The Juggernaut MMA News Report 09.16.09: TUF 10 is HERE!

Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 09.16.2009

Previews of Fight Night 19, TUF week one, and UFC 103! Plus, Bitetti and Shark results, Dan Henderson a free agent, Randy vs. Vera, more fighters accusing others of steroid use, Sean Salmon throwing a fight and much more!


UFC 103: Belfort & Franklin


Vitor Belfort is BACK~! After more than four years away from the UFC, he returns this Saturday night. For those who don't know, Vitor Belfort is The Phenom. In 1997, he made his UFC debut (long before the Zuffa days) and immediately became a star. He defeated two men at UFC 12 to win the heavyweight tournament, and did not have to fight more than two minutes total. At UFC 13, he knocked out Tank Abbott. At UFC 15, he was matched up against MMA newcomer Randy Couture. Couture had made his UFC/MMA debut at UFC 13 where he won that heavyweight tournament after defeating two men. Many saw the UFC 15 Super Fight as a platform for Belfort to become a superstar, but as he would do many times later, Randy Couture got in the way. Belfort's striking was handled by Couture's clinch work and Couture won after eight minutes of action by TKO. Belfort came back to defeat Joe Charles at UFC Japan and knocked out Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil in 1998. He went on to fight in Japan and returned to the UFC from 2002 to 2005 (some of the fights since leaving the UFC the first time, he lost to Sakuraba, he submitted Bobby Southworth {before TUF 'fame'}, beat Heath Herring, lost to Chuck Liddell, beat Randy Couture and then lost the rubber fight and in his final UFC fight, he lost a decision to Tito Ortiz). Since the end of PRIDE (Belfort last competed at PRIDE 32 in a losing effort to Dan Henderson, and then tested positive for a banned substance). After serving a suspension, he fought and won two fights at Cage Rage (becoming their light heavyweight champion, he never actually lost the belt) before joining Affliction and defeating Terry Martin and Matt Lindland. Now he's back in the UFC to fight Rich Franklin at 195 lbs in a catchweight fight.



Look OUT Rich!

Both men are great strikers although they employ different strategies. Franklin is more technical and patient, looking for spots and taking advantage of them. Belfort is almost reckless in the way he uses his pure athleticism to throw bombs and hurt opponents. However, Belfort can be beat. When he has been taken to a decision, he is 4-5 in decisions. Otherwise, he has been submitted once and has the two TKO losses to Randy Couture. That said, it will be difficult for Franklin to knock him out. Rich Franklin, in June, went to a decision with Wanderlei Silva. Both Silva and Belfort are big time strikers although Belfort has more natural athletic skills to his credit.

Can Vitor Belfort go 15-minutes and not tire out? That may be the big question for this fight. With this fight taking place at 195 lbs, Belfort probably won't have to cut as much weight as he has since he began fighting at middleweight in 2008. Obviously, Franklin is going to be in shape despite tiring towards the end of the fight with Silva. Hell, I'd imagine any fighter would have tired some in the final round of that battle. If Belfort goes all out early in the fight and doesn't blast Franklin, does he have the mental power to not lose focus and get into trouble?

If Franklin can keep distance between them and not throw reckless strikes, but stick to his game and fight strategically, I like his chances. Of course if Belfort comes out of the gate, storms Franklin and throws bombs, so much for distance and strategy.







In the co-main event, the man who nearly played Dana White returns to the UFC. Cro Cop is back and will fight one of the up and comers in the heavyweight division, Junior dos Santos. Cro Cop turned 35-years old less than a week ago (HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!) but appeared as close to the dangerous Cro Cop as could be expected. Even with the accidental eye poke, he punished Mostapha Al-Turk at UFC 99 and was never in danger of being hurt himself. This is a tough fight to go into expecting what to see because dos Santos is the unknown factor. He is 9-1 and this will be just his third fight outside of his native Brazil. He launched himself onto the UFC scene with a highlight reel uppercut upset knockout of Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90 (effectively, knocking him out of the company). Junior has never fought to a second round, although his record does have him fighting more than five-minute rounds in Brazil. Cro Cop will be the smaller fighter in the cage but that shouldn't be anything new to him these days, the man has fought a who's who of heavyweights this decade. This fight will be determined, much like the main event, by strikes. It does not take a genius to figure out that neither man is a wizard on the ground so they will resort to what they know and do best, knock people out.



Junior dos Santos certainly has a damn good training camp behind him, he's one of the Brazilian fighters represented by manager Ed Soares. The Black House camp includes Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, both Nogueira brothers (including Minotauro who has a submission win over Cro Cop from years ago in PRIDE), Jacare Souza and others. According to reports, dos Santos' boxing has improved and he has been talking of his plan to win with combinations and knock Cro Cop out. Well, he certainly knows how to knock opponents out. Meanwhile, Cro Cop is finally healthy from knee surgery he underwent earlier this year. He was able to do a full three-month training regiment to prepare for the fight and even had the use of his own cage to prepare (don't expect any rust in that sense).

Cro Cop may be the underdog if you consider betting lines, but this fight is as much a crap shoot as the main event. The men will throw bombs and someone will likely be knocked out.





Talking of UFC returns, Frank Trigg will make his when he fights Josh Koscheck on Saturday night. Trigg last fought inside the octagon at UFC 54 in 2005 (months after the first Ultimate Fighter season ended) in a losing effort against Georges St. Pierre. Of course, Trigg was involved in one of the best UFC fights ever, when he lost by choke to Matt Hughes at UFC 52. Since those losses, Trigg has been 7-2 with losses against Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler. He has defeated Mayhem Miller, Kazuo Misaki and others since 2006. Trigg has a new four-fight deal with the UFC and he expects to make a title run and at 37-years old, he only has one shot left. Trigg has talked about Koscheck as a younger version of himself. Really, Koscheck may be a better version. Both are great wrestlers with power although I'd probably give the edge in that department to Koscheck's right hand. However, there are new questions surrounding Koscheck's chin in the wake of his last fight, when Paulo Thiago knocked him out in February.

Can Trigg keep up on the ground with a younger, faster and stronger Koscheck? Will Koscheck decide to stand and bang or go to his roots and turn it into a wrestling match and look for a rear naked choke (to make GSP and Matt Hughes look like amateurs of course)? All relevant questions.

In his last three fights, Trigg has fought each to a decision victory. He did submit Edwin Dewees with a kimura in 2007 but will Trigg be able to do what only Georges St. Pierre accomplished, out-wrestle Koscheck? Koscheck lost to Thiago Alves on short notice plus Alves outweighed Koscheck by a ton on fight night and even then, Koscheck took him to a decision. I see Koscheck's path to victory pretty simply put. If he wants to stand and trade out of the gate, be my guest. But never lose faith or sight that he can (probably) easily take Trigg down whenever he wants. He will have to look out for the submission holds (he has only been submitted once, a rear naked choke from Drew Fickett in 2005).


Will striker happy Koscheck be in Texas?

Unless Trigg lands a big punch or snatches a submission hold, I do not think he can win a decision because it would mean he defended takedowns successfully and even outperformed Koscheck on the ground.






In more welterweight action, Martin Kampmann returns from his MAJOR victory over Carlos Condit. Originally set to fight Mike Swick in a #1 contender's fight, Swick was injured in training and was forced to pull out. Instead, the Danish Kampmann will fight 'ol Brit, Paul Daley. Daley debuts in the UFC with this fight so you assume the immediate title contention aspect is out the window, although no official word has been used one way or the other. Daley is 21-8-2 and has fought big talent from continent to continent. He has losses against Satoru Kitaoka, Luiz Azeredo, Jake Shields and Nick Thompson. He the biggest name he has defeated recently would be John Alessio last December, Daley won by knockout in the second round. For Kampmann, at 17-2, he is a top UFC fighter. Since debuting in the welterweight division, he is 2-0 and the potential for a title shot should be driving him to win big here.

Daley is a Muay Thai fighter known for his striking and Kampmann is also known for his Muay Thai/boxing skills. If this is a straight striking match, I may be more inclined to give the slight edge to Kampmann although it's not a huge edge. Daley is not a big ground fighter, however, Kampmann is not known for submissions or Jiu-Jitsu. However, he is training with Xtreme Couture so you would expect he has improved his wrestling in the lead up for this fight (whether it was for Daley or Swick). If Kampmann can take Daley down, he should be able to finish the fight. In over 30 pro fights, Daley has only one win by submission and it was caused by a strike.

As long as the fight stays standing, Daley has a solid chance at the upset to knock Kampmann out. Even though Kampmann stood for three rounds and took a decision from Carlos Condit, against a good striker, do you really want to stand for up to 15 minutes and trade?




To round out the PPV card, we have lightweights in action. Wrestler Tyson Griffin will fight BJJ fighter Hermes Franca in a fight to find out who the new contenders will be in the B.J. Penn division. Despite partaking in seven consecutive fights that have gone to a decision, Griffin is an entertaining fighter. He lost a close fight to Sean Sherk at UFC 90 that saw both wrestlers strike for most of it to earn fight of the night honors. Most recently, Griffin defeated Rafael dos Anjos in April in a fight of the night. In that fight, Griffin's leg was caught in a nasty position to where some believed he sustained a significant injury. He did not. He used his wrestling to win the fight despite taking the grappler into his own realm. I assume Griffin will employ the same strategy against BJJ Black belt Franca this weekend.

Franca has also taken part in three consecutive fights that went the distance. He lost to Sean Sherk (then was suspended for steroid usage) and Frankie Edgar. Last October, he defeated Marcus Aurelio which brings him to Griffin's door step. Whether Franca gives up his hope to knock Griffin out and focuses on trying to grab a limb or Griffin's neck, I see the wrestler controlling the fight at will.

It will be something if both fighters avoid their strengths and decide to stand and trade and if that's the case, I'd say Griffin wins. Griffin's striking skills have improved and he can always resort to takedowns to keep from being pummeled. Franca will have a tough time taking Griffin down but assuming he will have to work from his back, he will be dangerous.


In other action this Saturday night:

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller & Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drawl will appear on SpikeTV in the hour preceding UFC 103

Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igo Pokrajac
Rob Emerson vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Nik Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Rick Story vs. Brian Foster
Jason Britz vs. Eliot Marshall


Don't forget to check out the 411mania UFC 103 Roundtable Preview later in the week for all the predictions from the staff.



Lastly, this Saturday night will be a big night in the PPV business because of the direct competition between UFC 103 and the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. Mayweather will be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez and we shall see what the Pretty Boy's true drawing power is. He does not have a real name (whether you want to argue Ricky Hatton was a name in the States, be my guest) to counter unlike when he fought Oscar De La Hoya (and did insane business, over 2 million PPV buys) or Ricky Hatton (over 800k PPV buys in the U.S.). Boxing aficionados are (correctly) assuming the Mayweather show will trounce UFC, a UFC event with no real superstar drawing card (although it does boast interesting and what should be entertaining fights). I will be laughing if Mayweather does not lead the boxing PPV to do double whatever the UFC PPV ends up doing. The bottom UFC numbers this year have been just under 400k (the Franklin/Henderson, Shogun/Coleman taped PPV in January did about 350k and the Rampage/Jardine March PPV did about 375k). Whether the business of UFC 100 has truly melted over and led to new fans being repeat buyers, I'm not sure. I would imagine if UFC 103 can do about the same as the numbers of the January and March shows, they would be more than satisfied. And if Mayweather does about 700k, I'd imagine hardcore MMA haters will be scratching their heads. In the shocking event if the UFC were to match the boxing show, then just...holy crap. We can look back at this in about a month or more from now when word starts to spring up.

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It's FIGHT NIGHT with Politics in Play


UFC Fight Night 19 is hours away set for Oklahoma City with a solid television card to showcase talent preceding The Ultimate Fighter's return. Four fights are guaranteed to air on the commercial filled broadcast. We have a pair of key lightweight fights, an interesting middleweight match-up and a welterweight fight where a rookie will fight a man looking for redemption.

Carlos Condit returns to the octagon for the first time since losing his debut fight in the company to Martin Kampmann. He was originally scheduled to fight Chris Lytle but he was injured in training and will be out of action for several months. Instead, Condit will take on UFC newcomer, Jake Ellenberger who has nearly as many wins as Condit's 23 (21) and one less loss. Ellenberger is a wrestler who will probably resort to controlling the fight on the ground. That is taking into account the superb striking skills belonging to Condit, the final WEC welterweight champion. This will be a fight featuring Arizona Combat Sports (Condit) against Team Quest (Ellenberger), so two prominent fight camps are on the tablet. Condit offers a big step up in competition for Ellenberger whose only name opponents in 25 fights are Jay Hieron (a decision loss back in 2006) and possibly Ryan Stout (a TKO win in 2006, Stout has a win over Melvin Guillard). It's safe to say Condit will be as good a striker than anyone (including Hieron) Ellenberger has fought. This will be tough for the wrestler but you can never underestimate the skills of someone who can possibly take his opponent down at will. Still, I think Condit will control the fight with his strikes and earn a win.

In one of two main card fights featuring two TUF alumnus, Nate Quarry will fight Tim Credeur in middleweight action. Creduer is a BJJ fighter with some power behind his strikers. He is on a momentous ride as he has six wins in a row (his last loss came against Chael Sonnen three years ago). There's no doubt Quarry will be the toughest striker he has fought in some time, if not ever. The question will be whether Credeur crumbles from the strikes you expect Quarry to throw. If he can remain calm, throw some of his own and possibly take the fight to the ground, he may be in prime position to take advantage. Since the infamous "battle" with Kalib Starnes, Quarry has fought in two fights, going 1-1 and each has ended in under three minutes of the first round. That tells you win or lose, Quarry likes to engage and take it to his opponent. Whether that will end up being advantageous or not, depends on how well Credeur can handle the burst out of the gate. I would not be surprised to see Quarry caught in a submission but if this fight ends by TKO, expect Quarry to be on the supplying end of the wrecking ball.



Will we see another happy Huerta?

Now we come to one of the nights two lightweight battles. Although the match-up pitting Roger Huerta against Gray Maynard seems more compelling in the cage and on paper, it is not in the main event slot. Huerta is the biggest name on the show however he is also ending his UFC contract with this fight and he intends to leave for Hollywood. The UFC booked the fight with the intention to give Gray Maynard the opportunity to have a big win over a name fighter. Whether that plan goes as such remains to be seen. There is always the possibility if Huerta wins this fight, may sign with Strikeforce soon or sometime later in the future. A lot rides on the fight as Maynard is being counted on to be a force in the UFC lightweight division. Despite this being his last UFC fight (at least for the time being), Huerta is taking this fight very seriously. Reportedly, he decided not to do any media leading up to the fight until the days beforehand. He is coming off his second career loss, his first in over four years. He was dominated by Kenny Florian at UFC 87 last August in fashion we had not seen before. This fight won't be easier as he will be up against a fellow wrestler in Gray Maynard. Maynard has won each of his last five fights (actually, he's 7-0 with one no contest) in the UFC and his last four have been won by decision. Can he maintain dominance over Huerta for fifteen minutes without being caught with a big punch or kick? Maynard has fought wrestlers before, he has wins over Frankie Edgar and Jim Miller. I'm expecting an entertaining fight where hopefully lay and pray will be absent. I'm picking Maynard to win thinking he can keep the fight wherever he wants it. Pay attention after the fight win or lose to Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan (specifically if Huerta wins) to how they treat the departing Huerta. Don't be surprised if they ignore him should he lose and I'm wondering if he should win, does he get airtime to speak afterward? That would be a vindictive decision to not let the man speak, right?

Major...

The main event sees a battle between a BJJ fighter and a wrestler. Nate Diaz returns to fight Melvin Guillard in the main event. Diaz is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, both were decision losses to wrestlers Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson. Will he make it three for three? Guillard is coming off a split decision win over Gleison Tibau earlier this year. There's no denying Guillard has power in his shots and strikes but submission artists have beaten him in the past. Needless to say, Nate Diaz is from a camp that loves submissions (Nate, his brother Nick, Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez train together). I expect Nate Diaz to throw enough strikes to annoy Guillard into giving up positioning and locking on a choke hold for the victory. I wouldn't be shocked but I would be surprised to see Guillard pull out a win here.


...GUNZ!!!

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It's time for your BROCK LESNAR break of the week.

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The Ultimate Fighter is BACK!



In recent years whenever TUF returned from a several month long break, you may have been slightly excited. At least for a week, or maybe half-hour, that excitement would last. For many, tonight's debut episode of the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter is the most anticipated episode since the initial episode of season 3 when Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz were coaches. Before that, I'd say the episode where Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck finally squared off.

Now it's Kimbo's time. Some do not like the man, in the short preview of the episode, at least one fighter makes no issues at hiding his feelings. This season is not just about Kimbo. Quinton Jackson returns to coach a second season (only Matt Hughes has done that) against Rashad Evans. If that preview is a hint of things to come, we're in for some entertaining television to say the least. Unlike Rampage and Forrest Griffin, these two men do not like each other. They want to fight...but they like to talk.

Sure the Rampage/Rashad fight may not be happening directly after this season ends, but so what?! We get to watch 13 hours over as many weeks of each man hyping the eventual fight.

Besides Kimbo, Rampage and Rashad, the rest of the TUF10 cast creates an interesting chemistry. This is the first TUF cast to feature heavyweights exclusively. If I recall correctly, the last heavyweight season was the second and ironically, Rashad Evans was the winner.

Here is information relating to the cast members. I wrote this months back but here's a refresher or primer if you will.


- Wes Sims 22-12-1, Hammer House member, 0-3 in UFC in 2003-04 with two losses to Frank Mir, currently on a three fight winning streak

- Roy Nelson 13-4, lost to Andrei Arlovski and Jeff Monson

- Tom Blackledge 8-6, member of Wolfslair camp, lost to Stefan Struve

- Jim York 10-2, New Zealand born, 33-years old, knocked out James Thompson at Sengoku in March

- Darrill Schoonover 10-0, has never fought to a decision, turns 24-years old tomorrow

- Zak Jensen 7-3, lost to Brad Imes & Mike Whitehead

- Scott Junk 6-2-1, lost to Christian Wellisch at UFC 76

- Abe Wagner 6-2, three fight winning streak (although he went to a five-round split decision with Sherman Pendergarst)

- Justin Wren 6-1, three fight winning streak, 22-years old (youngest fighter in the house), and trains with Travis Lutter

- Mike Wessel 6-1, lost to Antoni Hardonk (on short notice) at UFC 92

- Marcus Jones 4-1, ex-NFL player (1st round draft pick of Buccaneers in 1996), 6'6", 35-years old

- Brendan Schaub 4-0, ex-NFL player (Bills), Golden Gloves champion and a Colorado BJJ champion, trained with Shane Carwin, trains with Greg Jackson's camp and KO Fight Club in Colorado

- Kimbo Slice 3-1, 35-years old

- Wes Shivers 2-0, ex-NFL player (Falcons), 6'7 and had to cut about 20 pounds to make 265 lbs. limit

- Jon Madsen 1-0, member H.I.T. Squad (Matt Hughes' camp), wrestled against Brock Lesnar in high school

- Matt Mitrione 0-0, ex-NFL player (Giants, Vikings), trains with Jake O'Brien


Best yet, the Juggernaut weekly TUF preview returns. So every Wednesday morning, return to check out what happened and what's coming up during the season.

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JUGGERNAUT NEWS BRIEFS

- Randy Couture's next fight inside the octagon will be against Brandon Vera at UFC 105 in a light heavyweight contest. With the lack of certifiable main events this fall, the UFC even considered booking Couture against Rashad Evans, an idea Couture approved. However, Rashad Evans declined the fight according to reports. Needless to say, if this is true, Couture would be a great (big name) addition to the UFC 105 card. This would be the first time Randy Couture would fight in a fight on cable television as UFC 105 is set to air in the U.S. on Spike TV hours after it happens in Manchester, England.


- Chuck Liddell is $10,000 richer courtesy of Dana White from a bet revolving around The Iceman's weight. After seeing his friend between 230-240 pounds in July, White bet Liddell he could not cut down to 214 by yesterday's date. Liddell says he is 214 thanks to his extensive dance training while preparing for the upcoming Dancing With The Stars show on ABC. The new season begins Monday night and Liddell will take on the role of being arguably the most well known fighter in the show's history. Floyd Mayweather Jr. did participate in the past.


- Fabricio Werdum is not to keen on Alistair Overeem these days. The Dutchmen took himself out of a planned Strikeforce heavyweight title defense back on August 15th because of a hand injury. Werdum defeated Mike Kyle on the show and wants a fight with Overeem. Werdum told MMAWeekly, "I cannot be 100-percent right about the reason he is taking so long to solve his issues and come to fight, but it seems either that the gummy berry juice he is taking to give him super powers is (causing) him to avoid fighting here in America or he is afraid of having no arms to fight after facing me one more time." Ouch! A lot of claims flying around in public about steroids overseas...and they're coming from other fighters! Werdum did comically add, "I want to say to him that if comes, face me and lose, I will let him take some pictures with my belt and he will be able to keep good memories from his time as a Strikeforce champion."


- Speaking of Alistair Overeem, his manager is not too happy with the relationship between Strikeforce and M-1 Global. According to a forum post (thanks to BloodyElbow for the translation), Bas Boon said M-1 was comprised of crooks and he would be reluctant to have one of his fighters fight on a show co-promoted by them. "Our deal with Strikeforce was made before this bunch of robbers came along, but now we were planning on asking our money in advance. In fact, I see this as the ideal opportunity to say no to the contract that was signed earlier; we don't want to fight on any M-mini Cons & co promotions." If this is a legit problem between Boon/Overeem and Strikeforce/M-1, it may be a while before we see Overeem fight in the United States.


- Contrary to previous reports, Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports talked with Ed Soares who said Anderson Silva has not and will not be undergoing elbow surgery and is fine to fight in November. Previous reports said Silva was going under the knife and would be out of action for the rest of the year. This is an odd twist to the story. Depending on who you want to believe, Silva does not want to fight Dan Henderson or Nate Marquardt. Dan Henderson, a free agent, wants Silva. If the UFC wants him to fight Marquardt, Henderson wants a boost in salary. Then we have Nate Marquardt who is a top contender, may not fight the champion or fellow top contender for reasons beyond his control. This is why Dana White and Joe Silva get paid the big bucks.


- Shark Fight 6 took place over the weekend. Some of the notable results include: Dave Herman defeated Don Frye via TKO one minute into the fight and Gerald Harris defeated Nissen Osterneck via knockout.


- Arena Rumble in Washington state also took place this past weekend. The main event saw Jeremy Horn submit Jason Guida in the first round. Trevor Prnagley knocked out Dennis Reed early in their fight. Lyle Beerbohm returned to action to stop Josh Martin via TKO. Brad Imes and Terry Martin, both former UFC veterans, each lost via knockout in their fights. Martin was knocked out by Julio Paulino and Imes was knocked out by Josh Queen.


- Kevin Randleman will fight King Mo Lawal in November at Sengoku 11 according to Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Sherdog. King Mo is 5-0 and is coming off a knockout victory over Mark Kerr a few weeks back in Kansas City. Mo is 3-0 as a heavyweight and 2-0 as a light heavyweight. Randleman made his big U.S. return in June in a decision loss to Mike Whitehead. He is 2-6 in his last eight fights dating back to 2004 and 1-1 dating back to last year when he defeated Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku II. I'd find it difficult to believe this fight is anything other than giving Mo another name to beat.


- Former American Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier will make his professional MMA debut against fellow rookie, Gary Frazier on the next Strikeforce Challengers show on September 25th. The show will emanate from Oklahoma and will air on Showtime. Cormier's fight will be broadcasted on the main card. The main event of the show features Tim Kennedy fighting Zak Cummings.


- At a UFC 103 media conference, Mirko Cro Cop spoke about Fedor Emelianenko not signing with the UFC. The two were once the most feared heavyweights together while fighting in PRIDE earlier this decade. Cro Cop said he was unsure who makes decisions for Fedor, whether he listens to others or makes his own. Cro Cop was adamant that the UFC is where the best competition is, which is why he returned. According to Cro Cop, Fedor was offered a tremendous deal by the UFC but he balked and ended up signing with Strikeforce.


- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the twin brother of Minotauro Nogueira, will make his UFC debut at UFC 106 in November in Las Vegas. Rogerio will fight fellow Brazilian fighter, Luiz Cane. Cane is 10-1 and has suddenly become a step or two away from being in title contention. According to Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rogerio Nogueira has told the UFC that he has zero interest in fighting Lyoto Machida, whether he's champion or not. The two have trained together for some time and with that caveat, the UFC will have to think twice about who they book him to fight.


- Japanese Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii will make his MMA debut at World Victory Road's Sengoku year-end show. There is no date yet but Ishii's opponent appears to be a fellow Olympic gold medalist, Hidehiko Yoshida (8-7 in MMA competition). Both won gold in Judo, Yoshida at the 1992 Barcelona games and Ishii at the 2008 Chinese games. Yoshida is 40-years old and would appear to be a stepping stone for the 22-year old, 240-pound Ishii.


- The undercard for WEC 44 (the event that is rumored to feature a main event of Mike Brown defending the 145 lbs championship against Jose Aldo) is expected to feature a featherweight fight between Leonard Garcia and Manny Gamburyan. Both former UFC fighters are coming off wins in their last WEC appearances.


- Alan Belcher (14-6) is expected to fight Wilson Gouveia (18-6) at UFC 107 on December 12th in Memphis, Tennessee. The pair of middleweights are each coming off losses, Belcher lost a close decision to Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 100 and Gouveia lost by TKO to Nate Marquardt at UFC 95. With Rampage Jackson off the card, Belcher may be the only hometown boy on the card.


- Strikeforce has scheduled a fight between Jorge Gurgel (13-5) and Billy Evangelista (9-0) for their Strikeforce Challengers show on Friday, November 6th in California. Gurgel made his successful Strikeforce debut earlier this summer in an action filled decision victory over Conor Heun. Evangelista fought in the main event of the same show and was disqualified for an illegal knee to the head of his opponent, Mike Aina. The California State Athletic Commission eventually changed that result to a no contest.


- Former UFC fighter Sean Salmon (of Rashad Evans head kick knockout fame) has been a guest columnist on the MMAJunkie site for some time. Recently, he wrote about a recent fight he had in June in Ohio. He wrote that while training with the Wolfslair group out of England, if he were injured, he was told not to return. Salmon wrote that in the second round, he defended an armbar at first, then gave up his arm and lost the fight purposefully. The idea was that he could return to England to train because he was not injured. He even wrote, "Just so you all know, that is the most embarrassing thing I have ever admitted out loud." In response to the column, the Ohio State Athletic Commission suspended him pending a hearing on the matter. Afterwards, the New Jersey State Athletic Commission refused to license him for a scheduled September fight with Dante Rivera. Since the hoopla, Salmon insists he misquoted himself and did not intentionally throw the fight. Make of it what you will.


- One of the main fights for UFC 107 in Memphis will be a heavyweight bout pitting Frank Mir against Cheick Kongo. Although a rematch between Mir and Minotauro Nogueira would have been AWESOME~!, it was not to be. Kongo was dominated at UFC 99 by Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir lost to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. Also on the card in December will be a big lightweight fight between Kenny Florian and Clay Guida. Holy crap is that an awesome fight on paper or what?


- The Bitetti Combat show in Brazil was held over the weekend. Noting U.S. known fighters, Glover Texeira defeated Leonardo Chocolate by guillotine choke submission in the first round. Ninja Rua defeated Alex Stiebling by TKO from strikes in the first round. Pedro Rizzo defeated Jeff Monson by unanimous decision. Paulo Filho (as a light heavyweight) defeated Alex Schoenauer by unanimous decision in controversial fashion. According to reports, Schoenauer did more to earn the victory but the judges gave the fight to Filho. The hometown crowd booed the decision. In the main event, Ricardo Arona's return was successful as he won a unanimous decision over Marvin Eastman.


- Also at the Bitetti Combat show, Will Ribeiro made a live appearance in front of the crowd. Ribeiro appeared in a wheel chair due to life threatening and career ending injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident in December 2008. Reportedly, he has come a long way as originally, doctors were not sure whether he would come out of an induced coma earlier this year. His last professional fight was a submission loss to Brian Bowles at WEC 37 about two weeks before the accident.


- Dan Henderson is reportedly a free agent. He is still close with the UFC and is negotiating a new deal. The issue here is the UFC wants Henderson to fight Nate Marquardt this year in a fight to determine an undisputed number one contender to Anderson Silva's championship. Henderson wants a raise in salary from his previous fights to return to the UFC and according to Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse, Henderson is not looking to talk with promotions other than the UFC.



JUGGERNAUT VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Quinton Jackson sits down to talk to ESPN Radio during the filming of this season's TUF. He talks about having to control his temper and wanting to beat down Rashad Evans. The JOY!









Bob Arum wishes he had the "skinhead" crowd.






Thanks for tuning in and see you next week. It's been real (although Tool's flamboyance skipping around the 411 Offices lately is starting to drive King Csonka batty, and you DON'T want to do that!).



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