Your eyes do not deceive you. That is a fairly normal MMA bout in a cage going on with bikers doing flips over the cage. My stomach was in my mouth every time they went over the cage, hoping that the bikers made the leap. Of course, they did every time.

Promoters are always trying new ways to bring fans into MMA. Kudos to the creator of Backflips and Beatdowns for coming up with a creative way to share MMA with the masses, even if it does make me worry about bikes dropping on the heads of fighters.

Thanks, Middle Easy.

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Champion Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir for the UFC heavyweight title

Kevin Iole: Junior dos Santos KO1 Frank Mir -- This could just as easily be Mir by first-round submission, but since all fights begin on the feet, I will go with dos Santos by KO.

Maggie Hendricks: JDS KO1 Mir -- Mir's only hope is to get this fight to the ground to avoid Junior's powerful stand-up. But as Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez learned, getting JDS to the ground is not an easy feat, and Mir won't succeed.

Cagereader's take: Frank Mir is an outstanding, decorated mixed martial artist. He can be dangerous on his feet and clearly on the ground as well if you look at his past submissions. His best bet is to figure out how he can get Junior dos Santos to the mat. The unfortunate part for Mir is that dos Santos possesses some of the best standup in the heavyweight division and I think Mir will struggle with those heavy-hitting fists Junior is going to throw. I love them both as fighters but my guess is dos Santos will win this one and retain his belt via TKO. -- Roberto Garza

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Iole: Cain Velasquez TKO2 Antonio Silva -- I think Velasquez is the best heavyweight in the world and will prove it against Big Foot. Velasquez is a better version of Daniel Cormier and Cormier had his way with Silva.

Hendricks: Velasquez TKO1 Silva -- Velasquez has had to deal with competitors bigger than him since he was was Division I wrestler at Arizona State. He's learned how to use his speed, takedowns and striking to handle the size disadvantage, and he'll do it again on Saturday.

Cagereader's take: Cain Velasquez by TKO. Cain will rebound nicely in this bout. We'll see him return to his stalking/aggressive fight style which will eventually lead to some ground and pound against Silva. Silva is a top heavyweight but he's not very quick. He won't have a quick enough reaction to keep Cain away. -- Eddie Ledezma

Dave Herman vs. Roy Nelson

Iole: Roy Nelson W3 Dave Herman -- Nelson has the power to take Herman out, but most likely, Herman survives but takes a beating.

Hendricks: Nelson W3 Dave Herman -- Not to just copy Kev, but I don't see a way this fight will end early. This fight will be the bout it IS OK to blink while it's happening.

Cagereader's take: Roy Nelson will win against Herman. He is all wrong for Herman. Iron chin, BJJ blackbelt, better striking. Standup or ground game, Nelson is clearly better. -- Daniel Natividad

Stipe Miocic vs. Shane del Rosario

Iole: Shane del Rosario W3 Stipe Miocic -- This is more of a hunch because I don't know which del Rosario will show up. He's been off for a year since an auto accident. Del Rosario is a budding star and if he's healthy, I like him to make a statement against Miocic.

Hendricks: Miocic W3 del Rosario -- My heart says del Rosario because after the year he's had, he deserves a win. He was in a car accident with a drunk driver and even contemplated retirement during his trip back to the cage. However, Miocic's wrestling and striking will be too much.

Cagereader's take: I pick Miocic to win by decision. Del Rosario is the better and more experienced striker, but Miocic's wrestling ability will carry him to a decision victory. Miocic is confident in his hands, but he will eventually resort back to his bread and butter once he realizes the gap in striking ability between him and Del Rosario. Del Rosario has lacked in the takedown defense department before, and I expect him to have similar issues against the former NCAA Division I wrestler. Once on the mat, Miocic will land consistently from the top position, controlling the action and landing often enough to earn a decision win. -- Robert MacDonald

Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson

Iole: Struve SUB2 Johnson -- Struve is susceptible to good strikers, but Johnson has a great vulnerability on the ground. I think Johnson has his moments, but look for Struve to take advantage of a mistake and end it with a submission.

Hendricks: Johnson KO2 Struve -- Though Struve does have a dangerous ground game, he opens himself up to getting punched in the face too often. Johnson is really, really good at punching people in the face.

Cagereader's take: Johnson-- I wanted to see Mark Hunt in this fight, but I actually see it going remarkably similar to how I would predict that one. Johnson has the style to wade in, get close, and do damage. That's enough to beat Struve. Struve's best option will be to pull guard and see if he can slap on a sub with his long limbs. I doubt he gets that chance, though. -- John Wilcox

Thank you to everyone who submitted picks.

1. Who is the best heavyweight in the UFC?* Of course this question will be answered. With the UFC heavyweight belt on the line, the main event is designed to answer that question. However, it has to have an asterisk on it because of the Alistair Overeem shenanigans before the bout. He was suspended from fighting for nine months because of abnormally high levels of testosterone, and his own actions kept him from fighting on this card. Through no fault of their own, Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos' bout will have an unsatisfying "what if" hanging over it.

2. How did Cain Velasquez recover from his first loss? From the second Velasquez stepped into the cage, he was a freight train. He started his career with nine straight wins, topped off by a TKO of Brock Lesnar for the title. Dos Santos stopped that train with a 64-second knockout, and this is the first time fans will see Velasquez since then. Will he be able to fight back to get a win over Antonio Silva, or will Velasquez suffer his second loss?

3. Can Dan Hardy stop his epic losing skid? "The Outlaw" has four losses in a row in the UFC, which is an unheard of number. Fighters have been cut for much less. After losing to Chris Lytle in August, Hardy took time away from the sport. He doesn't have an easy fight in Duane "Bang" Ludwig. We'll find out Saturday night if he can finally right the ship.

4. Is Jason Miller more than a TV star? "Mayhem," and his awesome dog Gator, starred on both "The Ultimate Fighter" and "Bully Beatdown." He is engaging, funny, and knows how to be the star of a show. However, that didn't help him in his first fight back in the UFC in six years, as Michael Bisping manhandled him. Miller's bout with C.B. Dollaway will give him a chance to prove he belongs in the UFC.

5. Can an all-heavyweight card be exciting? The UFC is taking a gamble with this card. Though the idea of an all-heavyweight card is good in theory, in practice, it's dicey. Heavyweights can provide great knockouts, but they can also provide wheeze-fests like Travis Browne's bout with Rob Boughton or Frank Mir's with Mirko Filipovic. The pressure is on these 10 men to deliver.

6. Who will Daniel Cormier fight next? The newly crowned Strikeforce heavyweight champ will supposedly have another fight in Strikeforce, but his best tests will be in the UFC. UFC 146 is chock full of heavyweights who could test Cormier's wrestling and striking. Who will his next opponent be? See the main card for the answer.

Plus, it has pretty stars and I'm a sucker for pretty stars. Buy it for $29.95.

Note: Junior dos Santos' walkout shirt for this weekend was not online, but you can buy this wall hanging depicting the champ, so ... win.

"I'm truly sorry to those of you that I may have embarrassed in any way, to those of you with kids that I may have let down. I will prove to them as well as to myself that no matter what is happening in life, we can always work our way back and make things even better than before."

Jones' manager, Malki Kawa, went on MMA Weekly Radio and pleaded for fans to give Jones a chance.

"I would just kind of like to let the fans know to give him a chance. Give yourself a chance to get all the facts in yourselves, wait until everything gets said and done, and then at that point if you want to vilify him afterwards and you heard him speak and you heard him say his part and then vilify him, I can't control what people are going to say. But it is too soon; it is too quick in my opinion. He really is a decent guy. He's a very, very good guy, trying his hardest to be a good role model, a good example, and he wants to be that. No one's perfect and he's never said he was and never said that he doesn't make mistakes. It's a fact he made a mistake. He messed up and I'm sure he's going to come out and apologize and do what he's got to do."

I've been surprised by the amount and type of vitriol aimed towards Jones for this incident. I find drunk driving deplorable and have no problem with Jones (if found guilty) or anyone else who is found guilty of such reckless, selfish, disgusting behavior spending a whole lot of time in a jail cell.

But the comments here, on Facebook and on Twitter have had a gleeful tone. Too many people are happy that Jones screwed up. Let's be clear here. Jones could have killed someone. Jones could have killed himself. This arrest is no reason to rejoice.

UFC 146 is this Saturday, Saturday, Saturday! Check out the retro promo the UFC cut for this weekend's all-heavyweight main card, and give us your picks with reasons why you're picking each fight at the Cagewriter Facebook page. Also note that the video above was cut before Mark Hunt pulled out of his bout and was replaced by Lavar Johnson.

Unfortunately, we don't get to see the end of their scintillating duel over mediocre beer. Does Silva rise up against the man who taught him the kick that knocked out Vitor Belfort? Do they agree the beer is mediocre, forget their feud and start singing with Bruce Buffer at the old timey piano? Does Dan Miragliotta find a hidden beer that he shares along with the secret to his always-glowing tan? There are so many ways this could end. Tell us how you would solve this cliffhanger in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Strikeforce is still on the brain, but let's take a second to check out the other fights that happened this weekend.

At Bellator 69, Mark Kolata qualified for next season's heavyweight tournament with a verbal submission of Abe Wagner with an Achilles lock. As expected, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii put on a great three-round fight with Aguilar taking the decision. After getting his protective cup situation figured out, Karl Amoussou used his judo and withstood a strong third round from David Rickels to get a decision win and a spot in the Bellator welterweight tournament final against Bryan Baker. In the final of the middleweight tournament, Maiquel Falcao beat Andreas Spang in a decision. He overcame a point deduction for an illegal knee to still win the tournament.

Two more semifinalists were chosen on "The Ultimate Fighter." Team Cruz's Vinc Pichel took the two-round decision from Team Faber's Chris Saunders. Though Saunders thought the fight was going to the third round, the judges said the bout was over. There was no such controversy in the second bout with two Team Faber fighters facing off. Al Iaquinta knocked out Andy Ogle near the end of the first round.

The semifinal match-ups will be James Vick vs. Michael Chiesa and Pichel vs. Iaquinta. Also during the episode, UFC president Dana White announced Urijah Faber's new opponent at UFC 148 will be Renan Barao.

Jeffrey Earnhardt descended from NASCAR royalty. As the grandson of legend Dale Earnhardt and the nephew of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., racing is literally in Jeffrey's bloodline. The he has raced and plans to race again, Earnhardt is debuting in a new sport: MMA.

Earnhardt will fight at Fight Lab 25 in Charlotte, N.C. as an amateur on Tuesday night. He will fight Chris Faison at bantamweight. Earnhardt trains at Renegade Fighting Systems in Charlotte.

Though he races on the Rolex Sports Car Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he was attracted to the challenge and physical conditioning of MMA. On Tuesday night, he wants to use his fight to show that race car drivers are great athletes, too.

"A lot of people don't see race car athletes as true athletes," he said to MMA Fighting. "They don't think we're capable of doing anything other than sitting in a car and driving in a circle. A lot of people don't understand the reality of it. This is an opportunity to prove to people that race car drivers are athletes. It's a lot harder than people realize. Hopefully this MMA fight will help people realize that, and that we can hold our own as athletes."

But he's still an Earnhardt, and the 22-year-old said racing will always be number one for him. Fighting is fun, but racing cars is the family business.

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Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett fought most of their five-round bout with broken hands at Strikeforce on Saturday night. Cormier broke his right hand, the same one he broke in knocking out Antonio Silva in September. Barnett broke his left hand and headed straight to the hospital after losing the decision in the final of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix.

Both men are planning to see surgeons after their grueling bout. Cormier wants to make sure this injury isn't recurring.

"I think this time I'm going to take a different approach," Cormier said. "I think I'm going to have surgery on it and get it fixed, because I don't want it to be recurring and then end up costing me later and later on down the line."

Barnett's manager said the fighter will see an orthopedist to find out how serious the injury is.

Five-round fights are difficult without any injuries. Cormier and Barnett were forced to use different weapons throughout their bout to find a way to the judges' decision.

Daniel Cormier can no longer be called an exciting prospect, as he showed he's among the best heavyweights in MMA with a dominating unanimous decision win over Josh Barnett on Saturday night. Check out the video for one of the nastiest takedowns I've ever seen in an MMA bout as well as highlights from Gilbert Melendez's close decision over Josh Thomson to hold on to the Strikeforce lightweight belt.

Malki Kawa, Jones' manager, released a statement on the arrest.

"I can confirm that Jon Jones was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI. While the facts of this situation are still being gathered and situated, First Round Management fully supports Jon and we are asking for fans and media to respect the privacy of Jon and his family during this time."

Jones recently defended his championship with a five-round decision win over Rashad Evans. He is scheduled to fight Dan Henderson in September.

This caused a delay in the Bellator welterweight tournament semifinal in Louisiana. Referee Jason Herzog informed the state commission officials on what happened, then asked, "Can someone go to the back and see if he can borrow a cup?"

Now, fighters are usually generous people. They'll share training time, clothes and equipment. But a cup?

Luckily, the Bellator cut man figured out a solution. As shown above, he used athletic tape to secure Amoussou's cup, and all was well in the cage. Amoussou went onto win a very close decision over Rickels and will now face Bryan Baker in the welterweight tournament final.

We know you have thoughts on UFC 146's all-heavyweight main card. You know why Junior dos Santos will win or Cain Velasquez will make a statement or Lavar Johnson will get his second knockout in a month. We want to hear your thoughts, and share them right here on Cagewriter.

Here's the deal. Go to Cagewriter's Facebook page, like it, pick a fight, and tell us who will win and why. Don't just drill through the fights and tell us your picks; give us your reasoning, too. The best ones will appear on Cagewriter next week with picks from Kevin Iole and me. Here's the main card:

Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir
Antonio Silva vs. Cain Velasquez
Dave Herman vs. Roy Nelson
Shane Del Rosario vs. Stipe Miocic
Lavar Johnson vs. Stefan Struve

So check out Cagewriter's Facebook page and start picking. We look forward to hearing from you.

Related UFC news from Yahoo! Sports:

On where Mir is most dangerous, but not the most dangerous in the UFC:

His biggest threat is if he can use his jiu-jitsu to take me to me to the ground. That's his big strength. I think he's good. Maybe among the best ground games in the heavyweight division, but there are plenty others in the other division that are better.

On Mir's trash talk:

I don't really like that style. When you prefer talk rather than fighting, it's not good. I'd rather let my fighting do the talking.

On Saturday's Strikeforce grand prix fighter Josh Barnett:

He's very experienced and has a great ground game. As far as whether I want to fight him, it's not up to me. If the UFC wants to make Josh Barnett my next opponent, then so be it. I think the fight with Daniel Cormier is an exciting matchup and I'm looking forward to it.

On the possibility of fighting UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones:

No, I don't think so. Jon Jones is a cool guy. Extremely talented. If one day he wants to fight as a heavyweight, then I'm sure he'd have a fight or two before he gets a shot at the title.

Mir's last win was against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a good friend of dos Santos. Will that play into this fight psychologically?

I'm a positive person and a confident fighter. What happened between them is just part of the sport. It's just a natural part of our sport. In my opinion, Big Nog was winning that fight and just made a mistake. Frank Mir took advantage of that as good fighter would do. It won't impact what I do.

On sticking with "Gonna Fly Now," a.k.a. the Rocky song, as his walkout song:

For sure I'll be walking out to the rocky song. It motivates me a lot so I agree with Christian. Back story: Dana White didn't want me to come out to that song and said it's overused. I told him 'Man, my hands shake when I hear that song'. When he heard how powerful it was for me, he told me I could keep it as my walkout song.

On what he thinks of Mir's chin:

Everybody's chin is their weak spot. If you land a shot on somebody's chin, they're down. Fight over. So yeah, that's where I'm going to try to hit him. And that's where I'm going to be hitting him.

On his love of singing:

I don't need karaoke. I sing a cappella. I like singing. I sing in the shower and all the time. When we're happy people, music's just part of our day.

On his prediction for Silva/Sonnen II:

I've got to take Anderson. Sonnen-Silva I, Sonnen was caught taking performance-enhancers and Anderson had broken ribs. It wasn't a fair fight. This time he'll beat him easily.

But Belcher solved his the Palhares puzzle and wants to help you (yes, you!) do it, too. After being approached by several people for tips, the jiu-jitsu black belt is going to teach how he gameplanned for Palhares, and how he executed it while in the fight.

On Thurs., May 24, at 8:30 E.T., Belcher will hold a free webinar complete with drills, defenses, and conditioning moves. If you want to learn from Belcher, sign up here. Seminars with fighters of Belcher's caliber will often cost you hundreds, so anyone training should take part.

Athletes will often guard their game plans like nuclear missile launch codes. It says a ton about both Belcher's character and his confidence in his game that he'll share his secrets to anyone who asks.

Thanks, Fightlinker.

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Coming off a loss to Johny Hendricks, a bout with Penn, a former champion at lightweight and welterweight, would certainly pique Koscheck's interest. Not only would it draw considerable fan interest because of Penn's vast legions of fans, but it's the kind of win that could get Koscheck back on track.

Unfortunately for Koscheck, Penn is completely retired and appears to have no interest in returning to the fight life. He responded, " I know it costs a lot of money to live that lavish lifestyle, big house, fast cars & you need big fights but sorry I'm not coming back anytime soon!"

Perhaps now the MMA world will believe that Penn really retired after losing to Nick Diaz in November. He was also talked about as an opponent with Gilbert Melendez and had to shoot that down, too. Penn had a great MMA career and is now enjoying the retired life in Hawaii. Would you give that up?

He chose to take only a few days off, however, before returning to the gym on Monday. It paid off for him big-time on Thursday when he was offered, and quickly accepted, a contract to fight Stefan Struve on May 26 on the main card of UFC 146 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Mark Hunt injured a knee in training and had to withdraw from the fight with Struve on the all-heavyweight card next week. The UFC offered the bout to Johnson, who came out of his first-round win over Barry unscathed.

He said he never hesitated in accepting the offer.

"This is what we do and it's my job to fight," Johnson told Cagewriter. "They called me up and I'm still in good shape. A fight is a fight, no matter who it is, or what. My job is to take the fight. I jumped right on it."

Johnson said he weighs 250, so he won't even have to worry about cutting weight to make the 265-pound limit for his fight against Struve.

At 6-11, Struve will have a seven-inch height advantage over the 6-4 Johnson, but Johnson insisted it won't matter.

"His reach is 83 and mine is 81 or 82," Johnson said. "I'm faster and I hit harder. I'm aggressive and I'll be right there in his face."

He was aggressive against both Barry and Joey Beltran, whom he knocked out on Jan. 28 at UFC on Fox 2. He took a few hellacious leg kicks from Barry in the early moments of the May 5 fight, but said he didn't feel them.

When friends brought it up to them, he acted surprised, saying he checked the kicks. But when he looked at the film, he realized he was hit full bore by Barry, one of the hardest kickers in the sport. But Johnson had prepared for Barry by training with kick boxer Carter Williams, himself a great kicker.

"That's what happens when you train with Carter," Johnson said, chuckling. "Eventually, you don't feel a thing."

He was a virtual unknown to UFC fans as 2012 began, known primarily as the fighter who was shot in the abdomen during a Fourth of July family reunion a few years ago. But if he beats Struve, he'll be 3-for-3 in 2012 with seven months still to go.

He hasn't heard much from UFC president Dana White, but said it didn't matter.

"My bonus check said enough for me," he said.

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1. Where do Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier stand in the heavyweight division? Both Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier are expected to be brought over to the UFC after this fight. While Strikeforce originally promised the grand prix winner a fight in Strikeforce after the win, every other heavyweight in their employ is now in the UFC. It's more likely that they will be in the UFC sooner than later, and how they perform in this Saturday's bout will decide what kind of challenge they will be given.

A strong performance can ensure the winner starts near the top of the ladder, fighting in an elimination bout. A weak, boring performance means the loser may end up having a long way to fight before getting anywhere near UFC gold.

2. Is Gilbert Melendez one of the world's best lightweights? Though fighting in one of the most packed weight classes, Melendez hasn't fought Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson or any of the other top lightweights of the UFC, so it's hard to know where to rank him. With Josh Thomson, Melendez will get a chance both to prove himself against a tough opponent and a shot at winning the rubber match.

3. Who deserves a shot at the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt? Since Dan Henderson left for the UFC, the Strikeforce light heavyweight strap has been sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. Saturday's bout between Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Mike Kyle will help Strikeforce decide who should get that shot at the vacant title.

What questions are missing? Speak your mind in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Related Josh Barnett video from Yahoo! Sports:

Geez. You can't mess with the man's car before he fights.

Both Thomson and Daniel Cormier, a player in the prank, will fight at Strikeforce this weekend. Will it be a good weekend for the AKA fighters? Tell us in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.

On the left, you have Cormier's shirt from TrauMMA which is designed as a nod to his Louisiana roots with the fleur-de-lis and hometown flag on his shoulder. On the right is Barnett's latest shirt. It's not designated as a walkout shirt, but it's his latest available.

Though Barnett's shirt would make a cool design on a black light painting circa 1996, it's falling flat as a t-shirt. For going with an unconventional color and meaningful imagery, Cormier is the winner. Buy his shirt for $29.98, and Barnett's for $19.98.

Lawlor, who is known for his flamboyant entrances and joking mood, became serious in a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani. When Helwani asked about the pressure to win after coming off a loss at UFC 139, Lawlor admitted that the pressures were financial.

"I'll be honest. I'm broke. I have no money. This money that I got today, it's going to be the first time I've deposited a check in over a year. A year and a half. This is like a big deal to me. I had to borrow money from friends and family just in order to go into this fight. I want to thank them, obviously. This means a lot to me mentally, it means a lot to my bank account."

He recently switched training camps and moved to Massachusetts to be closer to family. The cost of living and fighting just once in 2011 -- a loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 139 -- caught up with him.

"I think I miscalculated the cost of living in the Northeast," Lawlor said. "I basically took all my money, bought a house and blew through my money — just living costs, traveling, price of gas, multiple training locations."

Unlike in the four major sports leagues, fighters pay for their own training expenses. The win plus $40,000 in bonus money should help Lawlor pay back those friends and family who were kind enough to help him.

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Would you like to see highlights from the main event of UFC on Fuel 3 along with discussion from Kenny Florian and Jon Anik about "The Korean Zombie's" next move? You're in luck.

For too long, the featherweight division has been so top-heavy that it was a little boring. Now, with Erik Koch and Jung waiting for Jose Aldo, the 145-lbers are giving fans a reason to watch the division.

On Monday, Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper hit his first major-league home run. Tuesday night, he checked out the UFC on Fuel 3 fights and got to take a picture with UFC Octagon Girl/Playboy cover girl Brittney Palmer. It's a pretty good time to be Bryce Harper.

Palmer, who was on the cover of the February 2012 Playboy, quickly shot down any rumors that might get started from the picture. After gossip blogger Terez Owens wrote that the two had "coupled" up, she tweeted, "Watch your wording, buddy!"

After Harper was intentionally hit by Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, it made sense for him to take in some cagefights. The pros showed him how to throw a punch, and that may prove valuable when the Nationals head to Philly next week.

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After three impressive wins in a row, do you think "The Korean Zombie" deserves a shot at the UFC featherweight title? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

For tonight's UFC on Fuel 3 fight against Jeremy Stephens, it's not surprising that Cerrone already has plans for the next bonus he will try to win.

"You name it, the post-fight bonuses, I'm going for it," Cerrone declared through his informal drawl. "I've got [expletive] to buy. I'm thinking (of getting) 10 or 12 girls to come out on a pontoon boat."

Since he has picked up so many bonus checks, perhaps the UFC needs to think of different ways to motivate Cerrone. Much as Lincoln Hawk arm-wrestled for a new tractor/trailer in "Over the Top," Cerrone could fight for a boat, or a new horse for his ranch, or a lifetime supply of cowboy hats. It's not too much to ask for.

For coverage of UFC on Fuel 3 tonight, follow Cagewriter on Facebook and Twitter.

Not sure that jumping into Barnett's arms at the end of the fight will help Cormier win, but stranger things have happened. Will Cormier beat Barnett, or will their fight turn into a production of "West Side Story?" (For the record, I'm always hoping fights turn into a production of "West Side Story.") Tell us what you think will happen on Saturday in the comments, Facebook or Twitter.

Wilks had a serious knee injury that kept him out of the Octagon. His last bout was a loss to Claude Patrick in October of 2010. When that healed, a neck injury from his rugby-playing days flared up and Wilks realized how serious previous warning signs were.

"I had problems in a couple of the fights that I didn't really talk about," he said. "In one of the fights, I got hit, and the whole left side of my body went numb, all the way down to the toes."

Even with the doctors' warnings, Wilks called the decision difficult, particularly because he went out on a loss. He went 1-2 in the UFC after beating DaMarques Johnson in the TUF finale. As more fighters age, they will be faced with the issue of retirement. Kudos to Wilks for being strong enough to walk away before he was damaged permanently.

Any guesses on the weigh-in shtick Lawlor will use this afternoon? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter, and watch weigh-ins here.

UFC veteran Magalhaes won the M-1 light heavyweight belt last April and defended it in October, but then found himself in a long, public squabble with M-1 management. He and M-1 director of operations Evgeni Kogan have exchanged nasty insults over Twitter after Magalhaes was not happy with the fights the Russian-based promotion was making, and Kogan supposedly coached one of Magalhaes' opponents from ringside, a huge no-no for a promoter who should be unbiased.

Since Magalhaes said he is through his contract and wants to move on from the promotion, he has no reason to hold on to the belt. He put it on eBay, starting bids at $0.09. At the time of writing, it's up to $2,605. Magalhaes tweeted the link and told Kogan, "Hey buddy, you wanted your belt back? #placeyourbid it's on @ebay :)"

Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

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The MMA world continued to turn as you were off celebrating Mother's Day, so here's a quick rundown of what you need to know from the weekend.

As you can see from the video highlights, at Bellator Daniel Straus took the featherweight tournament final in a unanimous decision over Marlon Sandro. With that win, Straus will get to vie for the Bellator featherweight belt, which is currently held by Pat Curran. Patricky Freire will fight for it next.

Bellator was also marred by controversy as Waachiim Spiritwolf was winning his bout with Marius Zaromskis. However, Spiritwolf sustained a cut too severe to go on. For if the stoppage was justified, let's turn to veteran MMA journalist Jim Genia:

Tough break for Waachim Spiritwolf on that cut-stoppage, as he was wrecking Marius Zaromskis.  However, in no way, shape or form do I question that stoppage.  Dr. Sherry Wulkan was the one who waved the bout off, and she's been a ringside physician for more MMA bouts than 99.9% of the world has even read about on the Internet.

Marcin Held won with a quick heel hook, and Marcus Galvao took a decision to earn a spot in the bantamweight tournament finals.

Quarterfinals were underway at set of "The Ultimate Fighter." Before the bouts, Dana White broke the news about Dominick Cruz's torn ACL to both teams before confirming that Cruz will stay on to coach for the rest of the season.

In the first quarterfinal, James Vick pressured Joe Proctor and avoided his submissions to take the two-round decision. Michael Chiesa moved on to the semifinals by scoring a TKO over Justin Lawrence in the third round. Lawrence was considered the favorite coming into the show, so Chiesa's win was an upset.

This Friday, Team Cruz's Vinc Pichel will fight Team Faber's Chris Saunders and a bout between teammates, as Team Faber's Al Iaquinta faces Andy Ogle.

Most importantly, he was supposed to show up for his first competitive match-up since being suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a positive marijuana test after losing to Carlos Condit in February. He didn't.

Diaz never showed up to the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo in Long Beach, where the bout was scheduled to take place. Estima was reasonably steamed for the no-show.

"I know he's supposed to be the big MMA bad guy and he's all tough, he's supposed to be showbiz, but what is this?" said Estima. "When you make an announcement that you're going to fight for charity and you don't show up, what the hell is going on? It's not about showbiz. It's about being a good person. I don't know what is going on."

The Facebook page that purports to represent the Diaz brothers had this post on it early Sunday morning:

Promoter fails to donate the money to charity as agreed. (shady) Promoter changes rules for weigh ins to accommodate fellow Brazilian
Match ain't happening

When Estima communicated with the WJJE organizers that he couldn't get down to the agreed-upon 180-pound weight limit, they renegotiated the weight to 185 pounds. Diaz's camp agreed to the weight change ahead of time. As for the donation, could Diaz not have deposited his purse into his account and then written a check to St. Jude's? Taking five minutes to make the donation himself surely would have been better than depriving the hospital completely.

And if he really made the decision not to show up because of the promoters, he should have communicated it to his fans well before they spent $12.95 on the live stream of the event. That decision would have truly hurt the "shady" promoters in their wallets.

Instead, Diaz again decided not to show up for a commitment. In October, he skipped out on several media opportunities before his planned title fight and was removed from the bout. Again, he bizarrely blamed everyone but himself.

At this point, Diaz not following through on his commitments is par for the course. The MMA world shouldn't expect anything else.

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Before heading to brunch with your mom, check out how these champs celebrated their special moment with the women who supported their children on the way to the belt.

UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson hugs his mother after winning the belt in February.

Ronda Rousey headed straight to the woman who supported her through Olympic judo and MMA careers after winning the Strikeforce bantamweight belt in March.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz took his mother to the World MMA Awards.

Jon Jones celebrates with his parents after defending the UFC light heavyweight belt.

A very Happy Mother's Day to all the Cagereading Moms out there, and to my own mother, for taking me for ice cream after I first threw a punch.

According to UFC officials, it's playing off the natural rivalry between Aussies and Brits. To the press release:

"Australia and the UK have a fierce, long-standing rivalry, and where better to settle the score than in the UFC's Octagon," said Marshall Zelaznik, UFC's Managing Director of International Development. "The popularity of MMA has exploded in Australia and the UK, with gyms opening all over the respective countries. There is an athlete in one of those gyms who hasn't had the chance to show the world what he can do — The Ultimate Fighter is going give to him that opportunity. We're going to discover the UFC's future stars, you can bet on it."

TUF, American style has already produced plenty of British and Australian UFC veterans. Michael Bisping won season three and then went on to coach a host of Brits on season nine. Ausses George Sotiropoulos and Kyle Noke also made their name on TUF.

There is no word on coaches yet, but American fans can look forward to plenty of subtitles on English-speakers. Most of Team UK from season nine had that honor. By sheer history alone, my money is on Australia. Remember, they are descended from the British convicts of yore.

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Let this be a lesson to men everywhere. Always give the courtesy call, because you never know when a woman will become a famous mixed martial artist who is capable of embarrassing you and breaking your arm.

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His last two bouts ended memorably. In December, he knocked out Mark Hominick, as seen above, and in March of 2011 took out Leonard Garcia with the rarely-seen twister submission. Will he pull the great-ending hat trick on Tuesday? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

"This deal is a dream come true for me," Lawal said. "Bjorn [Rebney, Bellator CEO] and Dixie [Carter, TNA president] have given me the opportunity to engage in my two great loves, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, at the same time.  And, to have it all on Spike TV is really Buttercream icing on a big ole cake — not that whipped cream stuff either!"

He will begin appearing with TNA Impact this summer. When Bellator moves from MTV2 to Spike in 2013, Lawal will return to mixed martial arts.

It's a perfect fit for Lawal, who has world-class amateur wrestling credentials and enough showmanship to fit in well among the pro wrestling world. His fight entrances often used props and dancers, and he wore a crown and a cape to the cage. Lawal also showed off his pro wrestling chops with Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier in November of 2009.

This contract is a bright spot for what had been a turbulent 2012 for Lawal. He contracted a life-threatening staph infection after knee surgery. His victory over Lorenz Larkin was overturned by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a positive drug test, and he was suspended from MMA for nine months. After the hearing to appeal his suspension, Lawal called a commissioner a racist [expletive], and was cut from Strikeforce. Though he apologized personally to the commissioner, he was still not invited back to the Zuffa-owned promotion.

He doesn't see a scenario where he will return to Zuffa through Strikeforce or the UFC:

"I'm not going to wait for nobody. If somebody comes to me with something that is good and a great deal, I'm going to take the best deal. And right now, the Bellator deal is the best deal you can possibly get. With Bellator and Impact Wrestling, that's the best deal you can possibly get, and I took it."

How will "King Mo" do as a pro wrestler and fighter? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter.

How do you solve a problem like "Rampage?" Some Cagereaders have ideas.

There are a lot of people that make the UFC money, but once you start losing, your marketability dwindles. Add in the general consensus that Quinton doesn't care anymore and seemingly doesn't want to evolve his game; you'll see that this is not a benefit for anyone involved. Have him fight the final time on his contract and let him go. Throw him in against a mid-tier fighter on the undercard (like they did with Arlovski years ago) and move on. -- Ryan Wahl

Although I used to be a huge fan of Rampage and am less so these days, reading Quinton's words makes me consider if what he wants is the same thing I think certain other fighters want: Big fights with no title implications. I think there are a handfull of fighter who just want to hammer checks and generally not worry about rank or title. In other words fighters may be hunting for financial security for what they do and not a title shot where some of their limitations could be exposed. I say the UFC should have Quinton fight guys with great stand up, let him makes some money, put on some great stand up fights and everyone wins. Sometimes you just give the baby his bottle until he grows out of it. -- Mark Jimerson

With nearly every UFC belt on the line this summer, will any change hands?

I love this current batch of champions. I think it's good for the sport to have dominant champs. That being said, I think the one most likely to lose in his next fight is Benson Henderson, but I think that JDS has less of a gap on the field in his weight class (Mir is a mismatch.) But Ben Henderson became somewhat of a superhuman to me after his last fight when he told his corner man he could go another five rounds, and seemed perfectly able to do so. In a way, that was one of the most impressive things I've seen watching years of MMA. -- John Wilcox

Cagereaders tuned into Invicta FC's all-female card.

Shows there are a lot of different weight classes that are competitive. Not just the Strikeforce 135! Great show, lots of heart by the women warriors! -- David Feinblatt

And onto the most important point of discussion: Should Louis Gaudinot cut his hair?

God yes. Every second that a fighter has to spend getting hair out of his eyes is a second in which he is losing the fight. -- Bruce Garrison

For Henderson, the September date means he will have had nearly 10 months off between fights. His last bout was the Fight of the Year with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, which Henderson won in five bloody rounds. He opted for the long layoff for the chance to win a UFC belt. Though he won a UFC tournament early in his career and has held belts in Strikeforce and Pride, Henderson has never been a UFC champion.

This will be just the second time Jones fights in 2012, a slowdown from the torrid pace he kept in 2011. He won a chance to fight for the belt, won the belt, and then defended the title twice last year. With little time off between bouts, it's completely understandable that he wouldn't want to fight as often this year.

With this fight booking, the UFC will be putting every belt except welterweight on the line between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. However, with Dominick Cruz's injury, Urijah Faber will be competing for an interim belt.

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Cruz, the UFC bantamweight champion, was sparring when he injured the knee. The ACL tear was diagnosed on Sunday in Las Vegas following an MRI. Cruz said the swelling needs to decrease before he can proceed with the surgery.

"It was a normal day in practice," Cruz told Cagewriter. "I went for a weird trip and it folded my knee. There was a really loud pop and I was kind of in denial the rest of the night. The next day, I went in and got an MRI. I got the results on Sunday and by Monday, the news was out."

On Tuesday on Fuel TV, UFC president Dana White said that Faber would fight an opponent to be named at UFC 148 for the interim belt. Cruz will fight the winner when he's healed. Cruz said recovery time is six to nine months, which will likely mean it will be at least 14 months between fights for him. He last fought in October when he defeated Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision.

White didn't release names, but Faber did later on the show.

Dominick's been out since his last fight and has had several injuries. I think I'll be fighting Renan Barao, Ivan Menjivar or maybe Michael McDonald.

He'll carry a belt around, should he wins, and that will undoubtedly gall Cruz. There is no love lost between the two and they were paired as coaches on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter as a way to take advantage of the heat between them.

If Faber wins at UFC 148, he'll be the interim champion, but Cruz said that won't mean much.

"First of all, it's not like Faber is a lock to beat whoever they put him again," Cruz said. "If he gets it -- and that's a big if -- he won't be carrying around the championship belt. I am the champion and I have the belt. He'll have a No. 1 contender's belt.

"If he has that, big deal. You have to beat the champ to be the champion and he won't have beaten the champion. It's no guarantee he'll win no matter who he fights, but regardless of what happens, I hope he's happy running around with a No. 1 contender's belt, if he gets it."

Cruz said the only time he thinks of the injury is when he does interviews, which forces him to relieve the bad moment. But he said while it will hurt financially, he'll make it OK.

"I live humbly for this reason exactly," Cruz said. "Every fighter lives and dies by his own body. If you're a Trophy Truck driver and the truck breaks down, there is no season. As fighters, our bodies are our Trophy Trucks. This is a minor setback, but I live humbly knowing a situation like this could occur."

Here's the latest fights to be made, just for you:

-- Erik Koch and UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo put on their best Member's Only jackets and headed to the mountains to officially announce their bout at UFC 149 in Calgary.

-- After UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and pulled out of their July 7 bout, Urijah Faber will still fight at UFC 148. His opponent is still to be determined, and interim title belt will be on the line.

-- Ronda Rousey has a date for her first championship defense, kinda. She will fight Sarah Kauffman in August, but an exact date and location has not yet been announced.

-- In what is already my favorite match-up of the summer, Siyar Bahadurzada is stepping in to face Thiago Alves at UFC 149. Yoshihiro Akiyama had to pull out of the bout with Alves after an undisclosed injury.

-- Days after UFC on Fox 3, heavyweight bouts were added to UFC on Fox 4 in Los Angeles. Matt Mitrione will fight Rob Broughton and Oli Thompson will fight Phil De Fries.

Care to make predictions on any of these bouts? Go for it in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Cormier's spot in the finals is particularly surprising considering he was a replacement for Alistair Overeem, who found his way to the UFC after making it to the semifinals of the grand prix. Will his undefeated streak continue, or will Barnett walk away the champ? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

While MMA is multi-million dollar business, the sport is also big on family. Fighters bend over backwards to help each other out. Seeing that play out to help out young Danny Miller is heartwarming.

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UFC veteran Chris Lytle lost his bid to win the Republican state Senate nomination in Indiana on Tuesday. He came in second with 30 percent of the vote behind Mike Crider who had 41 percent. After the results came in, he made a concession tweet.

Almost. I finished 2nd. It was a good fight.

Lytle's last MMA bout was a win over Dan Hardy in August. He announced his retirement just before the bout, then won by a submission. His campaign started less than a month after the bout.

His campaign drew support from the MMA community, as fighters Matt Mitrione, Chael Sonnen and Patrick Cote encouraged the Lytle's district to get out and vote for him. Both fighters and fight fans liked Lytle because of his style in the cage. He earned a record of 31-18-5 and picked up $515,000 in fight night bonuses during his 12-year fight career.

Chin up, Chris. Be comforted by the fact that you can knock out anyone who didn't vote for you.

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Gaudinot told MMA Junkie Radio that he's thinking of cutting his hair, but he'll still keep it green.

"I was thinking about cutting it before the fight," Gaudinot said. "I'm kind of used to the long hair now, but I think I might have to cut it just for the next fight so it doesn't get in my face."

I can't understand why he would want to do that.

It's not like it got in his eyes.

Or made it easier for judges to tell when he got punched.

Yeah, on second thought, visiting a barbershop may not be such a bad idea, Louis.

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After years of lobbying and hoping to have an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the UFC is disappointed that they will have to fight on another year. Zuffa vice president of government and regulatory affairs Marc Ratner was unhappy that the bill didn't even come to a vote.

"I feel 150% if we had a vote on the floor of the Assembly, we would win," Ratner said. "Not to get a vote is un-American."

Earlier this year, UFC president Dana White "guaranteed" that MMA would be in New York this year. He said the UFC wanted to bring fights not just to NYC, but to Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, too.

Losing the chance to get MMA in the third largest state is particularly hard to swallow considering the UFC just brought an event to the NYC-area over the weekend. Though the UFC on Fox 3 fights and weigh-ins were in East Rutherford, N.J., other pre-fight events were in Manhattan. They showed how an event can bring money to the area, but still were spurned by the legislature.

Will MMA make it to the Empire State? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Check out the latest batch of pictures from UFC on Fox 3 by Tracy Lee. You will see the best from Nate Diaz's win over Jim Miller, Johny Hendricks' close win over Josh Koscheck and the rest of the bouts from the most entertaining card on Fox yet.

There are several reasons for this drop-off in viewers:

-- Lack of star power: The main card was not stocked with bankable stars, like in the past two events. There was no belt on the line, no outspoken promoter like Chael Sonnen, no well-known former champ like Rashad Evans. While Josh Koscheck has the reputation of being an MMA bad boy, it wasn't anywhere near what Sonnen and Davis brought to the last card. The shame is that the performances were great and had nothing to do with the names written on a fight card.

-- Mayweather/Cotto: Though the UFC did not go up directly against the marquee boxing match-up of the year, the Floyd Mayweather/Miguel Cotto bout did not help. Much of the week's pre-fight coverage was devoted to the big boxing event instead of MMA bouts, and contributed to the lack of buzz around the UFC fights.

-- No football: Something that hurt the UFC that they had no control over is that there was no football to promote the events. For the UFC's first two events on Fox, the NFL was in-season and gave considerable promotion to fights. Cain Velasquez appeared on set with the NFL on Fox crew, and ads were run throughout games. Without football and its broad audience and huge ratings, the UFC didn't have as much of a promotional push to pull in casual fans.

Did you watch Saturday's fights? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz is out of his UFC 148 bout with Urijah Faber. UFC president Dana White announced the bad news via Twitter on Monday afternoon. The exact circumstances of the injury and a timeline for recovery have not been revealed.

Cruz tweeted his disappointment.

"Im bummed people,Thanx 4 the support as i battle this,big sorry to all the fans out there!I WILL recover n I WILL b back 2put on a show!"

Cruz is currently coaching against Faber on "The Ultimate Fighter."Their July 7 bout was to be a rubber match after Faber won their 2007 bout at featherweight and Cruz took the 2011 bantamweight bout. After facing off as coaches on TUF, the bout was supposed to decide a rivalry that's been brewing for years.

Their bout was also the original main event for UFC 148 until Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva's fight was moved to Las Vegas from Brazil. Even without Cruz/Faber, UFC 148 still is poised to be one of the best cards of the year. Sonnen/Silva, Forrest Griffin's rubber match with Tito Ortiz, and Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le gives the card plenty of star power.

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But not John Dodson. The flyweight who had cut all the way down to 126 lbs. couldn't keep still in the line before weigh-ins.

Some days, you gotta dance, John. Totally understandable. Hopefully, this display will lead to an invitation on "Dancing with the Stars." Who wouldn't want to see Dodson whirl around the dance floor? He won his last four bouts. The mirror ball trophy could be his next big win.

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Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars from the weekend. Tell us yours in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

No. 1 star -- Nate Diaz: The younger Diaz brother stepped out of his brother Nick's shadow with a perfect performance ending in the first submission loss of Jim Miller's career, then made the classy move of supporting Miller's nephew's cause. His performance earned him a title shot and a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus, and his nice gesture won him new fans.

No. 2 star -- Alan Belcher: Not only did Belcher TKO Rousimar Palhares, but he did it like a BAWSE. He jumped into the lion's mouth, daring Palhares to slap one of his trademark heel hooks on before transitioning out and using ground and pound to win. Unlike Diaz and Johny Hendricks, Belcher was not promised a title shot for his performance, but he showed he's ready for the elite of the middleweights.

No. 3 star -- Lavar Johnson: Putting Johnson's bout with Pat Barry first on the Fox card was smart, because it would have been shocking if these two didn't deliver with a knockout in the first round. Though Johnson pulled it off with just 22 seconds left in the round, he did put Barry out with a devastating barrage of strikes.

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In his first fight since beating Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator lightweight title, Chandler needed just 0:56 to TKO Akihiro Gono. After the bout, Gono said he was retiring from his 18-year MMA career that included bouts in Pride, the UFC, Sengoku and Bellator.

In other Bellator action, Bryan Baker earned a trip to the welterweight tourney final with a decision over Ben Saunders. Heavyweight Damian Grabowski decisioned Dave Huckaba in a bout that registered as less-than-exciting, and Ryan Ford TKOed Luis Santos in the second round.

On "The Ultimate Fighter," Urijah Faber won the most important event: the Coaches Challenge. He beat Dominick Cruz in an obstacle course that involved the use of a grenade launcher. Afterwards, Andy Ogle beat Mike Rio with a rear naked choke to give Team Faber five fighters in the quarterfinals. Next week, James Vick will face Joe Proctor and Justin Lawrence will take on Michael Chiesa in the first quarterfinal bouts.

At Super Fight League, (go ahead and sing the song) James Thompson beat Bobby Lashley in a unanimous decision. Zelg Galesic scored the weekend's memorable moment with a flying knee knockout of Doug Marshall.

What was your favorite bout of the weekend? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

]]> Mon, 07 May 2012 06:46:44 PDT Maggie Hendricks mma Cagewriter urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,2cb1649e-8ea0-380e-b23a-3fcf529a5f19-l:1 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/nate-diaz-next-title-shot-ufc-fox-3-040837249.html

Nate Diaz's next opponent is set. After his dominating win over Jim Miller on Saturday night, MMA Junkie reports that Diaz will get the next shot at the UFC lightweight belt.

Though previous reports had Diaz possibly facing off with Anthony Pettis for a title eliminator, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Diaz will get the next title shot after champion Benson Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar rematch this summer.

In his last three fights, Diaz has a second-round submission over Miller, a decision over Donald Cerrone and a first-round submission win over Takanori Gomi. With an overall record of 16-7, five of his losses have come in the UFC but he has never been stopped in the Octagon. Diaz was last submitted by Hermes Franca at a WEC bout in October of 2006.

Does Diaz deserve the next title shot in the packed UFC lightweight division? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Diaz was referring to Miller's walkout shirt and his nephew. Miller's infant nephew Danny has polycystic kidney disease, and $10 of every walkout shirt sold will be donated to the Danny Miller Foundation to help him and other children with kidney disease. Several UFC fighters have donated memorabilia to auction off to get Danny closer to a kidney transplant, but the family still needs help.

Diaz knew that, and pushed his opponent's cause on national, network television. Diaz's last time on national television involved a post-fight melee that was an embarrassment to MMA. This time, he not only showed off his dominance as a fighter, but also his kindness as a man.

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Nate Diaz became the first fighter to stop Jim Miller at UFC on Fox 3 in New Jersey Saturday with a guillotine choke in the second round of the main event.

After a tight first round, Diaz started to taunt Miller in the second round. When Miller tried for the takedown, Diaz rolled into a one-arm guillotine choke so tight that Miller's tongue was stuck out. He was forced to tap at 4:09 in the second.

After the bout, Diaz said he had a hard time with the bout because he respected Miller.

"I'm happy to come out to New Jersey and come out and perform. It was hard to be motivated to train because he's a good guy."

With the win, Diaz is expected to face Anthony Pettis in a title-eliminator bout.

Surprisingly, the two Division I national champions stuck to striking for most of the first round. Josh Koscheck got the better of exchanges and avoided Johny Hendricks' takedowns. Hendricks did a better job in the second, using lefts to beat up Koscheck's face and knees to weaken his legs.

Koscheck got the first takedown of the fight in the round, and used top position to control the fight until the end but it was Hendricks who came out with a 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 split-decision win.

For Hendricks, the win is his fourth in a row and the key to a welterweight title shot. UFC president Dana White hinted earlier this week that with a win, Hendricks could be next in line, after interim champ Carlos Condit challenges George St-Pierre.

Most fighters cannot escape the Rousimar Palhares leg lock, but Alan Belcher did and that was the key to his win. Belcher attempted a leg lock of his own before Palhares put on the kneebar that has broken many a fighter before him. When he escaped, he put down ground and pound that stopped Palhares at 4:18 in the first round.

Pat Barry tried to use a ground game against Johnson early on, but he couldn't keep Lavar Johnson down. With less than a minute to go in the first round, Johnson wobbled Barry with a head kick, then hemmed him in against the fence, landing a barrage of punches. Barry didn't move and just absorbed Johnson's strikes until he fell to the ground with 21 seconds left in the first round.

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Before we talk about the fights, let's take a second to listen to some Beastie Boys. Adam "MCA" Yauch died today after a battle with cancer, but left a legacy of great music. Enjoy one of my favorites above.

And yes, we have plenty of fights to talk about. Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chander is fighting for the first time since his memorable win over Eddie Alvarez. He will take on Akihiro Gono in a non-title bout. Bryan Baker will fight Ben Saunders in a welterweight tournament semifinal.

On "The Ultimate Fighter," the opening round will finish out with Team Faber's Andy Ogle taking on Team Cruz's Mike Rio.

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Jim Miller made weight in front of his home crowd at the Izod Center in Newark, just a half hour from where he trains. His opponent, Nate Diaz, also made weight to make their five-round fight on Saturday official.

The rest of the weigh-ins were uneventful. Danny Castillo sported the best outfit, coming to the stage in what appeared to be a suit and tie, but tore off like track pants. John Dodson's socks were the best accessory. John Lineker came in a pound heavy for his flyweight bout with Louis Gaudinot, and will hand over $1,200 to Gaudinot.

Complete weigh-in results from our friends at MMA Junkie:

MAIN CARD (FOX)
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)
Johny Hendricks (170.5) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186)
Pat Barry (244) vs. Lavar Johnson (253)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
Tony Ferguson (154.5) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
John Dodson (126) vs. Tim Elliott (125)
John Hathaway (169) vs. Pascal Krauss (169)
Louis Gaudinot (126) vs. John Lineker (127)
Danny Castillo (155) vs. John Cholish (155.5)
Dennis Bermudez (145.5) vs. Pablo Garza (145)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Roland Delorme (135) vs. Nick Denis (135)
Mike Massenzio (184) vs. Karlos Vemola (185)

Cagewriter asks, can this relationship be saved?

Jackson says:

"After I leave the UFC, I'm done with them! ... The UFC's just throwing me all these boring fighters, these game planners, these wrestlers. I'm the type of fighter who you should match up with people who want to fight excitingly. You know what I'm saying? Cuz I'm gonna be the type of fighter who puts butts in seats."

UFC president Dana White says:

"I'll have a conversation with 'Rampage' and think we're cool, and then I'll read other stuff," he said. "We've been good to everybody we've ever dealt with. We've never screwed anybody over, including 'Rampage.' And you want to talk about a guy that we went to bat for — we've gone to bat for him many times. I feel like [expletive] (Derek) Jeter when it comes to 'Rampage.' If he's unhappy with us, doesn't like us and doesn't want to be with us anymore, then the feeling is mutual."

Cagewriter responds, NO. This relationship cannot be saved. Jackson is miserable and will not be quiet until he is free from the UFC, so UFC? Let him go. Give him a quick fight to finish out his contract, or just cut him. White says both sides don't want to work with each other any more. Why prolong the agony?

Not all (business) relationships are built to last. Tear this one down.

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