the wheel to train.

Cage Writer: Why do you follow college wrestling?
Clay Guida: I've been wrestling since I was five. I wrestled in a junior college and was a part of Harper College's national championship team. Being around college wrestling helps me with my competitiveness. I'm also watching the kids I grew up with and seeing them compete.

CW: Who is your favorite team? Favorite wrestler?
CG: Illinois, and I like Iowa too. For my all-time favorite wrestlers, it's Joey Gilbert, someone I look up to in wrestling and MMA,

With a plea bargain, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson showed that he has grown and matured from the fighter and the man he was just six months ago. He accepted a deal that requires him to do community service and check in periodically with a doctor. Hopefully, this will help him avoid another episode like he had in July, where he hit several cars and evaded the police not long after his loss to Forrest Griffin.

This is a step that Rampage needed to take to move on from a dark period in his life. Since the arrest, he split with trainer Juanito Ibarra under a cloud of questions, has started to train at Wolfslair in England, knocked out Wanderlei Silva and now is taking steps to put the arrest behind him.

More than anything, Jackson's maturity in the past month shows that Dana White was right to stand by Jackson. Did he screw up? Absolutely. His drive of terror not only made Rampage look bad, but it also made MMA look bad, as if fighters couldn't handle losses in a healthy manner. Mixed martial