- What the hell has happened to Sammy Sosa? This photo terrifies me.

- Pro Football Talk.com is claiming that ESPN.com plagiarized them on the Joey Porter/Tom Brady story. And they say bloggers are the ones stealing stories, geesh.

- Get a sneak peak at what Ohio State’s throwback uniforms will look like this Saturday against Penn State, thanks to SPORTSbyBROOKS.com.

- Here are five MMA Fighters who went out on top, courtesy of CagePotato.com.

- MoonDog Sports says that NFL players need to shut up and play already.

- YARDBARKER hands out their NFL Midseason Awards.

- DEADSPIN has some updates on the Sean Sailsbury lawsuit.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Lyoto Machida retained his light-heavyweight title in a very controversial decision over Mauricio Rua at UFC 104. Luckily, there will be an immediate rematch between the two Brazilian standouts.

- DREAM’s first “White Cage” event featured another lopsided win for Alistair Overeem, another head kick knockout by Marius Zaromskis, and another back-from-the-dead victory for Kazushi Sakuraba.

- A month-long flu has forced Brock Lesnar to pull out of his title defense against Shane Carwin at UFC 106. Coincidentally, Carwin himself had been battling swine flu, but that wasn’t going to make him puss out of the fight.

- Rashad Evans became the first coach in Ultimate Fighter history to win seven fights in the round-of-16, as the imbalanced Matt “Meathead” Mitrione scored an upset over well-traveled veteran Scott Junk on Wednesday’s episode of TUF 10. Rampage responded by savagely assaulting a door.

- We took a look at some of the nastiest leg-kicks in MMA history.

- Fedor Emelianenko looked disturbingly passionate in the first leaked image from EA’s new MMA video game, and mighty dapper in his Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory.

- Sexy UFC ring girl Natasha Wicks (aka “the blonde one”) modeled some Halloween costumes for all her drooling fans. Speaking of which, if you happen to be going out as an MMA fighter this Halloween, e-mail a picture of yourself to feedback@cagepotato.com by tomorrow night, and you can win a $100 gift card from MMA Warehouse.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay per-view today with UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun, which features five fights on the main card. Here is a breakdown of each fight and who I expect to win.

Light Heavyweight Championship – Lyoto Machida (15-0) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-3): Machida has quickly emerged as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world due to his style of fighting. Machida has brought a true karate style to the octagon and made it look like a dominant way of fighting. His last two fights have been impressive victories over Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans to win the UFC title. Machida likes to counter-strike, which works well in this fight as Rua likes to push the pace and be the aggressive fighter. Rua has gotten better with each fight inside the cage, but today’s fight doesn’t bode well for him. Machida has quicker strikes and should be able to pick Rua apart to score a TKO victory in the third round over a gassed Rua.

Heavyweight Bout – Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-6) – The co-headliner features two heavyweight contenders. Velasquez is being groomed to be a threat to Brock Lesnar’s heavyweight title. The Mexican born fighter has used his wrestling background to dominate his opponents and use ground-and-pound striking to quickly end fights. His last fight, a decision win over Cheick Kongo, Velasquez was able to get Kongo to the ground and dictate the pacing of the fight. Velasquez was hit with some big punches in the fight and was tested for the first time, but passed the test. Rothwell was a former IFL heavyweight champion and has faced some tough opponents, but doesn’t have a real marquee win in his lengthy career. Rothwell can win with a big punch, but Velasquez is likely to get this fight to the ground, where he will control Rothwell and earn a decision or TKO victory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Hulking heavyweight Alistair Overeem destroyed a completely outmatched opponent last weekend and plans on destroying an equally outmatched opponent this weekend.

- The two most emotionally-abused castmembers on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” faced off Wednesday night, and coach Rashad Evans kept his historic winning streak alive.

- We demonstrated the difference between a ridiculously unnecessary sucker punch and a completely understandable one.

- The upstart Bellator MMA league is returning next April — with a massive television deal.

- We took a look at five MMA fights that happened too early.

- The UFC booked high-profile rematches between Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard, and Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves.

- We’re sad to report that UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida drinks his own pee. Nevertheless, he’ll be kicking Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s ass tonight at UFC 104 in Los Angeles. Check out our analysis of the card here, and swing by CagePotato.com at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our thrilling liveblog of the pay-per-view broadcast.

- Benson Henderson edged out Donald Cerrone in an epic five-rounder at WEC 43, while Mackens Semerzier came out of nowhere to score the upset of the year over Wagnney Fabiano.

- Chuck Liddell’s storybook run on “Dancing With the Stars” came to an abrupt end when his country-fried two-step failed to win over the judges.

- Half-crazy UFC vet Wes Sims was quickly choked to sleep by Justin Wren on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, extending Team Rashad’s undefeated reign of destruction.

- “The Simpsons” devoted an entire episode to MMA, in which Marge went from killjoy protester to ass-kicking cage-fighter.

- Brock Lesnar was as big and scary as a baby as he is now, and Nick Diaz had lost all ability to give a fuck by age six.

- We met Mika Nagano, one of Japan’s sexiest MMA fighters.

- After contract negotiations with the UFC fell apart, veteran fighter Dan Henderson is jumping ship to Strikeforce.

- Leaner and meaner, Ben Rothwell laid out his plan to beat Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 next Saturday.

- If Tito Ortiz is your favorite fighter, you are either Jenna Jameson, Donald Trump, or Tito Ortiz. No exceptions.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Gina Carano appeared semi-nude (and fully hot) on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine’s “Body Issue.”

- Shinya Aoki won his best-of-three series against Joachim Hansen, Bibiano Fernandes kicked two separate asses, and the little Hulks beat the big Hulks at the DREAM.11 show in Yokohama on Tuesday. You can watch all the fight videos here and here.

- On Wednesday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Team Rashad went up 4-0 thanks to Brendan Schaub’s grappling and Quinton Jackson’s awful coaching. If Rashad plays his cards right, he could be the first TUF coach to sweep the round-of-16.

- “TUF 8″ head-case Junie Browning was arrested for assaulting three nurses after a pill-related misunderstanding at a Las Vegas hospital.

- Mark Coleman blew out his knee and dropped out of his UFC 106 fight against Tito Ortiz. Ortiz called him a sissy. Coleman’s manager called Ortiz’s girlfriend a whore. Ortiz will now be facing Forrest Griffin in a rematch.

- UFC legend Chuck Liddell won another split-decision on “Dancing With the Stars.”

- We took a look at 10 of the wildest MMA fighter entrances of all time, and 10 career-ruining, soul-destroying fights.

Former NFL great Herschel Walker appeared on ESPN First Take on Tuesday and challenged UFC President Dana White to a fight. Walker’s hostility towards White stems from comments made by the UFC prez after Walker signed a deal with Strikeforce.

From Fightline.com:

“I think it’s ridiculous,” White stated about Walker’s signing during an interview on Inside The Ultimate Fighter. “People think we’re anti-competition? We’re anti-dumb competition. Doing stupid things like this, putting a 50 year old guy in the Octagon for the first time, and then going out there putting out press releases like it’s a big deal because you signed a 50-year-old Herschel Walker? Are you serious?”

Walker took White’s comments to heart, and had some comments of his own for White.

“Who ever made him the guy to measure athletic talent?” Walker asked the show. “I don’t think Dana knows anything about athletic talent.
“He knows about fighters, which is different,” Walker continued. “He’s running a show right now with heavyweights and I’ll put dimes to donuts, all the heavyweights on his show right now I will beat. That’s pretty easy to say.”
Walker went on to issue a challenge to the UFC President.

“Dana always tells people to put their money where your mouth is. Dana says I’m so old? Why doesn’t he step into the ring with me because he’s been practicing (MMA), as well?”

It sounds like Walker is biting off more than he can chew. I don’t know enough about the MMA to know who would take down whom, but I think it’s a safe bet that if Walker went against any of the UFC’s top fighters he might struggle. Other athletes-turned-MMA fighters have gone in the ring before, only to be dismantled quickly. But again, I don’t Walker’s fighting style, so I admit I’m talking out of my league here.

Either way, I’d pay to see a Walker-White clash. (Actually, I wouldn’t…but I’d at least watch the highlights.)

Bullz-Eye.com Fitness Editor Mike Furci got the opportunity to sit down with former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Matt “The Terror” Serra recently to pick his brain about what it’s like to star in the Ultimate Fighter series. Serra also gives a round-by-round breakdown of his assessment of the rematch between he and Matt Hughes.

Bullz-Eye: Is Matt there?

Matt Serra: Yeah, this is Matt.

BE: Hey Matt. This is Mike Furci from Bullz-Eye.com. How’s everything going?

MS: Everything is going great, everything is going great. After the fight, I’m spending some time with my family; I’m getting back in my schools. It’s going great.

BE: Oh, that’s awesome. I heard the Serra Academies are doing well.

MS: Yeah, I can’t complain. I have two schools here on Long Island. If anybody wanted to check them out it is mattserra.net. I tell you, you know I have a lot of students and they are all — it’s a good atmosphere, I have a great time training and it’s a good time. That’s where you’ll catch me after all my fights.

BE: Oh I bet.

MS: I’m there, I’m teaching and having a great time.

BE: Doing what you love to do.

MS: Yeah man, when I’m not fighting I am just teaching guys how to arm block and reverse, sit-ups, triangle chokes. It’s all good.

BE: Right. Can you give us a little history behind the start of the Serra Academies and a little bit about their growth over the last few years?

Read the entire interview at Bullz-Eye.com.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira conquered fellow MMA legend Randy Couture at UFC 102 last Saturday, while Nate Marquardt, Thiago Silva, and Todd Duffee scored some memorable knockouts. Despite his loss, Couture signed a new contract with the UFC that will keep him fighting in the Octagon until he’s damn near 50 years old.

- MTV “Bully Beatdown” host Jason Miller vowed to “beat the piss out of Jake Shields” when the two fighters meet, and explained his obsession with Twitter.

- We came across an MMA sponsor that’s even more embarrassing than Condom Depot.

- Former NFL player Marcus Jones will be battling for a UFC contract on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. He credits his start in MMA to one fateful “man-cation.”

- Mike Swick dropped out of UFC 103 due to injury, Sean Sherk dropped out of UFC 104 due to “injury,” and Quinton Jackson dropped out of UFC 107 due to the demands of his movie career. Luckily, BJ Penn will fill in for Rampage as a headliner.

- Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers has come up with the worst strategy possible for beating Fedor Emelianenko.

- Former UFC ring girl Edith Labelle said she was fired over a bout of food poisoning that just happened to *look* like a bad hangover.

- We watched a life-affirming MMA highlight reel, Anderson Silva’s dead-on Randy Couture impression, and a behind-the-scenes look at King Mo’s demolition of Mark Kerr.

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira takes place tonight from the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore. The fight card is filled with interesting matchups, headlined by the main event of heavyweight legends Randy Couture and Antonio Minotauro Nogeuira. Here are my thoughts on the fights.

Heavyweights (265 lbs. max) – Randy Couture (16-9) vs. Antonio Nogueira (31-5-1): This fight is crucial for both fighters to win to keep their career meaningful and to stay in the heavyweight title picture. Both are coming off second round TKO losses, and both look to be on the downsides of their career. Couture is in his mid-40’s and though he is in great shape, his body has to be wearing down. Nogueira is only 33, but looks like he is in his 50’s because of all the wars he has been in through his life. Essentially I see Couture having the edge in this fight because his striking seems to be more advanced than Nogueira. Nogueira can only win by submission, and Couture is very good at avoiding submissions. I see Couture out-striking Nogueira on the feet and in the clinch and scoring some occasional takedowns to earn the decision victory.

Light Heavyweights (205 lbs. max) – Keith Jardine (14-6-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1): This co-headline fight is also a crucial fight for both athletes. Each is coming off a loss and both are trying to stay relevant in the light heavyweight contender picture. I think Jardine has the edge in this fight because of his experience against other top fighters. Silva has just one marquee fight, and that was a first round KO loss to Lyoto Machida. That was Silva’s first loss and many times you see fighters come out more tentative after getting knocked out for the first time. Silva can’t do that in this fight or else he will certainly lose. Jardine does have a suspect chin that Silva could connect on, but ultimately I see Jardine using his kicks and unorthodox striking to pick up the decision win.

Read the rest of this entry »