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    • Kyle Dake upends opponent (Getty)The NCAA Division I wrestling national championships start on Thursday in St. Louis, and it will undoubtedly feature future stars of MMA. Randy Couture, Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber, Phil Davis, Ben Askren, Chael Sonnen, Tyron Woodley, Daniel Cormier, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Josh Koscheck, Brock Lesnar and so many more familiar names from the fight world once wrestled in this tournament. MMA fans should tune in, so here's what you need to know.

      Penn State has the ability to repeat as champions. They won the Big Ten title last week, but will have plenty of challengers. Minnesota won the dual meet championship earlier this year. Missouri won the Big 12 and was the only team in the country to qualify a wrestler at every weight class. (Ed. note -- GO TIGERS!) Cornell won their sixth straight EIWA title. Perennial powers Oklahoma State and Iowa will also be expected to challenge for a team trophy.

      The 2012 field isn't as star-studded as some of the top wrestlers, like Mizzou's Dom Bradley, took a redshirt to focus on making the U.S. Olympic teams. Well known wrestlers like Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins from Arizona State and Jordan Burroughs from Nebraska have graduated. However, there are plenty of wrestlers to watch during the tournament.

      Kyle Dake, Cornell: When Dake was a freshman, he wrestled at 141 lbs. and won a national championship. His sophomore year, he moved up at 149 lbs. again took home the title. This year, he is a junior and at 157 lbs. His goal is to keep the streak alive.

      Read More »from Five to watch at NCAA Division I wrestling championships
    • Champion Junior dos Santos is one of 10 heavyweights on the main card at UFC 146 (Jason Merritt/Getty)

      Dana White is a great promoter because after listening to him talk for just a brief while, he can make even a so-so bout sound like the next Fight of the Century.

      The UFC president says a fight is "big, it's [expletive] huge," so often, he ought to consider trademarking the phrase.

      But on May 26 at UFC 146 at the MGM Grand, it won't be hyperbole when White calls the card "big" and "[expletive] huge."

      For the first time in UFC history, the main card will consist of five heavyweight bouts, putting about a ton-and-a-quarter of heavyweights into the cage in a three-hour span. UFC 28 featured four heavyweight bouts, but White was able to top it for UFC 146 when he finalized a bout between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt that is expected to open the pay-per-view broadcast.

      Also on the main card on the show will be Shane del Rosario against Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio "Big Foot" Silva against Roy "Big Country" Nelson, former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez against "Fracturing" Frank Mir and, in

      Read More »from All-heavyweight main card set for UFC 146 includes five bouts and 2,500 pounds of heavyweights
    • (Getty Images)Welcome to another edition of Reader Rants, where Cagereaders get their say. Readers weighed in on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, ranking the weight classes, and a little civil discourse. If you want to be included in a future Reader Rants, like Cagewriter on Facebook and share your opinion on our Facebook page.

      Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's problems with the UFC and desire to leave the promotion brought out strong opinions. Two readers think the UFC should move on from him.

      Letting him go would be best for both. When you get past being a Rampage fan and reality sets in, he just hasn't looked good in a while. He's using the excuse he's been injured, but really ... come on. None of these guys are 100% going into fights. He claims the UFC doesn't promote him right ... really? He's complaining they are only giving him fights with guys that want to hump his leg, but we all know that isn't true. If it really was a problem and he's such a great fighter he would finish them before they had the chance to hump his legs. -- Rocky Williams

      The man abandoned his wrestling which is what made him great. He just needs to go ahead and make A-Team sequels and call it a day. -- Rayburn Wesley Mitchum

      Cagewriter's ranking of weight classes was viewed as almost correct.

      Your ranking of the weight classes in terms of strength was off only in one aspect. welterweights should definitely be higher than middleweights think about all the contenders. Yes, middleweight has Silva, Munoz, Sonnen but welterweight has GSP, Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, Jake Ellenberger, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks, Josh Koscheck and many more who I believe are easily top ten fighters if they choose to move up a division. -- Daniel Jeong

      Read More »from Reader rants: Cagereaders speak up on ‘Rampage,’ ranking weight classes and fighter excuses
    • Time has come for UFC and Rampage Jackson to part ways

      It's time for UFC fans to say goodbye to Quinton Jackson (Julie Jacobson/AP)

      (Updated with comment from UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta at 7:47:42 ET on March 13, 2012)

      There is a simple solution to the Quinton "Rampage" Jackson mess that, for some reason, is apparently being overlooked.

      Cut him.

      The UFC ought to sever ties with its mercurial former light heavyweight champion as quickly and completely as possible.

      There is no good being done for any side in this equation by forcing an unhappy Jackson to fight the final bout on his UFC contract.

      It certainly won't do Jackson any good to hang around. He's apparently had it with the UFC and has complained about the opponents matchmaker Joe Silva has picked for him to fight, his pay, and the seeming lack of gratitude UFC officials have shown him for fighting while injured.

      Speaking to Bas Rutten on HDNet's "Inside MMA," Jackson said he is displeased that the UFC is matching him with wrestlers who don't want to fight. Four of his last five opponents were wrestlers, but there's more to the story than just the UFC putting

      Read More »from Time has come for UFC and Rampage Jackson to part ways
    • (Getty)

      Oh, it's nothing big. Just some UFC fighters hanging out on top of Radio City Music Hall's marquee in New York City. It's totally normal for Pat Barry, Josh Koscheck, Nate Diaz, Jim Miller, Johny Hendricks, Lavar Johnson and Alan Belcher to put on matching t-shirts and stand around on top of New York icons. After this*, they went to the top of the Empire State Building, went shopping at Macy's, and ate a hot dog from a street vendor. They didn't allow UFC president Dana White on the rest of their adventure because he wasn't wearing a matching shirt.

      *OK, nothing from the asterisk on actually happened, but the world would be a better place if it did.

    • (Getty Images)Quinton "Rampage" Jackson took to Twitter and HDNet's "Inside MMA" to make his case for the UFC to let him go so he can fight elsewhere, or not fight at all. Last week, Jackson called the UFC  "U fight cheap." Now he says it's not about the money. It's all about the love.

      First, he spoke up on Twitter. "I'm not complaining about money, cause I'm about 2 make a lot less money now,but at least the people I fight 4 will appreciate what I do 4 mma."

      See? He just wants someone to say thank you. He later added in the HDNet interview:

      "The UFC talks about being in a billion homes. They're making all this money. Yet I'm making less money than I used to make with the UFC. The UFC is getting bigger, which means I'm getting bigger, but I'm making less money. Why?"

      So it might be a little bit about money. He also is not happy with matchmaking, and wanted to throw some violence UFC matchmaker Joe Silva's way.

      Read More »from The latest from ‘Rampage:’ good-bye UFC, hello rap career
    • Nate Marquardt and Trevor Wittman (Getty)Unless you're training for a fight, it's hard to understand the ins and outs of an MMA gym. Even people who train part-time struggle to know just how difficult the days and weeks are for fighters working full-time to prepare for a bout.

      With that in mind, MMA Fighting's Ben Fowlkes decided to spend a year with Grudge Training Center in Colorado. Home to Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub and Nate Marquardt, Fowlkes worked with head trainer Trevor Wittman to get an inside look at what happens in an MMA gym over the course of year, and chronicle it in the must-read series, "The Hurt Business."

      What Fowlkes didn't anticipate was how eventful 2011 would be for Grudge. Marquardt went from a UFC contender to unemployed after failing to pass medicals for his UFC on Versus fight in June. Schaub's red-hot streak was stopped by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in August. Carwin lost to Junior dos Santos in June and then did not fight again in 2011 because of injuries.

      Fowlkes spoke to Cagewriter, and admitted he had no idea how the year would turn out when he first spoke to Wittman.

      "I chose Grudge for two reasons, really. One, Denver is close enough to where I live in Montana that I could get down there often enough," Fowlkes said. "And two, Trevor Wittman was the only trainer I talked to who seemed as interested in the idea as I was. The others I mentioned it to were like, 'Yeah, that would be cool project...for you to do at someone else's gym.'"

      Read More »from Spend a year with Grudge training center in new web series
    • India jumped into the world of MMA with the start of Super Fight League, a new promotion that debuted in Mumbai over the weekend. James Thompson submitted Bob Sapp at 1:52 because Sapp sustained a leg injury.

      The real star of the show was SFL's theme song, which should shoot to the top of the charts immediately. It somehow combines the guitar riffs of an 80s movie montage song with the rapping skill of Snow. Basically, it's amazing.

      "Boom, pow, punch kick WOW!" will be playing in your head for the rest of the day. You're welcome.

      Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

      Read More »from ‘Super Fight League’ premieres with theme song that will stick in your head
    • All 16 winners from the first episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live." (Getty)

      "The Ultimate Fighter," the reality show that helped jumpstart the UFC's success, began a new chapter on Friday night as it switched both channels and format. For the first time, fights were shown live and on FX.

      Though fights on TUF were previously two rounds with a sudden-death round when needed, the fights to get on the show were just one round. Fighters who needed time to find their rhythm did not fare well, but the ones who managed to win by submission or knockout got a $5,000 bonus. Some highlights from the fights:

      -- Sam Sicilia wasted no time making a name for himself, getting the fastest knockout of the day in just eight seconds.

      -- After Andy Ogle's win, he jumped onto UFC president Dana White for a full-body hug.

      -- Dakota Cochrane, the fighter whose past included acting in gay pornographic movies, did not make the house. He lost a split decision.

      -- On the way to losing to Al Iaquinta, Jon Tuck also sustained a broken and disfigured toe.

      Complete results:

      Read More »from ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Live’ premieres with 16 one-round fights
    • Pat Curran celebrates while Joe Warren is tended to. (Bellator)

      HAMMOND, Ind. -- Bellator's season six started with a new champ, a terrible stoppage, and four featherweights getting closer to challenging for the belt.

      Joe Warren started with a nasty takedown, and from the start, his wrestling controlled most of the bout. Curran's one big moment in the first round came when he knocked Warren down with a head kick, and followed it up with several strikes on the ground, but Warren survived. When Curran tried a flying knee, Warren used it for a takedown. Warren had more takedowns and control in the first round. Action slowed in the second round, as Warren was able to get takedowns, but not hold Curran down.

      After Curran's corner told him he was down two rounds, he came out in the third round with full intent to end the fight. Curran's bevy of strikes put Warren against the fence. The fence was the only thing holding Warren up as he withstood several shots from Curran. The fight went on much longer than it needed to, and was finally stopped at 1:25 in the third round.

      Warren went to the hospital after the bout. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said he was complaining of nausea and also had a hand injury. Rebney also said he was surprised the stoppage wasn't sooner.

      Read More »from Pat Curran gets the belt and four new featherweight challengers at Bellator

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