MMA Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will host the UFC 128 UFC Fight Club Q&A session on March 18 according to HeavyMMA.com.

The weigh-ins for “UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones” takes place on Friday, March 18 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Prior to the official weigh-ins, former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell will host a special Q&A for UFC Fight Club members.

UFC champions Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz will be signing autographs along with TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar.

The Q&A begins at 2 p.m. ET. The doors will open to UFC Fight Club members at 1 p.m. ET. The weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m. ET with the door opening for the general public at 3 p.m. ET.

You can watch the live UFC 128 weigh-in video stream here at Heavy.com.

UFC 128 is headlined by the UFC light heavyweight title bout between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jon Jones.

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UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin takes place tonight from the General Motors Palace in Vancouver, British Columbia. The card is pretty solid but not overwhelming. Here are my thoughts on each of the main card bouts.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Chuck Liddell (21-7) vs. Rich Franklin (27-5) – Both of these guys are past their prime and looking for another win to add to their career list. Liddell looks to be in great shape for the fight but unless he changes the way he fights, he is probably in trouble. Franklin is a more technical striker and he utilizes body kicks, which Liddell will have trouble with. I expect Franklin to use his jab to keep Liddell and bay and slowly wear him down before scoring a big punch that leads to a finish in the third round.

Heavyweight Bout – Mirko Cro Cop (26-7) vs. Pat Barry (5-1) – This should be a very entertaining fight as neither fighter wants it to go to the ground and both are excellent with their kicks. Unfortunately for Cro Cop, he has lost his killer instinct that made him a star and his apprehension will allow Barry to set the tone with his brutal leg kicks. Look for Barry to win this fight by a TKO in the second round.

Welterweight Bout – Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-3) – Kampmann seems to be getting overlooked in this fight as he is a tough guy to beat and he is very well-rounded. Thiago is probably over-confident in his striking after his last win over Mike Swick, but that will play into Kampmann’s favor. Look for the Dane to get a decision victory as he dictates the pacing and location of the bout.
Heavyweight Bout – Ben Rothwell (30-7) vs. Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1) – These are two big sluggers that are going to probably tire themselves out early in the fight. The key to victory will be the bigger size and better wrestling skill of Rothwell, who should be able to use his weight to lay on Yvel and tire him out quicker. Once Yvel is gassed, look for Rothwell to pounce and score a second round TKO win.

Welterweight Bout – Carlos Condit (24-5) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-0) – There is a lot of promise in MacDonald, who is just 20-years-old, but he is stepping up in competition with this fight against the experienced Condit. Condit will be ready anywhere the fight goes and MacDonald still has some learning to do before he can get into contender status. Look for Condit to out-class MacDonald on their feet and on the ground as he scores a decision win.

When Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Rich “Ace” Franklin meet in the octagon this Saturday night, no titles will be on the line but as our MMA writer Drew Ellis writes: a career will likely end, while a legacy will be shaped.

Ellis previewed UFC 115 for Bullz-Eye.com, which you can read here. Below is a taste of the preview and a gallery dedicated to the fight. Enjoy!

The main event of Saturday’s card features two former UFC champions when Rich “Ace” Franklin and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell meet. At one time, both were considered among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but now, the two are thought to be past their prime.
Liddell (21-7) is making his return to the octagon after being away for over a year. His last fight was a first round knockout loss to current light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Liddell won the UFC Light Heavyweight title back at UFC 52 against Randy Couture. That win was part of a seven-fight win streak that saw Liddell defend his title four times before running into Quinton Jackson. “Rampage” knocked out Liddell in the first round of that fight, which started a string of four losses in five outings for Liddell.

The problem that Liddell has been facing is that he was so successful for a stretch earlier in his career that he believed he didn’t have to continue to evolve. He continued to rely on his punching power, while his opponents found new ways to gain the upper hand on him. As Liddell refused to change, wins subsequently turned to losses and now, a loss to Franklin will end his career. (Or so says UFC President Dana White.)

The road hasn’t been much different for Franklin (27-5), who won the UFC middleweight title at UFC 53 by defeating Evan Tanner. From there, Franklin put together some dominant wins over mediocre talent in Nate Quarry and David Loiseau.

Read the full UFC 115 Preview at Bullz-Eye.com.

With the much-anticipated fight between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans taking place next Saturday, I decided to look back and think of other fights that had this much animosity between the two competitors. Here is my list of top five rivalries in the UFC since the Zuffa inception:

1. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock – While the fights were pretty lopsided, you could always feel the heat and rage between these two. Tito was a showboat and Ken was mister intensity. They never really had a chance to be friends. The first fight really did a lot to help the UFC land a network television deal and bring more attention to the sport. Then, the two added to their rivalry with their coaching appearance on The Ultimate Fighter Season 3. Too bad for Ken he lost all three fights to Ortiz, but the rivalry was still classic.

2. Matt Hughes and Matt Serra – This rivalry is about two guys that want to be the Alpha Male. Serra is always playing the disrespect card and Hughes is an honest jerk. Hughes dominated the UFC Welterweight division for years and had no problems talking about how inferior his opponents were while Serra shocked the world a few years ago and Hughes called his title reign a “fluke”. These two also coached opposite one another in The Ultimate Fighter Season Six, which led to a fight at UFC 98 that Hughes narrowly pulled out. Still to this day, Serra has preached for a rematch and still proclaims his dislike for the future Hall of Famer.

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My hands were sweaty, my face was red but I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass.

“Dana, could you tell me where you see Jose (Aldo) on your pound-for-pound list.”

The question was simple enough. I mean I ran it through my head a million times in a little over two minutes. The wording, the timing, the tone all needed to sound just right. After all, this question was directed at Dana White, President of the UFC and WEC.

Following Saturday’s WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber pay-per-view event, which was sponsored by AMP Energy, White and select fighters addressed the media. And there I was, covering my first MMA live event thanks to the people at AMP Energy.

At 27, I have been a dedicated MMA fan for seven years. Having seen the early days of Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, I was re-introduced to the UFC with Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture at UFC 43 and have been hooked since.

But I am not just a fan, I am a sports writer, and have been for about 10 years now.

I knew that the opportunity of covering MMA for Bullz-Eye.com and The Scores Report was one I wanted to be a part of because I knew that I could do it objectively and with the respect and knowledge that MMA fans want from their writers. I’m not just a fan. Still, even having interviewed some of the top athletes in the world, my eyes were locked in with White’s as he awaited my question.

As any MMA fan knows, if White thinks you asked him a stupid question, he will let you know and he will probably sprinkle in a few expletives to describe his feelings.

So I asked my question.

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- 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:

- Strikeforce announced that Fedor Emelianenko’s first opponent in their organization would be undefeated brawler Brett Rogers. Fedor responded to the news with a piss-poor jump-rope display.

- Gina Carano came out of hiding to thank her fans and give props to the woman who wrecked her two weeks ago. Speaking of Cris Cyborg, the Strikeforce women’s champ will be helping to revive the once-fearsome Chute Boxe name with her own gym in California.

- Shane Carwin doesn’t like Brock Lesnar’s attitude, *or* his taste in light beer.

- Could the UFC have a network television deal in the works?

- We watched the fastest knockout in MMA history, a kickass DREAM highlight reel, and Tito Ortiz’s latest lunkheaded video blog.

- New UFC Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks hasn’t given up her day job as a golf-caddy.

- Chuck Liddell began his training for “Dancing With the Stars.” God help us.

- UFC 102 goes down Saturday night in Portland. Check out our analysis of the card here and here, and come back to CagePotato.com at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view broadcast.

With UFC 100 a week away on July 11, I decided to look back at what got the UFC to this point. Here is my take on what I believe are the 10 most significant fights in UFC history, helping the company become what it is today.

1. Stephan Bonner vs. Forrest Griffin – Ultimate Fighter Finale 1: This fight was not only the most memorable fight to watch, but may also be the fight that really pushed the UFC into the next level of mainstream popularity. Following the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter, a show which UFC President Dana White and co-owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta funded out of their own pocket, the finale took place live on Spike TV, which was airing live fights for the first time in the history of cable television. The UFC knew it needed something big to happen to not only keep a cable television deal, but earn future advertisers, and also prolong its reality show for future seasons. Bonner vs. Griffin delivered just that. The two fought to the very end and both were so even, it was impossible to decide a clear winner for most fans. The fight at one point drew 10 million viewers, which was just what the UFC needed. The back-and-forth, non-stopped action gave the UFC an identity to fans that had never seen it before and got the ball rolling that has allowed the UFC to snowball into what it is today.

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