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.

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.

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.

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.

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

- Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, and Dan Henderson were dominant at UFC 100 — but Lesnar’s post-fight antics made him a villain in the eyes of many fans.

- The UFC’s new ring girl is hot, blonde, and all-natural.

- Kimbo Slice’s “Ultimate Fighter” housemates should be thankful he wasn’t allowed to bring a gun on the set.

- Fedor Emelianenko will probably never face Brock Lesnar in the UFC due to disagreements on contract terms. But that isn’t stopping some bookmakers from offering bets on the non-existant fight.

- Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg visited New York to hype the biggest women’s MMA match of all time. Sounds like a perfect time for Carano’s scumbag ex-boyfriend to release that sex tape.

- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not a fan of either Rashad Evans or Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

- PRIDE legend Igor Vovchanchyn will return to action in September, while Jose Aldo and Mike Brown will get it on for the WEC featherweight belt in November.

- Floyd Mayweather Jr. says white people invented MMA because they couldn’t compete in boxing. What a fascinating theory, Professor Money…

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

- Jake Shields choked out Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz dominated Scott Smith, and Brett Rogers scored a 22-second KO over Andrei Arlovski at the Strikeforce show last Saturday. Afterwards, Rogers shared his feelings about Kimbo Slice and Nick Diaz humiliated a reporter.

- A day later, the WEC one-upped Strikeforce by putting on one of the greatest cards of the year, highlighted by Mike Brown’s five-round war with Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo’s latest highlight-reel finish, and possibly the last appearance of Jens Pulver. If only the fighters got paid what they’re worth…

- Team U.K. swept the lightweight bracket on Wednesday’s episode of the Ultimate Fighter; Andre Winner and Ross Pearson will throw down at next Saturday’s finale show on Spike.

- The upcoming title fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will be contested at 145 pounds. Cross your fingers.

- EA is prepping its own MMA video game to compete with “UFC Undisputed.” Can they succeed without the involvement of MMA’s most powerful brand?

- We looked back at MMA’s first superstars.

- Wanderlei Silva explained to us how life was like a bicycle.

- UFC 99 goes down today [Saturday] in Cologne, Germany, starting at 3 p.m. ET. Swing by CagePotato.com for our liveblog, and get familiar with some of the storylines here.

This weekend Mixed Martial Arts has two solid shows taking place outside of the UFC label. It begins Saturday on Showtime at 10 p.m. with Strikeforce presenting a strong card of recognizable fighters, a few of which are still considered among the best in the world. On Sunday, the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) takes center state with WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2, which is highlighted by the Featherweight championship (145 lbs) rematch of champion Mike Thomas Brown against former champion Urijah Faber. That show will air on Versus at 9 p.m.

Here is a quick breakdown of the feature fights and my predictions for both shows:

Strikeforce at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

- Kevin Randleman (17-12) vs. Mike Whitehead (23-6) Light-Heavyweight (205lbs): Kevin Randleman was a giant in the MMA world in the late 90’s and in the beginning of the 2000’s, but now Randleman is finding himself in the same position as many of the giants in those days like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, where the sport has passed him bye. Loser of five of his last seven fights, Randleman needs a win over UFC veteran Mike Whitehead, who has won 13 of his last 14 and has looked good since his move down to light-heavyweight (205 lbs). I like Whitehead by decision or TKO from ground-and-pound on a tired Randleman.

- Joe Riggs (29-10) vs. Phil Baroni (13-10) Middleweight (185lbs): Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs are classic examples of two fighters that had worlds of potential and never tapped into it. Both men have tremendous power, but both are notorious for their lack of endurance as fights move on. Baroni tries to throw all his power in each punch which limits him later on and Riggs has a suspect chin that has caused quick knockout losses. If Baroni has truly improved his training, I see him winning this one as Riggs is the mentally weaker fighter. I take Baroni by TKO late in round one.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

- YouTube star/MMA punchline Kimbo Slice has agreed to redeem himself on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Between his outsized presence and the rivalry between coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, TUF 10 should be utterly insane.

- The New York State Assembly voted in favor of a bill that would allow MMA to be regulated in New York. Could we be seeing UFC shows at Madison Square Garden in 2010?

- Despite being KTFO’d at UFC 98, Rashad Evans still claims that Lyoto Machida hits like a bitch.

- We put together a highlight reel of Kazushi Sakuraba’s most brutal beatings and took a look back at MMA’s most influential fighters.

- Contrary to popular belief, Andrei Arlovski never said “how’s taste my pee pee pee?”

- Joe Riggs accused Phil Baroni of steroids, while Phil Baroni claimed that it’s only lack of sex that makes him such a monster.

- “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” and “WEC: Brown vs. Faber II” go down this weekend. Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the Strikeforce show, and Sunday morning for full results from the WEC event. Get familiar with the fights by reading this heated debate and our gambling advice here and here.

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.