The War Is Over: DirecTV and Versus finally come to an agreement

Don’t you just love it when multi-billion organizations fight and you are the one left on the outside looking in? The pissing match between DirecTV and Versus Network finally came to an end Monday after seven months as the two announced a deal that will put the fledgling sports network back on the air – perfect timing considering that UFC debuts there this Sunday.

Now 14 million more can see their WEC action – and now UFC – once again. All is right with the world.

Roger Huerta to return to action with Bellator Fighting Championships

The young Bellator Fighting Championships continues to add some interesting names, signing their biggest free agent to date Monday in former UFC veteran Roger Huerta. Huerta will begin work in their 155-pound tournament to kick off their second “season”.

Huerta joins Toby Imada, Ferrid Kheder, Mike Ricci, Janne Tulirinta, Chad Hinton and Carey Vanier. The tourney kicks off April 8th on Fox Sports Net. If he can win the tourney, he’ll get a shot at Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez sometime in the fall.

Is it a game changer? No, but it’s a solid signing that shows Bellator wants to be a player in MMA. The signing is risky for Huerta if he doesn’t manage to win the tourney, but given that BFC is still growing, it won’t be a widely-seen career killer. The biggest question for this writer? Why didn’t Strikeforce sign Huerta?

Go to the movies and meet a UFC star

Think the UFC’s debut in movie theatres for UFC 11 isn’t a big deal? Think again. The group released a full list of where their talent will be dispatched for the March 27th event today. They will act as “hosts” for the night, doing a Q/A, signing autographs and more. Not every theatre is covered, but this is still a very cool idea.

Some weekend leftovers

- North American Fighting Championship will debut on Saturday, April 3rd, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, WI.. The event will feature Jason Dent, Nick Agallar, Sherman Pendergarst and Joe Pearson. This is the organization co-owned by Duke Roufus, Scott Joffe and former Green Bay Packers defensive mountain Gilbert Brown. Look for smoe more coverage on the NAFC here on the Madness soon. (Thanks to www.NAFC.tv)

Here’s a commercial the group is running right now:

- Shine Fights announced Nick Thomson vs. Eduardo Pamplona for their big May 15th show at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, NC. The event will feature former pro boxer Ricardo Mayorga vs. veteran Din Thomas as the headliner. (Thanks to shinefights.com)

Before Lyoto Machida defended the title successfully against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104, the champion had lost three straight bouts going into their title defense. Can Machida give the divsion a sense of stability or will Rua claim the title that many feel rightfully belongs to him in the first place when they clash in Montreal?

Going into that fight with Rua in October, no one had been able to figure out Machida’s perplexing style. After he handed Rashad Evans his first defeat at UFC 98, Joe Rogan had declared that we were entering the “Machida Era”, but Rua was able to reveal some chinks in Machida’s armor.

The top two contenders are also former champions. Evans will meet arch-rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 114 in June. I would say it’s pretty safe to assume that the winner will get the next title shot and it would especially be enticing if Rua were victorious and Jackson is able to defeat Evans. Jackson has been looking for revenge since Rua defeated him at Pride Total Elimination in April of 2005.

The scenario that is the least intriguing would be a Machida-Evans rematch. Their first meeting was completely one-sided. Then again, it would be over two years since they first met and a lot has happened within those 24 months. It was nice to see Evans go back to his roots in his bout with Thiago Silva at UFC 108 as he mixed well-timed takedowns with ever-improving striking to take home a unanimous decision. Although Machida has historically been very difficult to take down, if anyone can do it, Evans is the man.

At The Gates

Next on the list is Randy Couture. He has primed himself for one last shot at glory by defeating Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman. He has long talked about being the one to solve the “Machida Puzzle.” He is rumored to be facing Rich Franklin in his next fight and another win will probably get him a shot at the light heavyweight championship. Couture sells, even at 46 years old. People still want to watch him fight.

Anderson Silva is an X-factor is all of this. He totally destroyed James Irvin and Forrest Griffin in his two tilts at 205 and has said time and time again that he will not go after the gold if Machida is still wearing the title.

But if Rua wins, don’t be surprised to see Silva leapfrog the other challengers and get a crack at Shogun. This assumes he will defeat Demian Maia in their UFC middleweight title bout at UFC 112, which you would think would have to happen for Silva to even be considered for a shot at the 205 lb. championship.

The Future Awaits

- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – also known as “Little Nog” – will be facing Griffin at UFC 114. Nogueira made his debut at UFC 106 against Luiz Cane and did so in dominating fashion, earning the TKO victory in under two minutes. A win against Griffin will give him two wins over two very good light heavyweights.

- Griffin is coming off a split decision win against the returning Tito Ortiz on the same card. It was nice to see him bounce back after his humiliating loss to Silva at UFC 101. He would need to beat Nogueira and another top contender to earn a title shot.

- Jon Jones is making a bee-line to the top of the division. He meets Vera later this Sunday on the first ever UFC on Versus card. Even though he went home with a loss to Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in December, his stock went up with a dominating performance. A win against Vera will do wonders for his future and make him an instant contender.

- Vera lost to Couture at UFC 105, but it was a very controversial loss and a win against Jones will get him back on track. A focused Brandon Vera can make a lot of noise in the light heavyweight division.

- Ryan Bader took the step from TUF winner to legitimate UFC light heavyweight with his knockout victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 110. It will be interesting to see who the UFC pairs him up with next.

- Rumors are circulating that Thiago Silva’s back injury is more severe than first reported and he will be out for a decent amount of time.

Machida was thought to be the guy who could potentially dominate the 205 division, but then Rua proved that he wasn’t untouchable. The rematch should help shape the division for the rest of 2010 and part of 2011. The Evans-Jackson is just as important as that fight.

Although the division lacks the sheer amount of young up-and0comers as some of the other divisions do, they have a lot of proven veterans willing and waiting to challenge for the gold.

(Ed. Note: Thanks to UFCScoop.com for the image. Check them out for some great computer wallpaper designs).

In his legendary clash with Superman, Doomsday left “The Man of Steel” beaten and motionless.

The same applies to the UFC version of “Doomsday” – welterweight rising star John Howard.

At The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, Howard stood opposite veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman. After nearly three rounds of battle, Howard connected with a powerful blow that left Hallman laying on the Octagon floor, beaten and motionless. Now, Howard is preparing for his fourth fight under the UFC banner, and faces another fighter with an nickname meant to convey a certain message: unbeaten Daniel “Ninja” Roberts.

While Howard remains keen on settling what he described to this writer as a very real beef with original opponent Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, the Wai Kru MMA trainee has shifted his focus to Roberts and the tough talk the UFC newcomer has been offering up in interviews.

“Really?”

“I heard a little quote he said,” Howard offered between training sessions with Team Grudge in Denver. “Something about my striking isn’t all that good and his ground and pound is better than mine. I just kind of laugh about that stuff.”

Arriving in the altitude of the Rocky Mountains well in advance of their upcoming contest, Howard is referring to remarks Roberts made in an interview with James Ryan of Bleacher Report. In the piece, the confident jiu jitsu player predicts a first round finish over Howard.

“He has some serious balls to say that. I think it’s funny,” continued Howard, clearly amused by the one-sided war of words in the media. “You say you’re going to do it. I want to see you try and if you don’t, I’m going to punish you for it.”

While Howard is no stranger to a verbal battle before a bout, as evident by his back-and-forth with the man he refers to as “Crumble,” he had been taking a different approach to this bout…until now.

“I just said it’s going to be a good fight. We’ll have fun and see what happens,” said Howard, 3-0 since joining the UFC.  “But for him to say he’s going to finish me in the first round? That’s bold. That’s really bold. You’re a newcomer, and for you to come before you’ve even fought in the UFC and say something like that – I think I’m going to finish him in the first round – really?”

Howard doesn’t mince words and he doesn’t shy from the truth either. Where some fighters will offer up their version of the in-ring events to cast themselves in a better light, Howard is frank in discussing his career, including a refreshing admission about his bout with Hallman.

“I got my ass-whooped. I’m a man, and I admit it – I got my ass whooped,” Howard says with a laugh. “He knew exactly what to do. Everything I tried, he stopped it. I was impressed.”

It’s this honest assessment of the clash between “Doomsday” and “Superman” that puts the prediction Roberts has for this Sunday’s fight on Versus into greater perspective.

Backing Up The Talk

If anyone has reason to be talking, it’s Howard. He’s the more experienced of the two and was slated to face a Top 10 welterweight in Anthony Johnson before a knee injury placed Roberts across the cage. Though his opponent enters without a loss in nine professional fights, Howard is quick to counter with his own resume.

“Have you seen who I’ve fought?,” asks Howard. “Have you seen who I’ve knocked out?”

While his lone knockout of note came in his last fight against Hallman, Howard has also earned victories over Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson in the UFC, as well as holding a win over recent UFC signee Charlie Brenneman.

“Who takes Dan Miller to a decision?” questions Howard in regards to his 2007 Ring of Fire loss to the current UFC middleweight competitor. “When he first came into the UFC, he was exposing people, submitting them in the first round. I took him to a decision and put him in the hospital.”

Howard was content to head into this fight without saying a word, keen on letting his actions speak for him. With his prediction in print and passed along to Howard numerous times, Roberts backed himself into a corner in this pre-fight war of words.

“To put it out there, now you have to live up to it,” Howard says of his opponent’s prediction. “You better hope I don’t finish you in the first round. That would be really embarrassing. I hope you can finish me in the first round. But when you wake up and realize it was just a dream, don’t get mad at me.”

Daniel Roberts has captured John Howard’s attention with his bold prediction of a first round finish. This Sunday night, he will hope his actions back up his words because “Doomsday” is coming and he’s ready to leave a ninja lying next to the beaten remains of Superman on the Octagon floor.

You can see all the action this Sunday on Versus as the UFC debuts on the sports network. Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Junior Dos Santos headline. Keep it locked on MMAMadness.com all week for features.

After an afternoon of rampant speculation that supposedly had Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin agreeing to meet at UFC 115 in Vancouver this summer, UFC President Dana White emphatically stated the rumors were false via his Twitter account:  “Not true! We’re doing couture vs. franklin not chuck.”

He later added that nothing had happened to Ortiz and that he and “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” are cool.

From the outset, Canadian MMA insider “Showdown” Joe Ferraro held to his report that the trilogy fight between originally slated coaches Liddell and Tito Ortiz was still set to take place. By the time the dust had settled, it was Ferraro’s initial report that was trumpeted as true. Reached for his thoughts on the situation by MMA Madness, Ferraro had this to say about the day’s Internet activity:

Even though my source told me otherwise, rumours continued to not only run rampant, but completely discredit what I stated all along. Tito was fine and the trilogy bout was still on. While it appeared I was in a tough position all day, my source has always been golden to me and was correct all along.

I’m a long-time fan of Ferraro’s work and he’s never been one to offer up fabricated information as fact. However, that doesn’t eliminate the possibility that the Sportsnet MMA man has been fed some misinformation, leaving one question that begs the asking: Who is telling the truth?

The online MMA detectives who sourced this story are sticking to their guns, as respected writers like Ken Pishna of MMA Weekly have gone on record saying they stand by their sources who confirmed the changes to the TUF coaching pool.

On the other hand, we have the President of the company in question publicly stating that the status quo remains and things are going ahead as scheduled, even offering that the new man in the mix, former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin, is being looked at as an opponent for Randy Couture.

There is a very real possibility that Dana White is offering up a smoke screen, worried that news leaked from inside the walls of the UFC offices about the big mid-season twist on TUF 11 will keep viewers from following the gripping drama they edit into sixty-minute portions for our viewing pleasure each week.

Just look at last season. The on-screen heat between coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans was very much real, but fell flat because Jackson “retired” from the UFC before the show built any momentum, leaving their battle in limbo while he filmed The A-Team. A second straight season with a coaches battle torpedoed before the season begins would be hard to take.

Should White end up as the one offering up inaccurate information, the UFC President and most recognizable face in the sport shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind the idea of protecting his product and worrying about ratings. If the high drama you anticipated would keep viewers glued to their televisions has become public knowledge, get out in front of it and discuss the situation, as well as find the leak in your office and fire them.

But don’t take to your highly-influential platform and start spin control with a flat-out lie. UFC and MMA fans deserve the truth and spend their hard-earned money in support of your product, so have the respect for them to give them the truth when the truth is in question.

That said, there is a 50/50 shot that the current king of promoter-speak is telling the truth here and things are ready to proceed as planned. Should that turn out to be the case, the online MMA community who ran roughshod with this story on Saturday need to be held accountable for their actions.

Everyone wants to be the source for the latest breaking news, but there is a level of responsibility inherent in what we do and that needs to be priority number one. Rumors are very much a part of the business, and many in the industry have honed their b.s. detectors to the point that they can smell a bad story a mile away, which lends some serious credibility to the reports that these changes are in fact in the works.

However, we all fall victim to misinformation every now-and-again, and if this happens to be one of those times, people need to step up and own the errors. Otherwise, there is nothing preventing every would-be writer from fabricating sources and stories to gain an afternoon’s worth of attention.

What’s sad is that we’re still at least a few weeks away from knowing the truth.

I just hope that when the we do learn the real story, those who posed fiction as fact have are as quick on the keys as they were Saturday.

The Forrest Griffin you see on television is the same Forrest Griffin that he is in real life. There is no “character”…what you see if what you get.

We spoke to Griffin recently about his role in the movie Unrivaled, married life and his fighting career.

Madness: What can you tell me about Unrivaled?

Forrest Griffin: I was only in it for a couple of days, but in those couple of days, I got to pretend to beat people up and pretend to get beaten up myself.

Madness: Sort of like life imitating art?

Griffin: Yeah, something like that!

Madness: Did you enjoy the acting part of the movie? I realize that the basis of the movie is pretty much what you do every day, but is this something you could see yourself doing after your fighting days are over?

Griffin: I think I have borderline mastered the art of playing a fighter. I was just being myself. I don’t like sitting around all day. You shoot a scene and get all sweaty and nasty, then you have to sit for like three hours. What the hell…it beats working for a living!

Madness: What is the plot of Unrivaled?

Griffin: To be honest, I haven’t sat down and watched the movie yet. That would have dramatically helped this interview. I got to shoot some scenes with Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine. It was actually a lot of fun chatting with those guys.

Madness: Do you have any other movies or television appearances on the horizon?

Griffin: I was in some other movie which I liked. I got to shoot a lot of guns. The whole movie was running around shooting guns and that was a lot of fun. Anything I can do where I can pretend like I was a kid playing with guns is always fun.

Madness: How much longer so you see yourself fighting?

Griffin: I’m 31 now, so I would say until I am 35.

Madness: How is married life treating you?

Griffin: It’s great! How can the first six or seven months of marriage be anything other than great?

Madness: Have you begun training for your bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira?

Griffin: I’ve been working, trying to get ready. I got about nine or ten weeks.

Madness: Are you the guy the UFC looks to when they need a big fight? Your list of opponents is unbelievable.

Griffin: I said when I was around 25 or 26 that I would fight anyone anywhere and I guess at some point they decided they were going to hold me to that. Lately I’ve had to reevaluate that like can I fight some people, sometimes! Why do I always have to fight the best people? The thing about Nogueira is a lot of casual fans don’t understand how good he really is, which kind of frustrates me.

Madness: For those who aren’t familiar with Nogueira, they need to realize how talented he really is. He has won a bronze medal in the Pan American games and has outstanding BJJ.

Griffin: I’m looking forward to it. My wrestling is good and I know I can hold my own on the ground.

Madness: In your last fight, you defeated Tito Ortiz. Does it bother you when you hear him make excuses and say he was injured going into the fight?

Griffin: I got excuses if you want them. I got tons of them and a few of them are quasi-valid. I knew my foot was messed up, but I didn’t get it looked at because I didn’t want the doctor to tell me it was broken. So when the doctor looked at it afterward, I said I’m pretty sure it happened during the fight. To be honest I don’t care about the excuses he made. It’s over and done with.

Madness: Is there a third fight with Ortiz in your future?

Griffin: I am definitely up for that. It’s always an option.

Madness: What’s it like working alongside Randy Couture?

Griffin: It’s great. The guy’s amazing. He actually trains really smart. He’s great at implementing a game plan and sticking to it. He has a great approach to training and he prepares for so many different situations that may come up in a fight.

Madness: So when can we expect another best-selling book?

Griffin: I am already done with my next book. The title is “When Shit Is Going Down, You Better Be Ready: Forrest Griffin And The Attack Of The Apocalypse And Other Stories That Don’t Involve Bunnies”.

You can see Griffin and others in the movie Unrivaled, out on BluRay/DVD this Tuesday everywhere. For a chance to win some signed gear from some top fighters, follow Unrivaled on Twitter.

Add into the mix that WEC 47 pulled in only 373,000 viewers on Versus this past Saturday night and you have two events in the span of fourteen days that failed to meet the lofty standards set by Zuffa, the parent company of both organizations.

While the numbers are bad by company standards, they don’t quite merit the “Signs of Impending Danger” approach being taken by Kid Nate at Bloody Elbow and other MMA news sites across the Internet. At least not in my estimation.

Contributing editor Josh Nason explained earlier in the week why the numbers from WEC 47 shouldn’t be that alarming. In terms of a Faber-less event, 373,000 viewers isn’t all that bad, which brings us to the UFC.

The revelation that events featuring title fights bring in far more viewers than those devoid of championship bouts is as groundbreaking a conclusion as water being wet. A sizable chunk of the PPV-purchasing population are completely oblivious to the fact that “UFC” and “MMA” are not interchangeable, so the chances of them getting overly excited for a card headlined by anyone outside of the Georges St. Pierre / Brock Lesnar power duo is asking too much.

Hardcore fans are going to tune in no matter who is atop the marquee, but casual viewers want names they can recognize. (It’s like going to the movies. You remember that old-timey entertainment activity of days gone by, don’t you?) Small budget indie flicks with lesser known stars are often far more interesting and enjoyable, but it’s the big name, big action blockbusters of the world that bring in the crowds. The same applies to UFC pay-per-views.

The build-up to the event also plays a serious part in how many people purchase the fights, and lately, not many people other than Dana White have been looking forward to these UFC shows. Beginning with UFC 102 and through last month’s UFC 109, there has been a stream of complaints, criticisms and calls for cancellation attached to each event. How well can we expect an event to do when the people who spend their days covering the sport aren’t all that keen on watching the fights?

Of course the casual fans aren’t going to drop $50 on an event when a large percentage of the MMA media is telling them not to and they’ve never heard of the two guys fighting in the main event. Why is this alarming?

“Hey, want to spend our hard-earned money on a fight card full of guys we don’t know and even the experts are mercilessly panning on the Internet?”

What makes this all the more interesting – at least to me – is that the UFC is prepared to come back full-force with their next event, one that will surely surpass the 600,000 buy benchmark the company has established and could push a million at the end of the day.

Loading up with both elements of a successful event – big name fighters and championship belts – the build-up to UFC 111 has already been far greater than anything we’ve seen in the last ten events. The first episode of UFC Primetime attracting more than a million viewers to Spike TV Tuesday night. If the previous collection of shows was an indication that the sky is falling, shouldn’t this already serves as a sign that things may not be as bad as they seem?

While UFC 112 will have the tough task of being an international event broadcast mid-day in North America, the big names and title belts will once again be on display in Abu Dhabi, with both Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn putting their gold on the line. Penn headlined the only two events in the past ten that eclipsed the UFC standard, so the addition of Silva should make it safe to assume that UFC 112 will also put up a good number.

With Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua meeting in their highly-anticipated rematch – not to mention the inclusion of one Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson – at UFC 113, and the long-overdue battle between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans finally taking place at UFC 114, there is a very good chance that the UFC will be riding a wave of four consecutive above-average events into UFC 115 in Vancouver this June.

The sky won’t have fallen, the trends will have been reversed and casual fans will still be far more interested in the seven-to-ten big name fighters they know than a collection of talented guys they’ve never heard of before.

Title fights will still do better than non-title fights, and water will most-assuredly still be wet.

Last Saturday’s loss to Javier Vazquez at WEC 47 may very well be the end of an era, signaling the last time Jens Pulver puts the gloves on and competes in a mixed martial arts bout. Even if Pulver never fights again, he has plenty of battles he wants to wage outside of the cage. With a new gym and a new clothing line just getting its feet on the ground, Pulver has plenty to keep him busy.

But that will not be enough for him. He needs to do more.

After a talk with Pulver, one has the feeling of wanting to go out and volunteer somewhere. He has a unique and amazing perspective on his career, his life and the sport, but after suffering his fifth defeat in a row and seventh in his last eight fights, what is his emotional state of mind?

How are things right now and where are you at in your life/career?

I am feeling kind of torn right now. It hurts to have lost seven of my last eight fights and that makes me feel bad. Then I think about the way I fought and it makes me think if I did things just a bit differently, the outcome could have been different. It is what it is. I felt great. I had started lifting again. I had three months in my new gym and got to train with Tony Fryklund again after about five years of training by myself.

Everyone is worried about my legacy, but I look at it like I’m in a slump right now. Baseball players go into slumps and they bounce back I feel like I could bounce back. I love to train, I love the sport and I love to fight. I’m in a tough position. I don’t want to keep putting my fans through this, so I am feeling kind of stuck.

Even though I have been losing, I am gaining so much in life. I try so hard to be the opposite of my dad and my brother, who is serving 55 years in prison. I’m learning how to run a gym and be a coach so it’s difficult to dedicate 100% to fighting. I feel like I’m on the right path at 34 years old. I felt like my aggression was there and I was going after it, but I got caught in an armbar by a great grappler.

Any regrets or concerns about not leaving the sport when it’s the right time?

The only thing I’m afraid of is leaving too early, only because I really enjoy competing. The sport has evolved so much and all of these skilled athletes have shot right by me. I remember Josh Grispi telling me he remembers watching me when he was in the sixth grade. I may have been the guy who motivated him to even pick up a pair of gloves. I feel like if I leave, I feel like I’ll be leaving incomplete.

I’m not worried about tarnishing a legacy. My legacy is this, me, the emotional kid, the kid that pioneered this sport. I was the first guy to win the UFC lightweight championship. I beat the top guys when I was 25-28. If I leave now, I will be leaving earlier than I really want to, but at the same token, I’m fighting the elite guys continuously and I’m just not an elite athlete anymore. The questions is can I get back to that level.

Those are the issues I’m hanging my hat on right now, because at 34, I don’t feel like I’m putting myself at risk. I am not getting knocked out. I have never had a trainer break out the smelling salts. I’m usually standing when the ref is calling the fight off. Now that I am training at this new place, I feel like I’ve got that fire back. All it takes is one little mistake when you are fighting the elite fighters of today.

I believe my health is perfectly fine. When I first started fighting, if you were stand-up, you were stand-up. If you were a ground fighter, that’s where you fought. Today’s fighters do it all and they excel at it. I am learning as I go and I am really enjoying it.

I interviewed WEC lightweight Jamie Varner not too long ago and he said that you have done more for this sport than just about anyone else, and no one has the right to tell you that you shouldn’t fight anymore. Thoughts on the admiration that you’ve got from so many people in the industry?

When I first started, I was out there starting a weight class that let them know that, “Hey, maybe this guy’s not too small to be competing in MMA.” Look at where the sport is now. The smaller guys are just as important than the bigger guys. I was told many times that I was too small, but I kept lighting people up and made my case. So if another fighter is grateful, then that makes it all worth it.

I love the Zuffa family, I love Dana White, I love being with this organization, but they may hang it up for me. What can I do? The fans make it worth it as well as they gave me a bigger ovation than any other fighter on Saturday night…that really blew my mind. When I walked back to the locker room, the crowd went wild, then when the guys did an impromptu thank you, it made me tear up. I am very appreciative and I have never for one minute taken that for granted.

I have always loved what I’ve done and I feel like a proud papa. I love these guys and I love the sport. I will always be a part of it. I want to help these fighters at the next stage, because we have a lot of life to live after fighting. I want to keep pioneering, I want to help these guys survive when their careers are over. I tell people to enjoy themselves and create a good story. I don’t sit back and think about the admiration. I think about all the traveling I’ve done. I think about all the people I’ve met. I feel like I’m right where I need to be. I’m extremely happy. If I could, I’d fight once a month. I’d tear it up.

Your gym is off to a good start and so is your t-shirt company. What should we know?

If you look at the clothing, we are not fight gear. We’re not knuckle-up fighting. We’re life gear. We have a military and civil servants line for all of the police, fire and military personnel. We feel that anger is a gift. It’s about taking that anger and proving all the naysayers wrong. I’m gonna prove to myself that I can change my scars and that I’m not a loser. It’s about what drives you everyday. That’s why the gym is called Driven. Hopefully we can grow and spread the message more.

If your fighting career is done, what do you think you would do? What other interests do you have?

I’d love to get into motivational speaking, but I don’t know how. I just spoke at a local high school to an entire assembly. I had a great time talking to all the kids. I spoke about my life and I signed autographs. Then faculty asked me to sit with them and talk to them. They asked me to show them how to get the kids to respect them. When I talk to anyone about my career, I don’t talk about fighting. I talk about the sport, I talk about training and I try and promote a healthy lifestyle because it leads to healthy living and being able to go after your dreams.

I have issues. I have problems, but I still keep pushing. Who knows where we will be in a year? I tell people to never close any doors…who knows what tomorrow will bring. Now that I am a coach, I let these kids know that I am here for whatever they need. I want them to always have a place to go to. It’s my turn to help people out.

Is commentating with the WEC something you’d like to keep doing or would it be too close to the action?

I would love to, but again, I have to wait for that call. I just sit here. I’ve been managed by Monte Cox my whole life. I got to learn how to figure this part out. My hats off to Tito Ortiz…he’s a businessman. I wish I had grabbed some business sense, but I’m learning. I would love to commentate again. I would never say no, but I hope they bring me back. I’d rock the sweater vest again and do it proudly. I like to commentate like I am with my friends.

I don’t need to know every jiu-jitsu move out there. I don’t have to put on a shirt and tie. That’s not me. At the end of the day, I would love to speak publicly, I would love to commentate. I’m not sure what anyone wants from me, I guess I’ll have to figure it out for myself.

That version of Primetime averaged just under 800k viewers per episode, maxing out at 880,000 viewers for the first episode. The latest incarnation didn’t disappoint as Dan Hardy proved to be a likable character and the cliffhanger ending of Hardy showing up at Matt Serra’s gym was a great way to end the show.

Rosholt’s Return

Jake Rosholt announced on Twitter that he will be facing another former UFC middleweight when he meets Jeremy Horn at a King of the Cage event in Detroit on April 16. Rosholt has one fight since being cut from the UFC, a win over Rudy Lindsey at an Xtreme Fighting League event on March 6.

The four-time All-American wrestler will have to be careful when he takes Horn down. Horn has won an amazing 53 fights by way of submission and may prove to be too experienced for Rosholt. King of the Cage will air live on HDNET.

Barnett’s Next Battle

Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross reported on his Twitter account that Josh Barnett will be facing “Mighty” Mo Siligia at Dream 13 on March 22. Barnett has been out of action since January of last year when he defeated Gilbert Yvel at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Since that time, he tested positive for steroids which killed a bout with Fedor Emelianenko and Affliction’s MMA promotion.

Mighty Mo is a kickboxer who sometimes dabbles in mixed martial arts. He holds a 3-1 record in MMA and hasn’t competed in the sport since losing to Semmy Schilt on New Year’s Eve in 2008. Dream 13 is scheduled to air on HDNET and will be headlined by a featherweight title bout between champion Bibiano Fernandes and Joachim Hansen.

Shine On

Shine Fights has announced a welterweight matchup between UFC veteran Nick “The Goat” Thompson and Eduardo Pamplona. The press release stated that the two will battle it out on the main card of “Worlds Collide”: Mayorga vs. Thomas on May 15. Thompson has bounced around recently between EliteXC, Strikeforce, MFC and WVR.

Pamplona’s biggest fight of his career came against Robbie Lawler while the two were in the IFL. Lawler earned a third round TKO victory. The main event will mark the MMA debut of former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga as he takes on former UFC lightweight contender Din Thomas.

A preview video for UFC 112 has been released. Next month’s event is a month away and features Middleweight Champ Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs. Demian Maia and Lightweight Champion BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar. This event will mark the first time the UFC has held an event in Abu Dhabi and in an outdoor arena.

Bonnar Loses Appeal

It looks like Stephan Bonnar lost his appeal to have his loss to Krzystzof Soszynski at UFC 110 changed to a no contest. The Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales decided not to interfere with the referee’s decision, according to Craig Waller, who is the executive director of the CSA of NSW. Bonnar and Soszynski have both stated that they are open to a rematch and it looks like that will happen at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale on June 19.

Think You’re TUF?

There will be an open tryout for season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter on April 1 at the Omni Charlotte Hotel in Charlotte, NC. UFC and Spike officials will be on hand to watch prospective fighters in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions. The fighters must be at least 21 years-old and have three professional bouts under their belt. Registration is set to begin at 8 a.m. EST with tryouts beginning two hours later.

It’s Primetime!

Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST, Spike TV will air the first episode of UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Hardy. The three week series received rave reviews during its inaugural run which featured the rematch between St. Pierre and BJ Penn at UFC 94. Take a behind the scenes look at the fighters, their respective training camps and their takes on one another. It will be interesting to see how far Hardy is willing to go to try and get in the head of GSP. Hardy is known for his antics and he tries to lay the groundwork to get his opponent off their game. Check out the brief preview video here.

The middle child has always had to fight for attention in a large family, but that is not the case with the UFC’s middleweight division – led by the man UFC President Dana White considers the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist alive, Anderson Silva.

As with the lightweight and welterweight division, the middleweights have a truly dominant champion who has made extraordinary fighters look less than ordinary. Silva has dabbled in the light heavyweight division and if close friend and training partner Lyoto Machida loses his title, “The Spider” may make a run at the 205-lb title.

On April 10, the UFC will have a historic night filled with a bunch of firsts with their first trip to the Middle East (Abu Dhabi) and their first event held in an outdoor arena. Silva is scheduled to face BJJ wizard and ADCC champion Demian Maia and will attempt to defend the title he won in October of 2006 for a record sixth time. Vitor Belfort was originally scheduled to face Silva, but was forced out with an injury. If Silva is successful against Maia, there is already a number one contender waiting in the wings.

The Top Contenders

Chael Sonnen earned a shot at the middleweight championship by dominating Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. A former NCAA All-American wrestler, Sonnen has reeled off three straight wins after losing to Maia at UFC 95 last February. In defeating Dan Miller, Yushin Okami and Marquardt, Sonnen utilized his wrestling to control his opponents the entire fight. It may not be pretty, but it is effective. He has also made himself more attractive by calling Silva and his manager out on their treatment of the media. Sonnen truly believes he can beat Silva and his wrestling is the one aspect Silva has a problem with.

Belfort was awarded the opportunity because he is a big name and a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion. “The Phenom” has never competed in a middleweight bout while in the UFC as the closest he has come was his first fight back with the organization at last September’ UFC 103 where he defeated Rich Franklin at a 195-pound catchweight. That being said, once he is healthy, it shouldn’t take him more than one victory to be considered again for a title shot.

Wanderlei Silva made his debut as a middleweight a successful one at UFC 110 as he defeated Michael Bisping. He wasn’t the dominant fighter of years past, but he did what he had to do to win and will face off against Yoshihiro Akiyama sometime this summer. The fighter who emerges from that battle victorious will be a win away from getting a crack at whoever the champion is at the time. Akiyama defeated Alan Belcher at UFC 100 in July and has been idle ever since, apparently holding out for a shot at “The Axe Murderer”.

Marquardt was a win away from getting a rematch with Silva, but unfortunately for him, Sonnen had other plans. He will have to work his way back up the ladder, but with his resume, he should get that opportunity sooner rather than later.

Patrick Cote – who fought and lost to Silva at UFC 90 - is making his return at UFC 113 against Belcher after a year-and-a-half on the shelf. He will need a few wins, but because of the way he lost to Silva (knee injury), he can make a case for a rematch…if he wins his fights.

The Rest Of The Pack

Bisping has yet to prove that he can beat the fighters that he needs to beat to get to the next level. He has come up short in bouts against Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson and Silva. The loss to Evans was as a light heavyweight and via split decision, the loss to Silva was awfully close, but he was crushed by Henderson. Sometimes it looks as though he is right on the cusp, but can’t seem to take the extra step that is necessary to become an elite fighter. Until he can win a big one, he will not be in contention for a title shot.

Okami was once considered a top contender and is technically the last man to defeat Silva (it came by disqualification). Between injuries and the loss to Sonnen, Okami has a lot of work to do to get back to the top of the mountain. Rousimar Pahlares is guy to look out for as he is 3-1 in the UFC with wins over Jeremy Horn, Ivan Salaverry and Lucio Linhares. His one loss came against Dan Henderson in a competitive bout at UFC 88 in September of 2008.

Mark Munoz has racked up two wins in a row and is training with the Nogueira Brothers. He has a wrestling background and seems to be hitting his stride with his next fight set against Kendall Grove at UFC 112.

Much like the lightweight division and the welterweight divisions, the UFC’s middleweight division is under the rule of an all-time great mixed martial artist. We may never see another fighter come in and duplicate the dominant run Silva has had in the UFC. I, for one, truly hope he decides to pack on the additional 20 lbs and set his sights on another championship, the UFC Light Heavyweight title.

(Ed. Note: Thanks to UFCScoop.com for the image. Check them out for some great computer wallpaper designs.)