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

- At last weekend’s UFC 101 show, Anderson Silva got his balls back with a stunning knockout of Forrest Griffin and BJ Penn taught Kenny Florian a very painful lesson.

- Brian Bowles scored the upset of the year with his shocking first-round KO of WEC bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres. Unfortunately, Bowles got paid peanuts for the win, and broke his hand in the process.

- Inspired by Nick Diaz’s marijuana-related screwjob of Strikeforce, we counted down the 10 most cursed MMA events of all time.

- The UFC has recently been stockpiling crusty old-timers, including Vladimir Matyushenko and Phil Baroni. Can a “Veterans” season of The Ultimate Fighter be far behind?

- We took a look at some classic MMA moments, crudely recreated in MS Paint.

- Notorious MMA steroid abuser Josh Barnett sold his last shred of dignity in a freaky pro-wrestling bout in Japan.

- Hit up CagePotato.com starting tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET for our liveblog of “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg.” Get familiar with the card by reading our interview with Cris Cyborg, some last-minute betting advice, as well as our always provocative “Ben vs. Ben” debate.

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

- Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko told the UFC to get stuffed, and signed with rival MMA promotion Strikeforce. As you can imagine, Dana White wasn’t too happy about this.

- James Irvin officially became the most cursed MMA fighter in history.

- Josh Barnett’s latest steroid bust, which single-handedly destroyed Affliction’s MMA promotion, actually saved the sport of mixed martial arts.

- Speaking of ‘roids, BJ Penn is pretty sure that Georges St. Pierre uses them, because how else would you explain his physique? You know, other than genetics and hard work…

- Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix finals turned into a clusterbang of injuries and racism.

- Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski may have attempted suicide after two straight knockout losses.

- Busty French-Canadian ring girl Edith Labelle exited the UFC under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it, she was too drunk to work UFC 100 last month.

- Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC 101 pay-per-view broadcast. You can get familiar with the card by reading this debate on the major topics of the event, and our always-helpful gambling advice. And remember: This ain’t Las Vegas, and it ain’t New Jersey. This is Philly.

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

- In a press conference held Friday, UFC boss Dana White announced the returns of Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort, and promised to be close on another deal that will “change the UFC forever.”

- Unfortunately, getting Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko into the UFC remains a pipe-dream — and it will remain that way as long as Fedor has morons like Jerry Millen in his camp.

- Josh Barnett insists that he’s innocent of his latest steroid charge. His urine, however, is telling a different story.

- Speaking of ‘roids, we ran down every single steroid bust in MMA history, from Tim Sylvia’s ill-fated attempt to lose his gut to Kevin Randleman’s infamous “dead human or live animal” incident.

- Strikeforce’s August 15th show continues to undergo major changes, with Renato Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi brought over from Affliction’s canceled “Trilogy” card, Jay Hieron coming in to replace Joe Riggs, and Mitsuhiro Ishida replacing injured lightweight champ Josh Thomson. Luckily, Gina Carano is still looking quite healthy.

- Also in the wake of Affliction’s collapse, the UFC swooped in to rescue Ben Rothwell, Paul Daley, and Joe Lauzon’s little brother.

- Kenny Florian talked to us about his gameplan for BJ Penn, and set the record straight on that text message he may or may not have sent Penn that may or may not have accused Georges St. Pierre of greasing.

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

In a week that left every MMA fan with a massive hangover…

- Affliction heavyweight Josh Barnett pissed dirty in a random drug test, and was yanked from next Saturday’s “Trilogy” Card. After a futile search for a replacement opponent, Affliction decided it would be easier for everybody if they just went back to selling t-shirts.

- Lithuanian underdog Marius Zaromskis won DREAM’s welterweight grand prix by knocking out Hayato Sakurai and Jason High on the same night.

- Strikeforce’s formerly-epic “Carano vs. Cyborg” card lost two title fights, one due to an infected hand and the other due to an unfortunate drug reaction.

- Instead of the title shot he was promised, UFC middleweight star Dan Henderson has to fight Rich Franklin again, just eight months after he beat him the first time.

- UFC old-schooler Kimo Leopoldo was discovered not dead of a heart attack. He was, and still is, 41.

- We wondered what the future holds for the UFC’s fallen U.K. poster boy Michael Bisping.

- In a sport full of turmoil and constant surprises, we can always count on Gina Carano to look hot in public.

Pay-Per View events for Mixed-Martial Arts have always tried to have catchy names, including Affliction: Trilogy, which was set to take place on Aug. 1. Well, after a whirlwind 48 hours, here is a better name for the promotion: Affliction: Out-of-Business.

Yahoo! Sports MMA writer Kevin Iole, who has been covering MMA for years, first reported that Affliction main-event fighter Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids just days ago. Then today, he reported that not only would the fight promotion cancel its third MMA event, but also that it will now cease to exist as a fight promotion.

That is quite a drastic turnaround in less than a week.

Just last weekend fans were clamoring for the main-event of Affliction, which was schedule to be Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor is considered one of the best fighters in the world, and was really all Affliction had going for it in promoting Pay-Per View events.

Before discussing the importance of this closing and the impact it could have on MMA and mostly, the UFC, here is a quick timeline of Affliction’s demise:

- On Wednesday, the California State Athletic Commission announced that Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test and denied his application to fight Fedor on Aug. 1 for the Affliction: Trilogy event. Barnett tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, which is an anabolic steroid.

- Affliction Vice President Tom Attencio confirmed Barnett’s failed drug test and began scrambling to find a replacement for his main event. The fighters rumored to take Barrett’s place included Tito Ortiz, Brett Rogers, Vitor Belfort, and Bobby Lashley

- On Thursday, Fedor addressed his frustrations with Barnett’s failed drug test and pushes for a fight with Rogers.

- Barnett then speaks publicly and denies the failed drug test. CSAC issues full support of its findings and states that each test was done randomly and they didn’t know it was Barnett that failed until the results were discovered

- Attencio continued to say that Affliction was looking for a replacement, believed to be Belfort, who was originally scheduled to fight at 185-pounds on the card, but would then fight at Heavyweight against Fedor (a considerably larger opponent). The hold up on an official decision appeared to be money, as Belfort was requesting a sizeable pay increase, equal to that of other fighters that have taken on Fedor (upwards of $800,000).

- On Friday, Attencio announced that Affliction: Trilogy would not take place, but hints that the promotion will continue to put on future shows.

- Hours later, Affliction decides to quit the fight game entirely.
- Dana White let it slip that shortly after UFC 100, he was approached by an Affliction representative that offered him their fighter contracts and told him that the promotion would cease operation if Affliction could once again sponsor UFC fighters. White denied the request.

While White denied the first offer, it appears now that the UFC will again allow Affliction to sponsor UFC fighters and that the fighters would wear Affliction clothing once again. At this time, it is unknown how the fighter contracts will be handled.

No matter what, this is a big day for the UFC. It once again proved its supremacy in terms of having the top promotion in MMA, and now has a chance to sign Affliction’s top fighters to UFC deals, mainly Fedor, which could set up mega-fights in the future for big PPV numbers.

Fedor has eluded the UFC for years, and the big hold up in contract talks has been his desire to have a non-exclusive contract, which would allow him to take part in other fight events, including those that happen in Russia. The UFC is completely against that approach, but we’ll see if both sides feel an urgency to get a deal done since Fedor’s career is closer to being over with than it is to starting.

Another top fighter the UFC would likely look at is Vitor Belfort, whom White already envisions fighting Anderson Silva in the future. Belfort was a UFC mainstay years ago, and has really come on in the last year, giving White a reason to bring him into the UFC.

The only other question in this deal is what would the Japan-based organization DREAM have to say about all this. While Pride was big years ago in Japan, the UFC took most of its talent and the promotion went out of business. Does DREAM have the money to compete with the UFC and sign this talent? STRIKEFORCE may also play a part, but I don’t believe that it has the money to try and sign these high-priced fighters.

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

- Last weekend’s MMA action was highlighted by Bobby Lashley choking out Mike Cook in 24 seconds and a Bellator event jam-packed with wild fights.

- Good news: PRIDE legend Mirko Cro Cop is returning to the UFC. Bad news: He’s back at the bottom of the heavyweight ladder.

- Andrei Arlovski will be tangling with undefeated prospect Brett Rogers at Strikeforce’s stacked-to-death June 6th card. Rogers was originally supposed to face Alistair Overeem, but Overeem injured his hand while putting five nightclub bouncers in the hospital.

- Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was plagued by staph infections, bronchitis, and an inconvenient gag-reflex.

- Must-see videos: Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva made us laugh Spencer Pratt made us cry, and BJ Penn cried wee wee wee all the way home.

- After countless delays, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett are slated to face each other this summer, at what will probably be Affliction’s last MMA event.

- Former baseball star/steroid snitch Jose Canseco is having his MMA debut in Japan on Tuesday against 7’2″ kickboxer Hong Man Choi. His preparation is, shall we say, lacking.

- Swing by CagePotato.com tomorrow night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT as we liveblog UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, which will feature the UFC’s best title fight in nearly a year. You can see more analysis of the fight card here and here.