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    Cagewriter
    • Barao and McDonald are co-presidents of the Cool Belt Club. (Getty)The UFC brings a title fight -- kinda -- to Fuel TV on Saturday night. Though Comcast and Fox's networks did reach a deal to bring Fuel to its subscribers, the channel won't yet be available for this weekend's bouts and the interesting card in England. No matter who tunes in, here are the intriguing questions around this weekend's bouts.

      Is welterweight a better UFC fit for Jorge Santiago? Despite a long and successful career in Sengoku and Strikeforce, his last stint with the UFC didn't go so well. Santiago lost to Demian Maia and Brian Stann. After a first-round knockout in the Titan Fighting Championships, Santiago is back as a welterweight. He'll take on undefeated phenom Gunnar Nelson.

      Read More »from Three questions that will be answered by UFC on Fuel 7
    • (Getty)Happy Valentine's Day, Cagereaders! In honor of the day, let's take a look at some reasons to love mixed martial arts.

      Heavyweight division to love. Remember when the UFC heavyweight division was a joke? No longer. UFC 160 will feature a title bout between Cain Velasquez and Antonio Silva, and Junior dos Santos will fight Alistair Overeem.

      So much MMA on television. MMA was once the province of pay-per-view and occasional specials on network and cable television. Now, with Bellator on Spike, the UFC on Fox's networks, and the World Series of Fighting on NBC Sports Network, a fight fan doesn't have to drop $55 a month to see any fighting at all.

      Read More »from Seven reasons to love MMA this Valentine’s Day
    • (Getty)If like me, you get your cable via Comcast, the UFC's deal with Fox has been a big bag of frustration. Fuel, the channel that carries UFC fights events, preliminary bouts, isn't carried by Comcast. I live in a high rise apartment building with no choice of cable providers, so I was stuck. I heard from many Cagereaders that I wasn't alone in this predicament.

      Good news -- Comcast and Fox have finally reached a deal. Comcast's Xfinity subscribers will have access to Fuel and all of its UFC-centric programming.

      Now, we don't yet have the details on when Fuel will be available. It is not expected to be in place in time for this weekend's fights on Fuel. But a quick check of On Demand showed that it's already chock full of free Fuel content so Comcasters can watch some Fuel programming now.

      Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
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      Kentucky's Nerlens Noel has torn ACL,

      Read More »from Comcast and Fox strike a deal, so Fuel is coming to a TV near you
    • Last week's "The Ultimate Fighter" knockout was memorable, so how do you try to top that? A rap battle, some blood and a hospital gown.

      Adam Cella still in his hospital gown. Fresh off last week's stunning knockout by Uriah Hall, Cella returned to the TUF house still wearing his hospital gown. He was not seriously injured, but did have to go over the details of the fight with teammates to know exactly what happened. He also nearly joined Hall in the shower to congratulate him.

      Rap battle? Rap battle. Gilbert Smith made fun of Kevin Casey for his rapping, specifically this video.

      This turned into a rap battle with several fighters participating, and Casey emerging as the clear winner.

      Don't mess with people's sleep. When power went out at the TUF house, Team Sonnen thought it would be a good idea to run into Collin Hart's room and throw toilet paper at him as he slept. No, I don't get it, either. But with Hart preparing to meet Casey, he did not want his sleep messed with. Hart was so heated about it that he put up his middle finger during the post-weigh in staredown.

      Hart breaks Casey. In a bloody battle, Hart starts with a jumping kick and follows it with a takedown. From there, Hart controls the entire fight. UFC president Dana White is impressed, saying, "It's almost like he broke him." Hart takes the fight 20-18 on every card.

      With Hart's win, Team Jones wrested away control from Team Sonnen. The next bout is Bubba McDaniels and Kelvin Gastelum. What did you think of this week's episode? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

      Read More »from Four biggest moments from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
    • (Updated with quotes from Reuter via telephone at 6:38 p.m. ET on Feb. 8, 2013)

      Collin Reuter's knockout of Gerald Fike on Feb. 1 in Fairbanks, Alaska, wasn't nearly as violent as the one Uriah Hall scored on Adam Cella on Episode 3 of "The Ultimate Fighter." The Hall knockout was promoted heavily for more than a week by the UFC and FX and was definitely worth the hype.

      Reuter's knockout was pretty run of the mill, particularly compared to Hall's. But Fike's fall, in which he lands on his head, may go down as the most unique fall ever after a KO.

      Early in the first round, Reuter caught Fike on the head with a right hand during a bout on the Solid As A Rock Fighting Championship card. That was enough to end the bout at just 26 seconds nd get the crowd into it.

      It wasn't the punch, though, that was so memorable. Instead, it was Fike's reaction. He fell backward after taking the shot. As he did, he arched his back. He thus hit the canvas first with his head. His feet were firmly on the

      Read More »from Fighter turns Gumby after he gets knocked out
    • The first women's fight in UFC history is a little more than two weeks away, and the UFC has created a compelling preview show to chronicle bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Liz Carmouche as they prepare for their Feb. 23 match at UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif.

      Liz Carmouche (Getty Images)The show, "UFC Primetime: Rousey vs. Carmouche" is extraordinarily touching. Rousey discusses her relationship with her late father and the regimen she goes through to prepare for a bout.

      It documents her personal struggles after winning a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics and how she found her way into MMA. The segment in which Rousey recalls her father, his illness and eventual death is very powerful.

      A former Marine who served three tours in Iraq, Carmouche discusses her homosexuality and the work ethic that has helped her become the No. 1 bantamweight challenger.

      The show debuts tonight at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT. The UFC has full listings for the show on its site.

      UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey celebrates a win with Manny Gamburyan (Getty)

      Read More »from Powerful preview show profiles Ronda Rousey, Liz Carmouche preparing to fight for UFC title
    • (USA Today Sports Images)Before we start a long and fun stretch of MMA, Cagewriter will be off from now through Tuesday. I'll return on Wednesday, Feb. 12 to talk about the latest episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," the upcoming Bellator and UFC fights, and whatever other craziness may come up in MMA. In the meantime, follow Yahoo! Sports MMA and enjoy one of the few slow times that happen in MMA.

    • (Getty)UFC on FX 7 happened weeks ago, but drug testing results just became public today. One fighter tested positive for a banned substance, while another was given a testosterone therapeutic use exemption.

      -- Thiago Tavares, who lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, tested positive for drostanalone. He is suspended for nine months, and will have to submit a clean drug test before he fights again. Taking a long break from fighting could hurt Tavares financially, because he only fought once in 2012.

      -- Vitor Belfort received a therapeutic use exemption for the use of testosterone. The UFC said he was diagnosed with hypergonadism. Belfort tested positive for an anabolic steroid in 2006, and rumors swirled that he was the fighter who tested positive. UFC president Dana White said after Saturday's fights that it was not Belfort.

      These fights were the first ones governed by Brazil's sports commission, and the testing was done by an independent lab.

      Read More »from Thiago Tavares suspended after testing positive for a banned substance at UFC on FX 7
    • (USA Today Sports)Immediately after UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, Anthony Pettis contacted UFC president Dana White to say he wanted a shot at Aldo. Pettis is a lightweight who knocked out Donald Cerrone two weeks ago. Now, Pettis is getting his shot at the featherweight belt. USA Today reports that Pettis will face Aldo on Aug. 3.

      "Two of the baddest dudes in the fight business are going to fight at 145 pounds," White said. "These guys are two of the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport. I am so pumped for this fight."

      Ricardo Lamas, who knocked out Pettis' teammate Erik Koch two weeks ago, had been promised the next shot at the featherweight belt. Pettis, a lightweight for his entire career, had been promised the next shot at the lightweight belt after champion Benson Henderson faces Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

      [Kevin Iole: Frankie Edgar should drop down another weight class]

      On Monday, Pettis used his Twitter account to say he was tired of waiting.

      And now he will get what he wants. While there's no doubt Pettis-Aldo will be an exciting bout, Lamas was granted the next title shot, and did nothing to lose his shot except not send a text to White. He can commiserate with Johny Hendricks, the welterweight who earned a title shot but then was passed over for Nick Diaz.

      Let this be a lesson to every fighter who wants a chance at the belt: the squeaky wheel gets the oil and a shot to be a champion. If you've heard that you're the no. 1 contender, don't stop campaigning until that bout agreement is signed. Text White. Do interviews. Use Twitter to continually call out the champion. It may have a pro wrestling-flavor, but it's clearly what the UFC wants.

      Read More »from Lightweight Anthony Pettis to face featherweight champ Jose Aldo in August
    • "What did the five fingers say to the face, Alistair?" (USA Today Sports)Though not every fight at UFC 156 lived up to its hype, the ones that delivered really came through. Former Strikeforce fighters went 4-0 and really stood out among the crowd.

      No. 1 star — Antonio Silva: Heading into the fight with Alistair Overeem, "Big Foot" was 2-2. While he beat up on Travis Browne and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, he also lost big to Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez. He definitely didn't have the same invincible aura as Overeem, but that didn't matter once they were in the cage. Silva's heavy hands and Overeem's gameplan meant Silva was the one who earned the big knockout, and the Knockout of the Night bonus.

      Bobby Green celebrates. (Getty)No. 2 star — Tyron Woodley: With a strong wrestling background honed at the University of Missouri, Woodley is quite skilled at grinding out opponents for decision wins. He hasn't had a stoppage win since 2010, but that changed quickly on Saturday night. Woodley's overhand right took out Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds. Even UFC president Dana White admitted

      Read More »from UFC 156′s Three Stars are all Strikeforce vets

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