It's still hard to believe an accord was reached between the warring factions from UFC 84. Tito Ortiz is back making money from and for the UFC and president Dana White. He's in the main event of UFC 106 tomorrow night against Forrest Griffin.

Eighteen months ago he showed up at the weigh-in for his fight against Lyoto Machida wearing a t-shirt that said "Dana is my bitch." After the fight he was nearly removed from the MGM Grand by Las Vegas Metro Police when he and his wife Jenna Jameson pushed past MGM security into the postfight press conference. Ortiz fielded questions as the UFC P.R. staff repeatedly asked him to leave, and for the media to stop asking questions. Jameson barked about freedom of speech just a few feet away from the stage. And now White, Ortiz, Jameson and the UFC are one big, happy family. It was a wise move for all involved but you have to wonder if there's still some underlying animosity.

If Tito wears another t-shirt to the weigh-in, what will it say this afternoon? You can watch the UFC 106 weigh-in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. at UFC.com. 

Tito Ortiz may be a better trash-talker but Forrest Griffin is a better quote. The quotes are rarely about his fighting or career, but they're still classics. This discussion on why he curses so often is dynamite. 

"I don't know why I cuss so much. I'm around gyms all the time. Damn, dirty apes," Griffin told the gathered media at UFC 106 workout day.

He told the scribes that his bad language gave him an idea for his next book: 

"The preface of my new book is 'My mother told me when I was a kid that cussing is a sign of low intelligence and low vocabulary. Well, [expletive] her.' I don't care. Maybe I have low intelligence and low vocabulary."

The discussion turned to whether you can be a role model with a filthy mouth. Could Phil Baroni fill that role:

Griffin laughed and said, "I don't want to be like Phil Baroni. Would you want your kids to be like Phil Baroni? Maybe I should quit cussing."

Josh Koscheck is a promoter's dream. He'll fight anyone, anytime, even with less than eight weeks to prepare for a fight. When the UFC needed a major fight to fill the gap left by Brock Lesnar at UFC 106, matchmaker Joe Silva brainstormed and came up with an excellent fight featuring Koscheck against Anthony Johnson. Frankly, Kos should've said no unless he was guaranteed a UFC welterweight title shot with a win. But he didn't do that and he's taking all the risk against a guy who's biggest wins have come against Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Kevin Burns and Luigi Fioravanti.

Koscheck (13-4, 11-4 UFC) was originally scheduled to fight Michael Pierce at Ultimate Fight Night 20 in January. He took that fight which was even more of lose-lose situation but jumped at the chance to get on this card on pay-per-view.

"The 106 card was falling apart and pretty [expletive]. I told Bob [Cook, Koscheck's trainer/manager], 'you know Bob, call Joe Silva and see if there's a chance we can get on that card and fight anybody.'"

Read More »

It's been a long road back to the UFC for Phil Baroni. The former light heavyweight is now down at welterweight. He served time for a steroid suspension back in 2007 and fought in organizations like EliteXC, Icon Sport, Cage Rage and Palace Fighting Championship. So when Baroni got an offer to return to the big leagues after five years away, he wasn't about quibble over his opponent. Fellow gym member Amir Sadollah from Xtreme Couture was offered up and Baroni jumped at the chance.

"You take what you can get. We're professionals. Fight first, friends later. I'll fight anybody, it doesn't matter. Anyone who can move my career in the right direction."

With Sadollah at Xtreme Couture, Baroni chose to leave his home base of Las Vegas and train in San Jose at American Kickboxing Academy. Baroni will be involved in same odd twist if Randy Couture fights Mark Coleman February. Coleman and Baroni are longtime buddies. Baroni said he got more sparring in at AKA and really needed to get back his attack dog mentality.

Read More »

At this point, the UFC probably just want to gets through UFC 106 without anymore drama or disasters. It's good hardcore fight fans card but certainly lacks the pizzazz it appeared to have when Brock Lesnar versus Shane Carwin was the headliner. Tito Ortiz-Forrest Griffin has been bumped up to fill the hole and it's a pretty intriguing fight from a gambling standpoint. Is Tito healthy physically? And is Griffin healthy mentally?

Josh Kosheck and Anthony Johnson stepped up on less than a month's notice to hep the UFC rebuild this card. There's a wild scenario right now at Las Vegas sports books. Some houses have Johnson as a healthy favorite while others have Koscheck tabbed as the guy. Which means, an astute gambler can get both fighters at a plus number.

Watch RawVegas' Dave Farra breakdown some of the top fights with Cagewriter and Ben Fowlkes from CagePotato: 

UFC 106 odds (Courtesy Venetian Resort Casino Hotel)
Official picks after tonight's weigh-in

Pay-Per-View Bouts:
Forrest Griffin (-130) v. Tito Ortiz (Even)

Read More »

Shock was the word of the night at WEC 44. Jose Aldo Jr. came in with a lofty reputation and plenty of quick knockouts but the way he ripped the WEC featherweight belt from Mike Brown's clutches was shocking. Even Brown looked a bit shellshocked during the postfight press conference. The former champ tried to explain what just went down but because it happened so fast he was searching for answers:

"I should've opened up more. I think I was a little too conservative. Maybe more takedown attempts. I really have to see the tape." 

Brown, who likes moving forward, never found his rhythym:

"Maybe that was my fault. My coaches told me I was only throwing one punch at a time."

Aldo's kicks really put a dent in Brown's attack:

Read More »

The mixed martial arts world isn't the place to be if you're worried about your looks. Between the scars, broken noses and cauliflower ears you're not going to find a bunch of runway model candidates donning the four-ounce gloves. There's been several cases during fight week where Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin have proudly showcased black eyes. But that's where Griffin is different than Tito Ortiz. Tito does have an image he wants to uphold.

Tito has gone with the Stevie Wonder look this week in Las Vegas. No matter how dark the room is, Tito's been wearing sunglasses. Why? He suffered a vicious black eye on Nov. 9 when he was head-butted in training camp. Ortiz talked about it a few days later during his Big Bear media day (VIDEO - 0:44 mark). He was wearing the  sunglasses that day but had to remove them to put on headgear before sparring.

Tito tried to hide the black eye even with headgear on but the Las Vegas Sun got a pretty good shot of the shiner. He said today during the UFC 106 prefight press conference that the eye has gone down significantly but it must be pretty nasty looking, because the glasses were still on this afternoon. Expect the shades to make another appearance at tomorrow's weigh-in.

If it's that nasty, it makes you wonder if Griffin will target the eye on Saturday night. 

Kendall Grove likes being above the fray in the life but it's not the easiest thing to deal with in the Octagon. At 6-foot-6, he's got to be the tallest middeweight fighters in the world. That length definitely gives him a striking advantage especially with his kicks but it can prove to be a nightmare when Grove faces a wrestler or grappler. He was visibly frustrated when facing jiu-jitsu ace Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101. Grove lost that fight because he couldn't stay out of Almeida's clinch and now he's got a three-time NCAA wrestling champ standing in front of him in Jake Rosholt at UFC 106.

Read More »

What are they putting in the food around the UFC? The latest Dana White vlog features the UFC president, Chuck "The Iceberg" Liddell and Tiki Ghosn all looking quite zaftig. White was cageside last night at WEC 44 at The Palms. Just like the rest of us watching the Leonard Garcia-Manny Gamburyan snoozefest, White drifted off into conversation about anything and everything that involved eating and getting fat. Ghosn, a welterweight fighter, checked in 202. Or so he says. He had the line of the video when asked where he was during Tito Ortiz' training camp, Tiki says Sizzler.

White claimed he's 213 and Liddell's Dancing With the Stars body is a distant memory. The only guys in shape in the video are Tito Ortiz, who said he was 220 last night and Anthony Johnson who was 180.

All of the video is shot at The Palms, much of it in the aftermath of WEC 44. Cub Swanson is featured for a few seconds. The poor dude broke both hands. 

White also talks briefly about the new WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo Jr., who he compares to Anderson Silva. Unlike his exaggeration with Philippe Nover, Aldo is the real deal. 

Anthony Johnson has the gift of gab. He can trash talk with the best of them but he doesn't come across as a jerk. Even better he doesn't mind on the receiving end of criticism. The 25-year-old welterweight was skewered by fans and media at UFC 104 last month when he missed weight by six pounds. Johnson went on to destroy Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the fight with a 41 second knockout but knew enough to step up in the cage to apologize for not fulfilling all his job duties.

"I didn't have to apologize. I chose to apologize. The fans desevred it. The UFC deserved it," Johnson told Cagewriter.

Aside from not being able to fully enjoy a big win, Johnson also lost a chance at a $60,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night.

"I didn't deserve it. I didn't make the weight."

Pat Barry was beneficiary of Johnson's mistake. The heavyweight got the KO of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. It turned out Barry desperately needed the 120k. He had zero money in his pocket the week of the fight and was weeks away from being evicted from his apartment.

Read More »