That said, he is a legit prospect when it comes to the 170 pound division. He's trying to work his way back into the good graces of one of the big organizations like Strikeforce, Affliction or the UFC. He's 3-0 since being released by the UFC after his loss to Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Aside from a little run-in at Krave nightclub, he's controlled himself in Las Vegas and is working hard at Xtreme Couture. His patience was put to the test earlier this week when he was asked to work with high level pros Martin Kampmann and Vitor Belfort. Koppenhaver got in with Belfort, who probably outweighs him by 25 pounds, at the very end of practice and was manhandled a bit:

"It's crazy I used to watch Vitor when I was a little kid, like that was god to me," Koppenhaver told Cagewriter. "To be honest with you, it's kind of intimidating. He's a freak. I think the old Vitor is back in effect."

Koppenhaver said Belfort's combination of knowledge and technique along with off-the-charts athleticism is impressive:

"He's a black belt, he has great boxing. He's knows everything plus the explosiveness, so when he explodes into those same moves as someone else who doesn't have speed, he gets results."

Koppenhaver says if Belfort ever gets a fight with Anderson Silva, he has a great chance if he gets him on the ground. Now Koppenhaver is having to play role of a mercenary. He was supposed to fight on June 20, but the card got canceled, so now he's taking a fight on less than two weeks notice in Mexico City on July 11.

War Machine also updated Cagewriter on how his efforts to "terrorize" chicks in Las Vegas is going. He gave some interesting advice on what helps him attract women (4:22 mark).

Our Cagewriter chatter, Jon Fitch, lets his fighting speak for itself. (Sports Illustrated)

What is the likelihood that Tito Ortiz will be relevant to MMA again? (Bloody Elbow)

Good news for women who are comfortable walking on small runways while wearing a bikini: the UFC is looking for another Octagon Girl. (MMA Mania)

Dana White assures that you do not want his job. (Cagewriter)

Frank Fertitta's sweet new digs. (Fightlinker)

Vitor Belfort's will-he-or-won't-he-come-to-the-UFC saga continues. (Cagewriter)

Pittsburgh's first MMA event was good, but also may have infringed on the UFC's trademarks. (MMA Junkie)

One of the UFC's pioneers, the awesomely-mustached Don Frye, is in the Johnny Depp film, "Public Enemies." (Cage Potato)  

Between their new magazine and reports that they are shutting out more sponsors, the UFC is pushing it. (Fight Opinion)

Chuck Liddell's future will be determined soon. (Cagewriter)

Demian Maia wants Anderson Silva. (Fighters Only)

Who should be considered fighter of the year, boxing's Manny Pacquaio or MMA's Lyoto Machida? Neither. Miguel Torres. (Telegraph)

Georges St. Pierre's Gatorade ad, now in the good ol' U. S. of A. (ESPN)

Ultimate Chaos was one big waste of cash. (Cagewriter)

What do Indiana and Hawaii have in common? They both started regulating MMA this week. That, and, well, that's about it. (Cage Potato)

Michael Bisping is headed into UFC 100 with a chip on his shoulder. (Yahoo! Sports) 

Mike Whitehead and Wanderlei Silva both celebrated birthdays this week. (Combat Lifestyle)

Thanks for reading Cagewriter this week, and stick with us next week for an absolutely insane week leading up to UFC 100. Have a great Fourth, and try not to blow yourselves up. 

The more we talk to Frank Mir, this Brock Lesnar guy is really limited. Mir does make some good points about how green Lesnar is but we also have to consider that the skills the former pro wrestler does have - power and wrestling - are rough to overcome, unless your name is Frank Mir, who did beat Lesnar in his debut back at UFC 85. At least that's what the UFC's interim heavyweight champ is thinking.

Mir told Cagewriter that he's worked himself into a well-rounded fighter over the years. Meanwhile, Lesnar is like most heavyweights, too insecure to really work on his weaknesses especially in the striking game (4:00 mark):

"They fall back on their natural attributes physically. I guarantee Brock's fallen into the same habits. His fighting style is an extension of his strength and power. I understand there's a mindset in fighting for what your tools are, but at the same time that kind of puts you in a pigeon hole."

It's all part of the mental weakness that exist with most heavyweights (1:45 mark):

"They stay within their comfort zone. If a guy wrestled in college, typically you'll watch his training sessions, and it'll look like a college wrestling practice. So they're not looking to use their striking to win fights. It's a real quick 1-2, just to get me by. Striking is a phenomenal way to win fights. I'm light years ahead of most guys in the heavyweight division."

The discussion revolved around former elite heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. Mir said Arlovski makes too many simple mistakes and Sylvia has always had awful footwork.   

After Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, James Irvin and Chuck Liddell all pulled out of the main event at UFC 85, Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves stepped in for the main event.

Alves, a fearsome striker from the American Top Team camp in Florida, came into the match on a five-fight win streak, with his competition getting tougher each time out. The 15,327 fans on hand witnessed Alves’ star turn. Alves physically overwhelmed the former champ, nearly finishing him in the first round. While Hughes survived the onslaught, Alves took care of business in the second, hitting a brutal knee followed by a series of ground strikes.

Forrest Griffin wrested the light heavyweight belt away from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in a hotly contested decision at UFC 86.

Griffin took the decision on scores of 48-46, 48-46 and 49-46. Two of three Yahoo! Sports reporters scored it a draw while one had it for Griffin. What made it an exciting fight, including fight of the year in the Wrestling Observer, is that it did appear Griffin was winning the decision, but the entire time, the fight was in jeopardy because Jackson was always in danger of knocking Griffin out, as Griffin even admitted Jackson hurt him with every punch that connected.

Brock Lesnar won over Heath Herring at UFC 87, earning him a shot at Randy Couture and the title.

Herring had developed a reputation in PRIDE as a fighter who was as tough as they came and who was willing to take on anyone. Lesnar was irritated by Herring’s talk and set out early to do something about it. Seconds into the fight, he landed a massive right hand that sent literally sent Herring somersaulting backward. Lesnar spent the remainder of the fight brutally pounding on Herring. When it was over, and Lesnar had won a unanimous decision, Herring’s face looked like a raw steak.

Another title shot was earned at UFC 88, when Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell.

The first round was uneventful, with Liddell looking for the knockout punch and Evans throwing low kicks. Evans connected with a punch that cut Liddell under the right eye, and his hand speed was frustrating the former champion. Still, Liddell won the round on all three judges cards based on being more aggressive. The second round had a few good exchanges, and both men went for a home run punch at about the same time. Evans landed first, squarely on the jaw, with a shot that would have knocked out most farm animals, vaulting himself to the top contender spot.

The UFC traveled to England for UFC 89, a showcase for British fighters Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy.

Bisping had been the face of British mixed martial arts since appearing on Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but on this show, he received some help. Dan Hardy of Nottingham, England, made his UFC debut on the card and received a huge prefight push. His bout, against Akihiro Gono, was almost as well-received by the crowd as the Bisping-Leben fight. The colorful Hardy took a split decision from Gono, while Bisping outslugged Leben and won a unanimous decision.

At UFC 90, the UFC's first foray to Chicago, Anderson Silva won a puzzling fight over Patrick Cote.

But something went awry in the UFC’s plans to push Silva as the fight world’s next knockout monster. From the outset, the champion rarely seemed to be himself. Two rounds passed with little in the way of action. Silva seemed to be clowning his opponent, making exaggerated bowing gestures and at one point offering his hand to Cote after Cote hit the mat. The only real blow struck in the first 10 minutes was a huge Silva knee to the face that rocked Cote, but Silva didn’t go in for the kill. Perhaps Silva was attempting to give the crowd a show before finishing Cote off. But he never got the chance. Early in the third round, Cote went to throw a punch and tore his right ACL. He went down in a heap and lost the fight, technically via TKO, without so much as getting hit. Silva tied the UFC record for consecutive wins with the victory, but the crowd hardly left in a celebratory mood.

Lesnar's short march to a title culminated in his win over Randy Couture at UFC 91.

They fought a closely contested opening round, but Lesnar’s punching power, not his wrestling prowess, was the difference in the outcome. Lesnar blasted Couture with a right hand in the second round, decking the champion. The massive Lesnar pounced and finished him with strikes on the ground to win the belt in only his fourth mixed martial arts bout and third UFC appearance.

Now, we want to hear from you. Which was your favorite event? Vote in the poll and tell us in the comments. Next week, we'll have the final poll to decide the best event of the first 99.

Join Cagewriter this Friday for a chat with UFC middleweight Jon Fitch, who will take on Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 on July 11. Ask Jon how he liked wearing Akihiro Gono's wig, why he broke Mike Swick's (doll's) arm, or anything else that comes to mind. 

Affliction boss Tom Atencio, Kid Nate over at Bloody Elbow and Fedor Emelianenko fans, say no way (I happen to agree -- Fedor has been my No. 1 pound-for-pound since joining Yahoo! in June of 2008). It's still a great fight but 30-1 Fedor is looming in the background.

Bloody Elbow says there's a rumor that Atencio would like to hand out Affliction t-shirts to those sitting ringside so they can chant "Fedor-Fedor" and a website Fedorchant.com is pushing the story as well.

So Bisping finishes 0-4-2. Maybe we should take all four Hendo picks with a grain of salt since Patrick Cote said he wants a Bisping fight next while Gray Maynard, Jon Fitch and Sean Sherk, all wrestlers, mentioned that their heart lies with the American wrestler.

Tip via Cagepotato

"I'm just focused on fighting for Affliction," Belfort told Cagewriter. "We're waiting to see what comes next. I don't handle that. I'm really focused on training. I did that before and it messed up my career. Affliction has been very good to me."

Belfort is flattered that UFC president Dana White has expressed interest:

"I was very happy. We have a history in the UFC too. For sure UFC, has Anderson Silva. Makes me happy to see Dana White pumping my name up."

White spilled the beans in a national television spot during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale that he wanted to set up a Silva-Belfort fight. He then told The Cofield & Cokin Show on ESPNRadio1100 that he had no interest in Belfort. White started talking about Belfort "a middleweight signing that will blow your minds" a few months ago. On Wednesday, Belfort turned down the chance to speak about a potential Silva fight or joining the UFC:

The former UFC light heavyweight champ did respond to claims by Gegard Mousasi that Belfort was afraid to fight him:

"Everybody has their goals and my goal is to fight at 185 right now. That's not the plan. If he dropped the weight, I'll fight him. If he wants to go up, that's his choice."

Affliction tried to set up a Mousasi-Belfort fight but both fighters refused to move away from their current weight division. Belfort said he thinks he's got a tougher fight against Jorge Santiago. Santiago has more seasoning and is well-rounded. Belfort said Mousasi is a little lucky to be in this position. Mousasi flew up the charts in the middleweight division after knocking off Dong Sik Yoon, Denis Kang, Melvin Mahoef and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to win the 2008 DREAM middleweight grand prix. He just recorded an MMA win over heavyweight Mark Hunt.  

Zach Conley is just beginning to try his hand at mixed martial arts. The former Idaho State linebacker works out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. With top notch instructors like Shawn Tompkins running the place, it's a great opportunity. But there is a downside. You may have to roll with someone that's a bit out of your league. Conley is just 1-0 as an amateur but in a 20 minute span he found himself being dumped on his head by 2008 Olympic Judo Gold medalist Satoshi Ishii (pictured with Conley) and grappling with former UFC light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort.

After rolling with Ishii, Conley, trying to cover up that he'd just been smoked, said "man, that guy's pretty good at Judo." Gym veterans laughed as they told him
"that guy" just won the gold medal.

"I had no idea, it was a rude awakening," Conley told Cagewriter. "That guy's got crazy judo, I got my ass tossed all over the place. I was a state champ wrestler (in Idaho) and he tossed me like I was my little sister."

Minutes later Conley found himself in the Xtreme Couture boxing ring with Belfort.

"It was pretty intense. It was fun. That's how you get better. My heart was pumping. He was one of the original guys of UFC."

Belfort is prepping for his Affliction: Trilogy fight against Jorge Santiago on Aug. 1. "The Phenom" has been training in Las Vegas for a week. Ishii just happened to saunter into the gym on Tuesday.

He speaks little English but is getting along just fine. K-1 veteran Ray Sefo often serves as a translator. Believe it or not, the only guy at the gym late on Wednesday who could communicate with Ishii, was the very eloquent "New York Bad Ass", Phil Baroni.

Ishii was a much sought after free agent. The UFC pursued him heavily. The organization sent out photos of Ishii meeting Randy Couture and Dana White and even posted a story on UFC.com about the negotiations. In the end, the lure to stay loyal to Japan won out and he signed with Sengoku. He's expected to make his MMA debut in the fall.

Twitter is a pretty cool application, if used properly. Athletes have especially jumped on the Twitter train because it gives them a chance to connect with fans without a huge risk. Fighters like Urijah Faber, Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Frank Trigg have done a good job with Twitter, giving fans a fun glimpse into their lives outside of fighting.

However, as UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin found out, it can get you in trouble, too. He confirmed, via Twitter, that he would be fighting Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 in October. Trouble is that the bout agreements had not been signed, and Carwin let the cat out of the bag a bit early. He twittered again, softening his earlier statement, but at that point, "Velasquez vs. Carwin," the fight most fans want to see, had already found its way all over the internet.

WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner found himself in similar trouble last week, when he twittered the problems with his hand before he shared it with his managers and the WEC. All was worked out, with Varner getting the time to let his hand heal, and the WEC moving forward with an interim belt bout between Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson in September. With these two incidents,  Varner and Carwin both found out the power that the scant 140 characters used on Twitter can have.

For good or bad, Twitter is here and is a favorite of athletes. But much like MySpace, Facebook and message forums before it, Twitter has enormous power to share the unfiltered thoughts of athletes. Tweets spread like wildfire, and fighters need to keep that in mind when sharing their thoughts via the addictive Web site.  

Antoni Hardonk, a heavyweight who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, had just finished a training session last month in Los Angeles near Los Angeles International Airport.

He was talking with his attorney, Nima Safapour, when three young men approached him. They asked if he had money so they could buy cigarettes.

"My feeling is I want to help someone if I can, so I pulled out my wallet," Hardonk said.

But he had no change or small bills, so he told the men, whom he estimated to be between 18 and 20 years old, that he couldn't help them.

That's when one of them pulled out a homemade knife, which he said had about a two-inch blade, and demanded his wallet. Hardonk, who is 6 feet 4 and around 250 pounds, was surprised.

But not only is he a professional figher, he was a security guard and a bouncer in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He didn't frighten or lose his composure.

"I said, 'What? Are you crazy? I'm not giving you my wallet,' " Hardonk said.

At that stage, one of the other men said, "He's serious. We'll hurt you if you don't."

Hardonk continued to remain calm and told the men if they wanted his wallet, they'd have to come and get it. The men had second thoughts and left. At that point, Safapour suggested it would be wise if he were to drive Hardonk home instead of allowing him to walk by himself.

Only a very short distance away, Safapour eyed the same three men surrounding a woman. Safapour decided to call the police, because he knew the men were up to no good and the likelihood of something bad happening was increasing. The woman was saved when the men turned their attention on a man who was walking by himself. They went to him and more aggressively demanded his wallet, eventually wrestling with him and taking it.

Hardonk was watching from the car, about 80 to 100 feet away, when he saw them harassing the man. He jumped out of the car and began to run over to try to help the man, whom he did not know.

He wanted to make sure, though, that the man was being robbed and was shouting, "Is that your wallet?" as he was running toward the incident in progress.

Hardonk knocked over two of the men, but the third, who had the victim's wallet, took off running. Hardonk followed. The man who had the wallet dropped it and the trio managed to jump over a fence and into a thicket of trees and get away.

As Hardonk thought about the incident later, he realized it might have been best just to cooperate.

"In a similar situation in the future, it would probably be better just to give them the money and be done with that," he said. "Obviously, I had much better (fighting) skills, but is it worth the risk? They could have had a gun, other knives, who knows?

"But I'm stubborn. And I fight to earn my money and that's a hard way to make a living. And I'm not just going to give it away to guys like that."

Though he knew he took a large risk by chasing the suspects down after they had taken the other man's wallet, he said he has no regrets about that.

Too many people would do nothing for fear of not wanting to be involved. Hardonk's attitude is dramatically different.

"I believe if you can do something to help someone else, you should," Hardonk said. "We're all here and we should all try to help each other if we can. It's the right thing to do. I just did what I thought was right."

Los Angeles police told Hardonk and Safapour that there were three similar incidents on the same block in the same week. No arrests have been made.

"Really young guys, and I think they were probably on drugs or something," Hardonk said. "It's too bad. But I didn't think it was right just to stand by and do nothing."

Do you think Donald Sterling or Jerry Reinsdorf are in tune with bloggers and fans on the internet? Probably not. Although there's a good chance Sterling is a player over on Craig's List adult services section.

You can't kill the older owners in sports. They're from a different generation. That said, not using email, texting, Twitter or Facebook and never gauging the blogosphere puts the old dudes a step behind. It's exactly why NBA commissioner David Stern should embrace Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban instead constantly busting his chops. It's funny that Sterling has admitted in court to being a huge fan of elicit activities with escorts and is battling several racial discrimination lawsuits, yet Cuban is the one constantly depositing bucks in the NBA's Bank of Ridiculous Fines. The point is that Cuban is using all of the cool tools on the Internet to stay in touch and tune with fans.

When Fanhouse's Ariel Helwani ripped a misguided HDNet ad campaign, one of the first guys leaving a comment was Cuban:

The point of the campaign is that if you are already an MMA fan and you know who Josh Barnett or Fedor are, then HDNet is the place to go. We aren't trying to create MMA fans, we are trying to let them know where to watch the sport. And it has worked. Verizon, Direct, Dish have seen great results from it.

And of course there are so many visitors to NY, that there is carry over to other parts of the country as well. Which makes us very, very happy. Wait till you see the ads for NY Confessions.

Helwani argued:

This has to be one of the most bizarre ad campaigns I have ever seen. First, let's be real: most New Yorkers probably don't know the answer to this question. I think that's the point they are trying to make here. Maybe. If so, why ask such a question if you aren't going to provide the answer?

He also brings up the point that Time-Warner Cable recently dumped HDNet:

I guess the thought process was that people would be so intrigued by this face that they will feel compelled to subscribe to HDNet. Only problem is HDNet was recently taken off Time Warner Cable, one of the main cable outlets in New York City. So even if they wanted to find out, they would have a hard time doing so.

Back to Cuban. An MMA show on HDNet doesn't want to help develop new MMA fans? Maybe this is simply a big push for New Yorkers to dump cable and switch to satellite. Of course, that's virtually impossible in a city so cramped and the fact that a dish has to be pointed in a certain direction to receive a good signal. Nice try by Cuban. But he's wrong. As the king of misleading and confusing headlines, I can tell him the straight approach works a lot better.

"I looked at the commission, and I said, ‘Am I OK?’ And they said, ‘Oh, yeah. You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.’”

His opponent Javier Vasquez tells a different story:

“Someone from the show came up to me and goes, ‘Hey, he’s a half-of-a-pound over; do you want him to cut?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want him to cut.’ That’s as far as I went.”

Thomas began to rehydrate and Vasquez says he wasn't checking on him. The result? No fight because one guy was 0.6 pounds over.

That pales in comparison to the sloppy, borderline dangerous stoppage of the Pedro Rizzo-Gilbert Yvel fight. Yvel knocked down Rizzo and was allowed to get in 2-3 extra shots (0:14 mark) that had Rizzo's head smashing repeatedly into the mat.

As much as MMA wants to be legal in all 50 states, the biggest promotions better make sure these states have their ducks in a row. Alabama had similar issues before the Tim Sylvia-Ray Mercer. After months of being on the schedule, a rules conflict arose the week for the fight and nearly cancelled the fight. It was changed from a boxing to MMA match two days before the fight card. That's the picture of disorganization. All these incidents may seem minor at the time but it could lead to something awful setting the sport back years.

Tip via Fightlinker

WEC is growing by leaps and bounds. All one needs to do is look at WEC 41 in Sacramento where the event pulled in 13,027 fans and around an $815,415 gate. Two of the biggest stars with organization, seeing that growth, are starting to grumble about their pay.

Last week with Cagewriter, WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres, 28, made mention of his salary and said he may only have a shelf life 3-4 years if the money doesn't improve. Torres also joked at the WEC 41 fan Q & A that he would only wage a superfight against Urijah Faber if "they made it worth his while."

Faber has been just as vocal. He's in a tough position. WEC helped Faber get out there on a big level. On the flip side, Faber has been a willing front man for the promotion over the last two years. But now with only one fight left on his contract, he's lost 2-of-3 fights and is coming off a broken hand. Faber wants to make sure he's taken of and sounds bothered by his pay versus what he sees the UFC's elite stars pulling in (3:40 mark):

"I definitely don't think it's a fair scale," Faber told RawVegas' Dave Farra. "They say that WEC is a different company than UFC."

Zuffa, headed up Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta along with Dana White, owns both fight organizations. When he's been told by Lorenzo Fertitta and White that WEC and UFC are different, Faber joked, "well then can you talk to the owners and see if you can pull some strings?"

Faber's only real option is in Japan unless Affliction and Strikeforce show more interest in promoting 145 pound fights in the U.S. He's hoping it doesn't come to that:

"Things will be fine as long as they're looking at me as an investment and not an expense. I've done my part, countless interviews and gone above and beyond with the PR."

Faber has been dynamite over the years with the media and fans. He's one of the top 15 fighters in the world so let's hope he sticks around after his next fight in WEC.

Brock Lesnar will soon face his biggest fight yet in the Octagon, a chance to defend his title at UFC 100. Who is he looking for here? Take a shot at a caption in the comments, and read on for winners of the last create-a-caption.

First place: I told you!!!!! I'm not afraid of machida -- nigron

Second place: I'm only gonna say this once, stay away from the hot-wheels 4x4's. Even if it does have our likeness painted on the side. -- mbungle

Third place: "I'm buzzed. I think you better drive."  -- K-J-MMA-Armchair

Tickets: You have two options, going to the fights at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, or going to the closed-circuit viewing party, also at Mandalay Bay. For me, if you're going to Vegas for the fights, you should go to the fights. If you do want to go to the viewing party, it will cost you just under $90 per person. 

Getting into the sold-out fights will cost you quite a bit more. Tickets start at $497, and can cost you as much as ... wait for it ... are you sitting down ... $40,000 per ticket. That's right, you can either buy yourself a new Honda, or you can have a cageside ticket for UFC 100. There is plenty of in-between ground there, like seats in the lower bowl for around $1000. A grand per ticket is hardly cheap, but it's still a seat in the fights that will not give you a nosebleed.

Hotel: The bad economy has affected tourism in Las Vegas, which means you can stay there for relatively cheap rates. Hotels.com has rooms for as cheap as $25 a night, you can stay on the strip at the Tropicana for $80 a night, or in the Luxor, which is attached to Mandalay Bay, for $140. Actually staying at Mandalay Bay will cost you quite a bit more, as in $286 a night. (Note, if you book with Hotels.com, they charge your credit card ahead of time, so don't book until you know you're going.)

Fan Expo: To be held in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, this event seems as if it will be a UFC fan's dream come true. The following fighters will be on hand:UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, UFC Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Randy “The Natural” Couture,  and former world champions Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, “Suga” Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. UFC contenders Kenny Florian, Steve Cantwell, Shane Carwin, Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis, Tyson Griffin, Clay Guida, Dustin Hazelett, Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann, Josh Koscheck, Joe Lauzon, Junie Browning, Nate Marquardt, Gray Maynard, Karo Parisyan, Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Mike Swick will also be meeting fans, along with The Ultimate Fighter winners Nate Diaz and Efrain Escudero.

Phew. A two-day pass is $50, and training sessions with fighters and coaches cost an additional amount. The expo is a gargantuan event on its own, and I won't be able to do it justice within this post, so check out more about it here. 

Getting there: This close to the event, airfares are getting pretty high. According to Orbitz, from my own hometown of Chicago, it would cost between $500 -- $600, between $550 -- $700 from Boston, $450 -- $600 from Dallas, and $170 -- $350 from Los Angeles. You can also save quite a bit on your flight if you combine it with your hotel on a Web site like Travelocity or Orbitz.

Extras: The Sin City is an adult's playland, and everything from food and drink to live shows to gambling, nightclubs and strip clubs can cost you quite a bit. If you're male, not a UFC fighter or celebrity, and expect to go to a hot club like XS, Tryst or Body English, plan on ponying up for bottle service. But if you don't need to be in a jampacked club, or the newest restaurant in town, you can save money. Though dancing at XS was a blast, I also had a great time in Caramel in the Bellagio, and had a great meal at Oyster Bay in the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood.

So, it's still possible for you to do Vegas for UFC 100, and do it well, but it will be difficult to do it cheaply. If you do go, come back here and let us know about your weekend. Well, what you can tell us, since what happens in Vegas ... 

After this fight, Sims and Mir's careers took a very different path. Mir went onto win the UFC heavyweight championship in his very next fight, snapping Tim Sylvia's arm in the process. He then was in a motorcycle accident that kept him from fighting for nearly two years, and when he returned, lost to Brandon Vera and Marcio Cruz. Things were looking grim for Mir until he put together a string of three wins over Antoni Hardonk, Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir has found success not just in fighting, but as an announcer for World Extreme Cagefighting.

Sims, too, has faced adversity. He fought Mike Kyle at UFC 47, and was knocked out in the first round. In total, he is 16-9 since fighting Mir, losing to some of the very same fighters that Mir beat, like Hardonk and Sylvia.

Now, the two are again at a turning point in their career. Mir, currently the UFC interim heavyweight champion, is fighting in the main event at the UFC's biggest event to date, UFC 100. Sims, on the other hand, is on the outside looking in, clawing his way back to the Octagon as a cast member of "The Ultimate Fighter," season 10. Now living in the TUF house, Sims must look at Mir and wonder, "How did I get here?"

"When I go over there I want to be a top, top level guy," Lashley told ProMMARadio. "I want talks of me fighting the champ when I get over there. I want them to say this guy's really good."

But Lashley is 32 years old and faces a bit of a time crunch:

"I see the GSPs, the Anderson Silvas, Lyoto Machida ... wow these guys are incredible. These guys are 15-20 matches into it. because they had the opportunity before."

Lashley points to someone like Nate Marquardt,who he wrestled with Marquardt years ago. Lashley said Marquardt's improvement over several years is clear. Lashley is hoping for another fight in August or September and would like to face someone who is a standup fighter, willing to bang it out.

Lashley shows a growing knowledge of the sport when he speaks early in the interview about where to position himself on top of Sapp. He chose not to go to side control or mount Sapp because he felt working out of half guard was a less risky way of controlling the 322-pound giant. 

Lashley also addresses The Ultimate Fighter 10 rumors (6:25 mark). He was asked about Kimbo Slice and said it's a pretty risky move. When asked about how he would do against Kimbo, Lashley said he crush him anyway he wanted in the first round via TKO.

Pepe turned to Lashley's pro wrestling career later in the interview. It sounds like Lashley is a virtual lock to sign with TNA wrestling. He mentioned that he'll only have to put in four days a month for TNA and make enough money to bankroll his developing MMA career. Listen here for the entire interview.

The Georges St. Pierre-Thiago Alves fight is a bit overshadowed right now by Brock Lesnar-Frank Mir in the lead up to UFC 100. It was bound to happen. The trash talk between the two Americans is hard to compete with and there's a lure about 250-260 beasts going at it. But the GSP-Alves UFC welterweight title fight will probably turn out to be a better, more technical fight. Fox Fight Game's Mike Straka does a great job, in videos with both GSP trainers Greg Jackson and Firas Zahabi, of getting the juices flowing with some strategy breakdown.

Casual and non-MMA fights should watch these conversations to get a little more knowledge of how technical the sport can be. Jackson is the master of the gameplan but he says that you can't enter the Octagon with an inflexible blue print (2:16 mark):

"We have a structure. These are things you want to do, these are the things you don't want to do. Within that structure the artist has to work."

Artist? Isn't this human cockfighting? Artists don't barroom brawl.

Jackson used the B.J. Penn fight at UFC 94 as an example where the gameplan was to fire away at what the Hawaiian thought was his advantage, his kickboxing. Jackson said when Penn realized he couldn't win the fight with any style, he mentally broke.

Jackson calls it finding and attacking the opponent's safety zone. What does Alves fall back on when things are starting to crack? Jackson turned down the chance to pinpoint Alves' safety zone, but he did say GSP and company think that Alves' left hook and left knee are the biggest things to stay away from. Those are his fight changers.

Zahabi, who anchors the training in Montreal at Tristar Gym, is not one who lacks for confidence. He talked a lot of trash before the Penn fight during the UFC 94 Countdown mini-series. In the second video, it sounds like Zahabi is questioning the acumen of the opposing gameplanners, American Top Team.

He says Alves only presents one challenge and that's on the feet with his kickboxing. GSP comes at you with several attacks (1:30 mark):

"That's our strength that we do everything. I always tell George, the day a guy can predict what we're going to do is the day we're going to lose. He's gotta be like that ball on the roulette table, no one knows where it's going to land."

Alves may be the most powerfully built 170-pounder in the world, so St. Pierre is going to let the Brazilian use his bulk against himself (2:40 mark):

"There are ways to fight strong, explosive guys. If we take him down, we're going to allow gravity to do the work. We're not going to go force to force. We're going to allow our body weight to drain Thiago's energy. Any good jiu-jitsu guy is not going to use force to force. We're going to be laying on him, forcing him to use lots of energy to get up. Once he realizes he can't get up it's going to break his will."

Zahabi says Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes never saw the Alves' kick and knee game coming and that they didn't train against enough muay thai specialists.

UFC 100 may change that with so much money on hand in two weeks. If people are willing to pay $400-$500 for the worst seats at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, it's likely those same people will want to pluck down a few bucks on the fights.

But they're also the same people who make it easier for the astute sports bettor to make a few bucks. It's similar to what happens in the major sports. Every sport has its public teams. Those are the squads that public will pound in spite of the fact that the value in the odds disappears at a certain point. In the NFL, it's the Patriot. The Yankees are still the team in baseball. Bettors love the Lakers in the NBA and schools like USC, Oklahoma and Florida are slammed regardless of the number in college football.

At UFC 100, Brock Lesnar and Georges St. Pierre represent the hack's chalk plays. If you look at the odds for the top three fights at UFC 100, it appears the card actually sucks. It's built around three blowout fights with the smallest favorite being St. Pierre 2-to-1. Dan Henderson is 3-to-1 and Lesnar is 2 1/2-to-1. But don't fooled, there could be value in all three underdogs. The sportsbooks' job isn't to predict a winner, it's to predict where the betting dollars will land and try to make sure an equal amount of money is bet on both sides. Right now, all three of these fights might be 20 or 30 cents too high on the favorite.

Early odds for UFC 100 (Venetian Resort Hotel Casino):

Brock Lesnar (-250) v. Frank Mir (+200)
Georges St. Pierre (-200) v. Thiago Alves (+170)
Dan Henderson (-300) v. Michael Bisping (+220)
Jon Jones (-400) v. Jake O'Brien (+300)  

Sportsbooks are also getting more aggressive with prop bets. Frank Mir by five round decision is 10-to-1. You can also bet round-by-round on the two title fights. We've also never seen a prop like this:

UFC Fighter with the fastest win at UFC 100:

Brock Lesnar 3-to-1
Frank Mir 5-1
Jon Jones 9-2
Georges St. Pierre 8-1
Stephan Bonnar 8-1
Jon Fitch 10-1
Thiago Alves 12-1
Dan Henderson 12-1
Michael Bisping 12-1
Yoshihiro Akiyama 12-1
Alan Belcher 15-1
Jim Miller 15-1
Mac Danzig 20-1
Paulo Thiago 35-1
Mark Coleman 25-1
FIELD (all fighters not listed) 9-2

Remember this isn't boxing, so you're not necessarily looking for one-punch knockout power. There's some value here with guys like Thiago (pictured knocking out Josh Koscheck at UFC 95), Belcher, Coleman and Danzig. Check out the fastest winners at the last five UFC events:

TUF 9 FINALE: Nick Osipczak over Frank Lester in 3:40 
UFC 99: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic over Mostapha Al-Turk in 3:06 
UFC 98: Drew McFedries over Xavier Foupa-Pokam in 0:37  
UFC 97: Nate Quarry over Jason MacDonald in 2:27
Ultimate Fight Night 18: Rob Kimmons over Joe Vedepo in 1:34

Aside from Cro Cop, would any of the other guys have gone off as a favorite to finish their the fight the fastest at that particular event? They probably all would've been at least 8-to-1. So pick your fastest fight winner wisely for UFC 100.

"Honestly, I think big guys are easier to fight. They don't move as fast, they get tired quickly and they're not as technical," Mir told Cagewriter.

Mir is prepping for the UFC heavyweight title fight at UFC 101 with a unique approach. Instead of packing on extra pounds of muscle to contend with the 280-pound Lesnar, Mir is going to try and force the big guy to match up with his strengths. Mir wants to push the pace and make Lesnar catch him. Mir has got some big guys in his training camp at Striking Unlimited in Las Vegas, who are similar in style to Lesnar, but he's also chosen to spar often with UFC light heavyweight Forrest Griffin. Griffin, who walks around at 235 pounds, is pushing Mir to the brink:

"If I want to sharpen my tools I have to work with somebody who's not a sitting target like Forrest. Who moves around a lot, he's extremely conditioned. He's fast and can throw 300 punches compared to 30 punches a round. Forrest is my worst nightmare. Basically you have to go for broke and knock him out, and if you don't he's still going to be standing there coming after you."

Mir appeared trim during this Friday discussion weighing around 255. His face look like hell though. Griffin goes all out. As a result, Mir had a nasty shiner around his right eye, with some discoloration in the eye. In a separate sparring incident, Griffin gave Mir a huge knot on his forehead (pictured above).

Mir said he feels like he's moving like a middleweight and Lesnar simply won't be able catch him. He also thinks Lesnar will be confused as he tries to process everything being thrown his way.

"There's so many things going on in the fight. I think his mind will be paralyzed because he's having to deal with so many new elements. Instead of going for things real slow and powerful, I may as well go for speed so I can add more chaos to his brain."

Listen to Mir with Cagewriter less than two weeks from the fight:

Mir said Lesnar is too slow. He added that Lesnar would have little chance to beat some of the top light heavyweights like Griffin, Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.

Check out Mir's new physique as he works kicks with trainer Ken Hahn:

Aside from the knot on his head and the black eye, Mir said his shin was a little sore from a kick and he was soaking his right ankle in some ice on Friday after the open media workout. As far as a full contact sparring he goes with a few more hard sessions this week before shutting down in anticipation of the fight in 12 days.

“Obviously China is a huge market and the Chinese understand the martial arts probably better than anyone else in the world.  It’s a no brainer that UFC programming will be appreciated in China, and will become a big hit for the NMTV network,” said Dana White, UFC President.

This deal gives the UFC a shot at being in 80 million households across China. The UFC is following the likes of McDonald's in looking for Chinese dollars. It's an incredibly smart move, considering how the Chinese people have happily gobbled up American exports. The Olympics showed the world on a large stage just how much the Chinese people love and will support sports.

The UFC is already aired in Japan on WOWOW, so it will be interesting to see if the UFC takes the next step and puts together a fight card in Asia. One thing is for sure, Rampage Jackson would insist on being on that card. 

The Chuck Liddell saga continues. UFC president Dana White "retired him" immediately after his loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC 97.

White: I said Chuck's done.

Cagewriter: Did he say that?

White: No, and it's not that he's not going to fight anymore for the UFC, he's not going to fight anymore period.

Cagewriter: He's just lost to three of the top five guys in the world. He clearly can make money fighting other people. It's kind of tough to tell a guy who can make $500,000, if it's not with you then a company in Japan or someone here who is trying to compete with you, you know what, you can't do it.

White: Yup. That's the way it is. He can't fight again. He's gonna be 40 years old. He's made a lot of money. He's been the champion. He's proved everything he needs to prove to everybody. There's no need for him to fight anymore. He's a big name we could sell out arenas, sell pay-per-views with him but I don't want to see it.

White has slowly backed off the Liddell retirement demand over the last 10 weeks. Appearing on The Cofield and Cokin Show on ESPNRadio1100, White said he's sitting down with Liddell this week. When asked if Liddell was returning to fight Rich Franklin in September at UFC 103, White chuckled and refused to answer.

In other fighter contract/acquisition news, White hinted that the door is still open for Cro Cop (1:50 mark). There was also an odd exchange where White said he had no interest in Vitor Belfort (2:11 mark). Why odd? Because White went on Spike during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale and spoke about Belfort. In this conversation, he denied having ever expressed interest in the former UFC fighter, who is currently under contract with Affliction. Belfort is scheduled to fight on August 1.

White also confirmed that the UFC is working on Roger Huerta versus Gray Maynard at Ultimate Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City on Sept. 16 (2:52 mark).

Not long after that, the same referee failed to notice when Bob Sapp tapped out from punches in his loss to Bobby Lashley.

The bad refereeing was part of an overall poorly-run event that was definitely not worth $29.99. The commentators didn't take the time to ask the fighters how to pronounce their names. Chris Horodecki's name was particularly butchered; they somehow turned it into "Ear-a-decki." During the first two fights, the cage announcer had to check his microphone repeatedly. The camera work resembled something from a one-year-old's birthday party. Fanhouse's Michael David Smith said "it may have been one of the worst MMA shows I've ever seen."

Not every MMA event is going to have the production quality of the UFC and WEC, the advanced statistics of Strikeforce, or the quality announcing of Bellator. But the audacity Fight Force International, the promotion that put on "Ultimate Chaos," had to charge $30 for this mess is ridiculous. I've learned my lesson, and they won't be getting any more of my hard-earned cash. 

Urijah Faber, still recovering from the broken hand he suffered in his June 7 loss to Mike Brown, has been enjoying life. Here, he is chillin' with Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi. Immediately after the picture, they broke into song, singing "Livin' on a Prayer," with Faber getting a solo for the best line of the song, "You live for the fight WHEN IT'S ALL THAT YOU GOT! WHOOOOOOAAAAAA!"*

*That last sentence may or may not be true. 

** Or Urijah may have pulled a fast one on us. That may not be Richie Sambora.

Former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley showed that he is for real in mixed martial arts, defeating veteran fighter Bob Sapp with a technical knockout in less than two minutes at "Ultimate Chaos" in Biloxi, Miss.

As soon as the bell rung, Bobby Lashley went in for a quick takedown. He had no problem with bringing the much larger Sapp to the canvas. From there, he executed his game plan well, staying on top of Sapp and throwing a barrage of punches. Sapp tapped to signal that he wanted the fight to end, but the referee did not see it, and Lashley kept punching. Finally, Sapp tapped again, and the referee put an end to the fight at 1:17 in the first round. After the win, Lashley announced that he is ready for whoever wants to take him on.

"To all the heavyweights out there, if you're not looking at me, you better, because I'm coming. I'll take on all challengers," Lashley said.

Both men have the first name Bob, and both have experience professional wrestling, but the similarities end there, as Sapp outweighed Lashley by nearly 67 pounds for the main event. Lashley, who is undefeated in the real sport of MMA after years as a star professional wrestler in the WWE and ECW, took on the fight with Sapp, who is a veteran of Japanese fight promotions PRIDE and K-1, to prove that his desire to excel in MMA is real. A win over Sapp validated Lashley in the cage, moving his record to 4-0.

Lashley weighed in at 255 pounds for the fight, meaning that he would have no problem making the heavyweight class of 265 for more mainstream mixed martial arts promotions like the UFC, Strikeforce and Affliction. Considering how he has steamrolled through his four opponents, and that he is training at the highly touted American Top Team, it's not crazy to think that we will soon see Lashley on a larger stage. 

Gilbert Yvel showed why he is still known as such a feared striker, knocking out Pedro Rizzo in 2:10 in the first round at "Ultimate Chaos" with a kick to the temple followed by several right hands. The referee let Yvel throw a punch or two after Rizzo was out, and it took Rizzo a few minutes to get back up. Yvel, who has been disqualified in the past for biting, eye gouging and knocking out the referee looked visibly concerned about his opponent. Rizzo did leave the cage on his own power. 

Both Pedro Rizzo and Gilbert Yvel could use a win to get their careers going again. Both fighters are veterans of the sport. Oddly enough, both of their last fights were losses to Josh Barnett in Affliction. Yvel said he plans on fighting in Affliction next.

Three fights in a row ended quickly at "Ultimate Chaos" in Biloxi, Miss. 

Brett Cooper vs. Waachim Spiritwolf

Waachim Spiritwolf knocked out Brett Cooper with an overhand right in the first round. Spiritwolf, coached by former UFC fighter Dean Lister, yelled to the crowd that he can knock out anybody. He was apparently unhappy that Cooper had another fight lined up in just 30 days, and said "I don't think he'll make that fight now!"

Chris Horodecki vs. William Sriyapai

Horodecki (pictured above applying the choke), an International Fight League veteran, had no trouble getting through William Sriyapai. Though 'The Polish Hammer' is generally more comfortable on his feet, he quickly and easily sunk in a rear naked choke in the first round. After the fight, Horodecki's trainer Shawn Tompkins yelled, "August 1!" referring to the Affliction card on August 1. Horodecki was a late scratch from January's Affliction card, and he clearly wants to be a part of the next event.

Mark Kergosien vs. Javier Vazquez

Kergosien stepped in at the last minute for Din Thomas, and unfortunately did not spend much time in the cage. Vazquez defended an early takedown attempt from Kergosien, and sunk in a guillotine choke for the win in just 0:58. After his win, Vazquez said that he is more comfortable at 145 lbs. than he was at 155 lbs. 

After losing the first round badly, Tom Atencio (in the black shorts), the man in charge of Affliction Clothing Company's fight promotion, came back to win by technical knockout as his opponent, Randy Hedderick could not come back for the third round. After his win, Atencio pointed his vitriol at his archnemesis, UFC president Dana White. 

"Screw Dana White for what he said about you," Atencio said to his opponent, who Dana White dismissed as a weak fighter. "It's not the critic who counts. Win, lose or draw, at least they had the balls to step in here."

In the first round, Atencio was knocked down and ate several punches and knees from Hadderick. However, Atencio showed a tough chin and continued to fight. Atencio looked strong to start the second, and showed excellent Muay Thai to cause Hedderick to bleed. Hedderick told his corner he could not continue, and the fight was stopped.

Atencio, who has one previous professional fight, is 42 years old and said he doubts he will fight again after "Ultimate Chaos." However, I have no doubt that he would enter the cage for a matchup with a certain former boxing coach from Boston. 

Saturday night's Ultimate Chaos event in Biloxi, Miss., had bad news before it even began. Former UFC fighter Din Thomas' fight with Javier Vazquez was scratched at the last minute due to weight cutting confusion. 

James Orso vs. Danny Abbadi

A close fight in a rematch went to James Orso (pictured on top) by unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Both fighters had strong guillotine attempts, and had a shot at working ground and pound, but Orso's ground work eeked out the decision. 

Brandon Harder vs. John Harris

After a near perfectly even first round, Brandon Harder took control of the second round. He mounted Harris, nearly finished him with ground and pound, and then actually submitted him via arm triangle at 4:31 in the second round. Harder, who lost fought just a week ago, moved his record to 2-0. 

Biloxi is the site of this weekend's best MMA card topped by giants Bob Sapp (10-4-1) and Bobby Lashley (3-0) at Ultimate Chaos. Sapp weighed in at a trim 322 pounds. The 6-foot-5 monster normally fights in the 350-380 range. He does have nearly 70 pounds on Lashley but as you can see by the photo, the pro wrestler isn't dwarfed by the former NFL player.

Maggie Hendricks will have live coverage here at Cagewriter beginning at 9 p.m. ET. 

PPV CARD:
Bobby Lashley (255.4 lbs.) v. Bob Sapp (322.2) 
Gilbert Yvel (237) v. Pedro Rizzo (243.6) 
Din Thomas (146.6) v. Javier Vasquez (144.8) 
Chris Hordecki (155) v. William Sriyapai 154.8) 
Brett Cooper (169.2) v. Waachiim Spirit Wolf (168.4) 
Tom Atencio (160.4) v. Randy Hedderick (159)
 
NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD:
John Harris (154.2) v. Brandon Harder (154.2)
James Orso (173.2) v. Danny Abbadi (174.6)
Eric Bradley (170.4) v. Kelly Leo (168.4)
Colin McKee (174.2) v. Lance Thompson (172) 
Eric Graham (159) v. Drew Wallace (159)
Greg Maher (265.2) v. Rocky Overstreet (253.4)

Scheduling Floyd Mayweather's comeback the week after UFC 100 in Las Vegas was proving to be a disaster. Fortunately "Pretty Boy" suffered came up with an rib injury and the fight had to be moved. Bad news for fight fans. You'll have to choose between UFC 103 in Dallas and Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19. UFC president Dana White told the Cofield and Cokin Show on ESPNRadio1100 that he heard this was coming:  

"The powers that be wanted to steer him off that date. But he wanted that date, so it's on! The boxing guys are so stupid and small minded."

White said the original fight wasn't selling and he thinks the same will happen on the new date:  

"It's a good thing he hurt his rib. I heard they sold about 12 tickets for that fight. He's good at playing the bad guy, but at the end of the day you can talk as much as you want but it's all about the fights."

White thinks Mayweather is blowing it by not taking the biggest possible fight out there in Manny Pacquiao:

"Big fights sell. This next fight with Floyd is not a big fight. I'm not very interested in that fight. If you have a big fight lined up, you both should absolutely take the fight because crazy things can happen."

He says Floyd can't produce big PPV numbers on his name alone and Marquez lacks starpower:

"Floyd Mayweather is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world right now. I think he's that good (but) he's not a superstar. Floyd doesn't sell. Floyd plus another great fighter sells. You need two good fighters that people really want to see. It's not a fight people want to see."

White said the only boxer he would never tangle with was Oscar De La Hoya. Hopefully these boxing v. UFC pay-per-views don't become commonplace. Who wins this PPV battle? Can Floyd outsell UFC 103?

White has said on several occasions that Atencio is irrelevant. He repeated the sentiment two weeks ago in Germany:

"Nobody gives a [expletive] about Tom Atencio. He has to say something to get attention. Not only is he not a fighter, he's not a promoter. He's a loser. I could give a [expletive] about Tom Atencio." White then said Atencio is a phony, giving the back story about the well-circulated choke photo (above) featuring he and Atencio looking jovial. "He's a big kiss [expletive] when you're at the club and then he goes out in front of the media and starts talking [expletive]. He's a waste of time."

That was after calling Atencio a loser:

"At the end of the day, I stepped up and said I would fight Tito and he was a fighter who people cared about," White said. "But why would I fight this goof? He's neither a fighter nor a promoter. He's a [expletive] loser. That's all he is."

Sources close to White say that he's full of it. He'll probably going to carve out some time to watch the Atencio fight against Randy Hedderick. He and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva should also be checking out the Lashley fight. A win over Sapp isn't some great accomplishment but at 320 pounds, he is a test for Lashley. If Lashley wins, it should pique the interest of both UFC and Strikeforce. Do you believe White when he says he won't watch or is he just talking trash?

Check throughout the weekend for more snippets of the White appearance on ESPNRadio1100. He also smashed Floyd Mayweather for re-scheduling his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19, the same weekend as a UFC PPV event in Dallas.

Atencio, who has one professional under his belt (back in 2005), is taking on a card dealer from Mississippi named Randy Hedderick in Biloxi, Mississippi tomorrow night on pay-per-view. Why is a guy like this taking the risk of getting his face beaten in:

"I'm never concerned with what people think," Atencio told CagePotato. "Once I started being in the public eye I stopped caring about that. You just can't. There are always going to be those people. They say my next [Affliction] event will be my last event. They said that about the first one. But if you're going to be out there you can't listen to any of that."

Atencio trains everyday around 2 o'clock, saying he's no different than any other fighter who has a real job. Atencio compares his interest in fighting to that of other weekend warriors who may bowl or play softball.

"For no reason. For me. Why do other guys go out and play sports on the weekend? It's the same thing."

MMA seems a little more intense and slightly more dangerous than throwing some beers back with the fellas playing those other sports.

Make sure you check out the entire CP interview with Atencio. He also touches on the recent UFC apparel ban for UFC 100.

"I think Jay is pretty good at getting in people's head sometimes," Guida told Cagewriter. "A big guy like Bobby, it's kind of funny to hear he admitted that Jay messed with him mentally. He's definitely got to step up his confidence level if he wants to have a long career in this sport."

Watch Clay Guida with Cagewriter:

"I've heard he's got some big things coming up. I think he could have a long stint in the UFC. He just needs to train properly, more conditioning, it's simple."

Conditioning will be a key in tomorrow's fight against the 320-pound Bob Sapp. Sapp is notorious for his lack of stamina, but he may have a little more in the tank since he's dropped 30 pounds. Lashley's stamina is in question as well. He's only had the one three round fight and he was sapped in the final stanza. He's a ripped 250 pounds but that's a lot of muscle to carry and stay fresh. Plus there's a lot of "Beast" weight potentially leaning on Lashley tomorrow in Mississippi.

Diego Sanchez had to face more than just Clay Guida when taking the split decision from "The Carpenter" on Saturday at "The Ultimate Fighter" finale. He also had to face Guida's mom. (Cagewriter)

With one more season of "The Ultimate Fighter" on the books, Yahoo! Sports looks back at both the season and the series. (Dave Meltzer, Kevin Iole) 

"Michael Bisping will out-wrestle Dan Henderson." Bwah ha ha ha! No, seriously? You're serious? Stop, stop it. Bisping's wrestling coach is giving me the church giggles. (Fighter's Only)

Former fighter Lee Murray was freed from jail and then arrested again. His wikipedia page now reflects that. (MMA Opinion)

Fight! Magazine is holding a contest to give one lucky up-and-coming fighter a chance to spend a week at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, training with Shawn Tompkins. (Fight! Magazine)

Kirik, king of the Underground Forum, posted a definitive response to Dr. Johnny Benjamin's ridiculous rant on women's MMA. (The Underground)

Cheerleaders involved in a fairly technical ground game. (Ms. Tracy Lee)

Kim Winslow, the first female ref in UFC history, is not afraid of getting between two large fighters. (MMA Fanhouse)

Roger Huerta is going to take a break from acting and sleeping with sitcom stars to fight Gray Maynard in September. (MMA Junkie) 

Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva were both nominated for an ESPY. I agree that Machida has had an excellent year, but has Silva had a better year than Miguel Torres or Mike Brown? (ESPN)

Thiago Alves thinks that it's time for GSP to turn over the belt. (Canadian Press) 

In the WEC, Jamie Varner is still not ready to defend his lightweight championship belt, so the WEC is considering an interim belt. (Cagewriter)

Thanks for reading Cagewriter this week. Stay tuned tomorrow night for coverage of "Ultimate Chaos," and have a good weekend!

At UFC 78, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping didn't put on much of a show for the New Jerseyites in attendance.

The match didn’t really prove anything. Evans came into the fight with a 10-0-1 record and a lifetime of wrestling while Bisping, 15-0 coming into the fight, came from a country with little in the way of organized wrestling. Bisping was able to connect more often, but Evans’ had more power in his punches. The fight came down to the third round: Whenever Bisping would start to get something going, Evans would take him down, earning a split-decision win.

Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva finally met up at UFC 79, and their fight was a war.

It seemed some of the luster was gone from the fight, as Liddell was coming off losses to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Keith Jardine while Silva was coming off defeats at the hands of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Dan Henderson. As it turned out, the losses had no impact on the fan interest. The card reportedly sold 700,000 on pay-per-view and attracted a boisterous crowd of 11,075. The fight lived up to all the hype, as Liddell and Silva stood and exchanged bombs throughout the fight. Liddell mixed up his game a bit and took Silva down several times with his wrestling. Liddell wound up winning a unanimous decision in a fight that had the crowd roaring and on its feet throughout.

B.J. Penn's reign at the lightweight champion began with a win over Joe "Daddy" Stevenson at UFC 80.

Penn didn’t take long separating the men from the boys and dominated Stevenson in every aspect of the match. Penn took the first round easily and opened a horrific cut on Stevenson’s forehead with an elbow on the ground. There was some question whether Stevenson would be able to come out for the second round given the depth of the cut, but “Joe Daddy” came out fired up in the second. Still, Penn managed to fend off an early charge and began picking Stevenson apart. Penn finished Stevenson off midway through the round with a rear-naked choke.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira picked up the heavyweight interim belt at UFC 81, but that was hardly the high point of the evening as former WWE champ Brock Lesnar lost in his UFC debut.

Lesnar stormed Mir and took him down and began pounding him with hammer fists. Incredibly, Lesnar seemed on the verge of victory only seconds into the bout. Referee Steve Mazzagatti ordered a controversial standup when he ruled Lesnar hit Mir in the back of the head. That allowed Mir to clear his head, but when the fight resumed, Lesnar took him down again and began pounding. This time, though, Mir was able to grab one of Lesnar’s legs. The noted submission expert caught Lesnar in a knee bar and forced a submission at 1:30 of the first round. 

Anderson Silva became known as more than just the best in his weight class after his UFC 82 win over PRIDE champion Dan Henderson.

Anderson Silva’s status as the mythical best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA picked up a lot of steam when he defeated Pride’s champion in the weight class, Dan Henderson, by submission in the main event of UFC 82, held March 1, 2008, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Henderson won the first round of their fight, but tired in the second round and was finished with a choke at 4:52 of the round. Silva’s argument strengthened since Henderson, the only man to hold simultaneous championships in different weight classes in a major organization in MMA history, had gone the distance in losing to Quinton Jackson, the light heavyweight champ, in his previous fight. And at no point in the Jackson-Henderson match was Henderson in serious trouble.

The UFC's debut in Canada was spectacular, with its native son, Georges St. Pierre, winning over Matt Serra at UFC 83.

The event attracted a UFC record 21,390 fans, who paid a live gate of $5.1 million. It sold out in just 24 hours and the gate was the second-largest in UFC history. They were coming to see the rematch between hometown hero Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra. Serra pulled off one of the most improbable wins in UFC history when he knocked out St. Pierre as an 11-1 underdog at UFC 69 a year earlier in Houston. St. Pierre, who had won the interim belt when Serra was off for a long time because of a back injury, established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport with a dominant performance. St. Pierre hammered Serra from start to finish, winning the first round on 10-8 scores, and stopped him at 4:45 of the second round.

Tito Ortiz, one of the UFC's biggest stars throughout the years, Tito Ortiz, lost to current light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida in his final fight with the promotion at UFC 84.

The show drew a sellout well in advance, of 14,771 paying $3,752,420, plus a closed-circuit overflow at the ballroom at the hotel. Machida won all three rounds in a dull fight with Ortiz, with Ortiz’s only momentary glory late, clamping on a triangle in the third round that Machida admitted was close to finishing him. Still, it’s hard to say anyone ate crow. Ortiz couldn’t take Machida down in three rounds, or touch him standing. Machida frustrated a heavily pro-Ortiz crowd with his dodging in and out. But at the end of the night, Ortiz was still the person everyone was talking about.

Now, we want to hear from you. What was your favorite event from these events? Ortiz, Penn or Silva? Vote in the poll and share your memories in the comments.

Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves participated in the first of many UFC 100 press conferences. Alves' size has been a topic of discussion with the fight quickly approaching. He's a thickly muscled guy who even dwarfs the adonis-like physique of GSP. But when asked about their current weights, GSP and Alves said they were basically the same size around 190 pounds.

That's WEC 135-pound star Joe Benavidez looking sullen next to his desktop. Is he serious? I'm guessing no. Sorry, if we broke the news here ... Michael Jackson passed away today. If this is news to you, please broaden your horizons.

ESPNRadio1100 actually caught him during some downtime at a Chicagoland beach. Not really. Torres was at the beach but he was running. That 100-percent dedication has Torres (37-1, 5-0 WEC) thinking about his future. His shelf life is only so long. So whether you like it or not, money is a concern for a guy fighting a bit off the radar with WEC (as compared to his friends fighting for the UFC):

"They do take care of us and they give undisclosed bonuses, perks on the side. But you know I have a family and have things I want to do at my gym and I have other venues I can't get into as far as making income."

Listen to Torres with Cofield & Cokin on ESPNRadio1100:

Torres, 28, said he needs to make his money because the fighting life is not much fun:

"The training process is so rigorous, not just on my body and my mind. There's so many sacrifices to get ready for a fight, I don't get to have any fun in my life. Depending on where the money is in three or four years, will depend on whether I stick around or not. I'm planning on staying three or four more years and then I'm out."

Torres said he has no time for partying, drinking or video games when getting ready for a fight. There's no time to go out. The schedule has to be the same everyday.

Not every slick submission attempt turns into a win. No clue who these dudes are but we know for sure that the guy attempting the inverted triangle choke is out cold (0:19 mark).

Tip via The Big Lead

"If they wanted to keep doing fights there, I would fight there," Franklin said. "Between the numbers you have at 185 and 205 -- those seems to be the deepest classes in the UFC -- I think you have enough guys who are in a situation like me. Whether you're a really big 185-lb. fighter, and it's difficult for you to make that weight, or you're small in the 205-lb. class, so yeah, I think so. But I'm not going to be one of those guys who will cry for the UFC to make that weight class, because I'll fit into the system they have already."

With plenty of movement between the middleweight and light heavyweight classes, there is definitely a market for an in-between class of 195 lbs. 

Rich Franklin: Franklin could be the lynchpin of this class. A former middleweight champion, he showed just how comfortable he is at 195 in his win over Wanderlei Silva.

Matt Hamill: The Hammer is a bit small for light heavyweight, and wrestled at 167 in college.

Nate Marquardt: He is a large and powerful middleweight. Just imagine what his strength could do if he could stay at a slightly higher weight.  

Drew McFedries: The strong striker is, like Marquardt, a big middleweight, and could find valuable the ten extra pounds that a new weight class would allow.

Who else do you think would flourish if the UFC were to foster a 195-lb. weight class? 

With reports coming out that there could be as many as seven and possibly eight UFC fight cards in the final 19 weeks of 2009, matchmaker Joe Silva has his work cut out for him. Here is what's shaping up:

8/29 - UFC 102 (Portland)
Main event: Randy Couture v. Antonio Nogueira 
9/16 - UFN 19 (Oklahoma City) 
Main event: TBA
9/19 - UFC 103 (Dallas) 
Rumored main event: Cain Velasquez v. Shane Carwin; Matt Hughes v. Mike Swick 
10/24 - UFC 104 (Los Angeles) 
Main event: Lyoto Machida v. Mauricio Rua
11/14 - UFC 105 (Manchester, England) 
Main event: TBA
11/21 - UFC 106 (Las Vegas) 
Main event: TBA
12/5 - TUF 10 Finale (Las Vegas) 
Main event: TBA
12/19 - UFC 107 (Las Vegas)
Main event: Quinton Jackson v. Rashad Evans

Who will fight in all these main events? Where does Anderson Silva fight after his battle against. With Vitor Belfort on board after Affliction: Trilogy, maybe Belfort v. Silva will be slated UFC 106, 107 or 108. That's unless Michael Bisping pulls the upset on Dan Henderson at UFC 100. Then Silva v. Bisping has to be in Manchester.

The winners of Georges St. Pierre versus Thiago Alves, Brock Lesnar versus Frank Mir and B.J. Penn versus Kenny Florian should all be ready to go, barring any serious injury, to close out 2009 as well.

Inside Fights is also reporting rumors of Chuck Liddell returning later this year to fight Rich Franklin. Cagewriter first heard rumors of a Liddell return at the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight back in early May. An announcement was rumored to come around late June. Here we are and still no word. It makes sense, there aren't too many big name candidates who can step up anytime soon to face Franklin. So don't bury Liddell's career just yet.

Those months should also be interesting on the free agent market as well. If Affliction shuts things down after the August 1 show and doesn't merge rosters with Strikeforce, where will fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett land?

Photo via The Underground Forum

When WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner won controversially over Donald Cerrone due to an illegal knee, Varner walked away from the fight with both his belt and a broken hand. That was on January 25. Now, five months later, the hand is still broken. Varner twittered the state of his hand today, and the chances of a rematch with Cerrone anytime soon look slim.

"We're still waiting on the medical reports, but it looks like Varner won't be fighting in the foreseeable future," Dave Sholler, a WEC representative, said. "We're moving forward with the lightweight division, and we haven't ruled out an interim belt."

That news may seem good for Cerrone, but he has not been shy about his wish for a rematch with Varner. After his June 7 win over James Krause, Cerrone said that, "If I see [Jamie] Varner in the street I'm going to punch him in the mouth ... with his nice shiny suit."

UPDATE: Cerrone, currently on vacation in Colorado, thinks that an interim belt would be appropriate. 

"They have to do something. He can't just have a belt and not defend it. I certainly think I'd be in line for it," Cerrone said. "I think he keeps just stepping back and waiting for other guys to beat me so there won't be a rematch."

Cerrone is open to fight anyone since he can't fight Varner.

"I want to fight him because he's such a douchebag, but I'll fight whoever they tell me to."

Listen to Sapp with Larry Pepe on ProMMARadio:

Sapp told Pepe that once he broke a porcelain throne it was time to go on a sushi and ramen diet. Believe me, I'm an expert on fat slobs working in radio, the home of gluttonous pigs. Sapp isn't the first guy that I've heard broke a toilet. It was long rumored that a "big" time Southern California radio host made a toilet tap. There's another story of a national radio host breaking the chair that he was sitting in during his job interview. Both of the hosts now work for one of the three big national radio networks.

It's a little different with Sapp, we know the guy is an athlete. He was never Tank Abbott fat. Anyone who's rocking abs at 350 pounds is freakish. Of course, there are also some who may say that Sapp cleaned up his "supplement" diet knowing he was coming to the states. Either way, he should have a little more stamina facing a high energy guy like Lashley.

Listen here for the entire Sapp conversation.

The fight itself will be dynamite. So will the energy in the building at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on July 11, but it's the lead up to the Brock Lesnar-Frank Mir fight at UFC 100 that will have this event breaking records and bringing in the casual sports fan. These guys don't like each and they also wisely know what it takes to hype a fight. You have to love the matter of fact fashion with which they trash each other (0:49 mark):

"I gave that kneebar to him, he knows that," Lesnar said of his loss to Mir at UFC 81. "He's one of those guys that waits to seize the opportunity. Some may call it preparation. I just call it luck."

Others may say Mir is a mixed martial artist while Lesnar is just a big athlete with power. Lesnar closes the video saying Mir's interim UFC heavyweight strap is "make believe." 

Video tip via MMABay

The expression of combat known worldwide apparently extends to skimpy bathing suits. You can find it at the Tapout store for $36 per piece. 

Some other deals for you this week: The Dan Henderson Parka from UFC 93 has been marked down ...  Everlast red leather items are on sale at MMA Warehouse ... Urijah Faber's walkout shirt from WEC 41 is on sale for under $20 ... Need decorations for your UFC 100 party? This Brock Lesnar lifesized cutout is on sale. 

You want proof the UFC and its reality show have grown in stature? How about the nice rides given to Ultimate Fighter 9 coaches Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson? In front of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, they were both presented with Range Rovers. That's a great ride if you can afford it. The car starts around $70,000. These are probably closer to 90-100k. Poor Forrest Griffin, he's still driving around in the Scion that he won back in 2005 for his TUF 1 victory. Resale value on the Scion? $200. It's a fine automobile but interior swimming with Staph infection may scare people away.

All kidding aside, the UFC has given the coaches nice cars in the past. You want Rich Franklin's TUF 2 Hummer? He tried to get rid of the big rig for the last year or so on EBay. The starting price was $125,000. He told Cagewriter after UFC 99 (10:37 mark), he didn't even know if he still had the truck. Franklin lamented that he turned down an offer of $105,000 at one point and now he can't find a taker for $40,000 on a customized Hummer with only 12,000 miles on it.

The big athletes are coming out in droves to battle Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter 10. That includes Joe Rogan's runningmate Joey Coco Diaz (NSFW). The big guy stepped on the scale just after the TUF 9 weigh-ins at The Palms. He may have to cut down a little once he's in the house. Needless to say, the scale still sitting on 155 pounds, made a loud clang when Coco put one hoof on it. His little stunt had Palms security throwing a fit as they were trying to clear the room.

This is clearly a joke. Someone as obese as Big Joey couldn't actually compete. Not that he's ever been a fighter, but there were a few guys in similar shape who actually fought in the UFC and Japan in the old days with no weight classes and no rules. It shows how far MMA has come in 16 years. The only sport with a more dramatic change is competitive eating where "athletes" like Ed "Cookie" Jarvis and Eric "Badlands" Booker have been pushed to side by 160-pounders like Kobayashi and Sonya Thomas, a 105-pound woman.

The Pearl at The Palms is a relatively small venue. Every seat in the place is a good one, if you were amongst the 1,800 at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale you noticed there were two Guidas waging the battle against Diego Sanchez. Inside the cage it was lightweight Clay Guida, outside it was Mama Debbie (pictured on the floor cageside in front of the rest of the Guidas). She was Vince Lombardi and Lou Duva rolled into one, imploring Clay to make sure he won the third round:

"I was yelling, you have got to win this round," said Debbie Guida told Cagewriter. "Don't let him hit you again. And I was pointing my finger."

Clay said he heard his mother yelling in the first round but not later in the fight. That's amazing considering Debbie ran right up to the Octagon next to the action in the final minute and was screaming for her son to pour it on.

Debbie was like Stan Van Gundy, or my favorite former NFL O-line coach Carl Mauck, going crazy throughout the fight:

"There are no words to describe it. My pants are all dirty from kneeling on the floor, praying that neither one of the boys would get hurt."  

Clay had a ton of his cousins from California on hand to root for him. They wore t-shirts spelling out G-U-I-D-A. Talk to anyone who covers MMA or is a fan of the sport, if they've met Guida, they'll tell you he's a class act. You can see why by spending some time around his parents. Clay missed the official TUF 9 Finale postfight press conference. He showed up 45 minutes late but he had a good excuse. He was getting his right eye stitched up. Even with the that, the guy came upstairs at The Palms and apologized profusely for being late. In an extended conversation without his Mom by his side, Guida said he'll be ready to go as soon as the eye is healed up (VIDEO). 

Actually, two cakes. One featured the Rampage Jackson doll action figure he is holding in the picture at right, and the other one was an anatomically correct, strippable replica of, well, just look at the pictures. If breasts made of flour and sugar are not appropriate for your workplace, don't click on that link. (Be sure to check out all of Combat Lifestyle's pictures from the weekend, including the gallery of WEC fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone performing onstage with Steel Panther, an 80s metal hair cover band.)

So what is Rampage saying to the doll action figure? Is he insulting the doll's bad breath? Coming up with a gameplan to beat on Rashad Evans' doll? Take a shot in the captions, and read on for winners from our last create-a-caption.

First place: That's a Spicy Meatball! -- K-J-MMA-Armchair

Second place: Oh my goodness! How uncivilized of me...am I still in character?!?  -- DS

Third place: Trainer: "God, these two Yahoo! commenters keep whining like babies with their holier-than-thou egos and their ad hominem jibberjabber. Just knock them out already, will ya Clay?"
Clay: "La la lalalala I can't hear you. La-di-da do re mi fa sol la ti do!"
Trainer: "Sigh, I knew I should've followed my dreams and become an equestrian instead of this pugilist bull [profane]." -- espnjunkie23

It looks like The Ultimate Fighter 10 is going to showcase the first wave of former college football and NFL heavyweights trying their hand at the big leagues in mixed martial arts. If the guys on some of the leaked lists on the Internet have the skills, it makes sense from a size standpoint. Defensive ends and linebackers certainly have a fighter's mentality. Would the same apply to a hoopster? Say a power forward? We may find out down the road if James Johnson's NBA career is shortlived. The 6-foot-7, 257-pounder from Wake Forest is expected to be a first round pick on Thursday so he's guaranteed a few years in the NBA. He's got a possible backup plan if it doesn't work out ... fighting. Don't scoff. We're not basing this solely on size. Johnson comes from a big martial arts family in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Johnson's father Willie is a sixth-degree black belt kickboxer and his mother, Vi is also a black belt. He's one of nine children, eight of whom are black belts. His 10-year old sister Kiandra is only a blue belt. Willie runs J & P's martial arts in Cheyenne.

James Johnson is already 20-0 as a kickboxer and has MMA fight under his belt. That came as an 18-year-old against 31-year-old Damond Clark.

SI asked about that fight back in 2006 but presented it in the past tense, Johnson responded by saying he's still a fighter:

"I'm not done fighting," he says, throwing a few air jabs while exhaling sharply for effect. "I think about fighting all the time."

His family's involvement in martial arts is insane:

James was called Little Ali because of his footwork, but nicknames are standard in the family. Willie won five world and 10 national karate titles as Tuqik (pronounced TOO-quick). Vi, a Samoan immigrant who began street fighting as a teenage gang leader of the Krook City Bloods in Oceanside—"I would go after the bullies," she says, "and beat up more men than women"—won five nationals as Vicious. Joseph (a.k.a. Baby Boy), 32; Jearamie (Hot Nickels), 28; Jessica (Bam-Bam), 26; Pal'e (the Legend); Scott (Nudo), 20; Mino (the Professor), 18; Nikko (Tuqik II), 15; and 10-year-old Kiandra have all also won national titles or been runners-up. 

"[J&P's] was like our playground: Every night we'd go there and work on stuff," says James. "Going to other people's houses was weird for me. I'd be like, What do you guys do after dinner?"

Don't believe James is legit? Ask Wake Forest alum and NBA all-star Chris Paul:

The Hornets point guard was teasing Johnson, saying, "I keep hearing about your fighting, but you're way too big to be a fighter." Johnson told Paul to stand still directly in front of him, and said, "I'm not going to kick you; I'm that good." Then he did a roundhouse kick within inches of Paul's face, causing Paul to step back and say, "O.K., I believe you."

That's all great, but how did he do in his one real MMA fight? He beat the 31-year-old Clark in less than 90 seconds. Clark shot for a takedown early and slammed Johnson. Clark went for the mount, Johnson transitioned to top control where he pinned down one of Clark's arm and smashed him with a few punches for the finish. Good thing there's millions waiting in the NBA, otherwise Johnson may be the prospect gaining fame from crushing Kimbo Slice on TUF 10.

"I'm gonna get ready and I'm gonna train hard and just get ready for whatever UFC gives me," Sanchez told Cagewriter. "Say something happens and B.J. isn't ready to defend his title and he vacates, Diego Sanchez is going to be right there saying 'Joe Silva, let's get it homie. Bring Kenny Florian one more time. Let's do this!'"

Watch Sanchez talk about his future with Cagewriter before the fight (4:00 mark):

Penn is slated to defend his UFC lightweight belt against Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Rumors are flying again about Penn's lack of interest in fighting Ken-Flo and fighting in general. He just added a baby daughter to his family and may be lacking motivation. How hard is he training and how much does he weight today, a little over six weeks away from the fight? If he's thinking that he may have to fill in, it sounds like Sanchez is hearing the same thing.

UPDATE: Odd timing on this weight update VIDEO from B.J. Penn. Maybe he heard about Sanchez's comments. Penn certainly isn't letting himself get fat, weighing in at a healthy 167 pounds.

Sanchez speaks early on in the video (shot shortly after his TUF 9 win over Clay Guida) about fighting with the same determination he did as a youngster before he was on the Ultimate Fighter. He also commented that today's Diego would crush the 185-pound Diego from TUF 1 days.

B.J. Penn update via MMAConvert

Kimbo is coming! Thank god The Ultimate Fighter 9 is in the books. The UFC was smart enough to load Saturday's TUF 9 Finale with experienced fighters. We were treated to three great fights that all got Fight of the Night.

The welterweight and lightweight finals from the show were a dud. James Wilks was impressive but he destroyed Damarques Johnson on the floor. Meanwhile, Ross Pearson and Andre Winner never got it going. It was a rough fight spent mostly in the clinch. Who are the legitimate prospects from the show? Wilks and Pearson? I'm not real sure on Pearson. Winner still has upside in spite of fighting with a terrible gameplan against Pearson. Who else? Possibly Nick Osipczak? The guy's striking is intriguing and he's a tough matchup at 6-foot-2. Jason Dent will get another shot but it appears from a physique standpoint, he'd be better off down at 145 in WEC.

The supposed rosters for TUF 10 have leaked out over the last few weeks. Aside from Kimbo Slice (first reported by Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole) it looks like a well-rounded group with some behemoths. Although the guy featured behind coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans would have to be 7-feet. Someone may be standing on a stool.  

For a small show, Ultimate Chaos is doing a decent job of getting the word out. Although, the available "highlight" reels (5:20 mark) of Pedro Rizzo and Gilbert Yvel are a bit weak. Host Tom Werme also has a little trouble with pronunciation when it comes to Din Thomas and Chris Horodecki (7:23 mark). Beyond that, the video get you juiced for what should be a good test for Bobby Lashley. Bob Sapp has had a penchant lately for bailing on fights early, but if he lands a big punch Lashley may start to second-guess his commitment to mixed martial arts. He didn't exactly sound like the most confident guy going into his second MMA fight against Jason Guida.

The card starts at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday from Biloxi, Mississippi.    

Watch Carano choke out host John Brenkus (4:00 mark):

This was actually a very cool piece where they measure the force of Carano's knees, punches, kicks and elbows. Carano is blasting away at a life-like dummy and breaks one of the ribs (1:55 mark). She can actually get off eight blows in three seconds producing 4,800 pounds of force! The show gives the translation:

"In eight seconds, Gina could - breaks your ribs, give you a concusion, shatter your nose, rupture your spleen, cause internal bleeding and put you down for the count."

Cyborg. Schmyborg.

Watch Round 1 of Gurgel-Heun:

Here is Round 2 and Round 3. This fight simply needs more eyes on it to get the props it deserves.

These great fights shared the same postfight exuberance. All four fighters repeatedly thanked their opponents for being so tough.

Sanchez couldn't believe Guida survived the opening onslaught where he unloaded on "The Carpenter":

"I hit him with some knees, some kicks, some uppercuts that were right on the button but he just kept on coming. It wasn't discouraging but I was like 'whoa, I gotta catch my breath. I gotta let the blood come back to my arms.' He's know for his conditioning and he came prepared."

Watch both Gurgel and Heun talk about how fun it was to beat the heck out of each other.

What was the best fight of the weekend? Did we miss completely? Was Kevin Burns-Chris Lytle better or did you prefer the technical battle between Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz?