Brett Rogers had a little lump over his right eye but that was about the only way you could tell he has just fought. Meanwhile Fedor Emelianenko looked like he'd been by a Mack truck. Is that a broken nose? The Fedor camp wouldn't say but his nose is oddly curved to the right. The world's best heavyweight didn't dominate Rogers, but when it counted most Fedor landed the fight changing punch in the second round knocking out the bigger fighter with a perfectly timed counter right. The pictures may tell a different story but there's no controversy when there's a knockout.

There may be a little argument when it comes to the Fabricio Werdum-Antonio Silva fight. Many media folks cageside thought Silva had won a close decision. That's not the way all three judges saw it giving the decision 29-28 to Werdum. Silva didn't argue the point much in the press conference although he did say he put Wedrum on his butt twice with better standup in the second.

In an arena that was electric with the excitement of seeing the world's best heavyweight take on a tough challenger, Fedor Emelianenko won his first Strikeforce bout with a TKO at 1:48 in the second round. If there were any questions of Fedor's dominance, they were answered tonight as Emelianenko lasted through an early onslaught from Rogers. 

Fedor started the fight off with big looping punches and then threw Rogers to the ground, using his sambo skills. Rogers got back to his feet and used the clinch to cause damage. Rogers cut Fedor on the bridge of his nose with a perfectly square jab. When Rogers took Fedor to the ground, he landed a bevy of punches to put "The Last Emperor" in trouble. 

But Fedor could not be stopped. He finished the fight off with one lethal right hand punch in the second round, and then finished it on the ground with one more big right.

Judging by the crowd at the Sears Centre in suburban Chicago, Fedor has clearly become a star in the United States. The cheers for him were deafening, and more than once, the crowd began to chant "Fedor, Fedor!" 

Rogers fought Fedor better than anyone has in quite a while. This was his first loss, but one that will still leave a mark in the memories of MMA fans. 

In the battle for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight belt, Jake Shields won a unanimous decision 48-47, 49-46, 49-46. Despite having the Chicago crowd squarely against him, Shields employed an effective, smothering offense to grind out the win over Jason "Mayhem" Miller. 

In the first round, Shields got a quick takedown, and did some damage on the ground. Mayhem got up, but then was taken down again quickly. When Miller got back to his feet, he picked Shields up for a takedown, which got a large cheer from the crowd.

The second round was incredibly close, as the two spent it mostly on the ground. Neither fighter got close to a submission, though. Miller dominated the third, sinking in a rear naked choke near the end of the round. Shields was saved by the bell, because if the round would have lasted just a few more seconds Shields would likely not have made it.

In the fourth, an exhausted Shields got a takedown but did little with it. When referee "Big" John McCarthy stood them up, Mayhem landed some kicks before Shields took him down, again. Every time Miller tried to roll out, Shields stuck to him. In the fifth round, Shields continued his attack of taking Miller down and sticking on him like white on rice. For much of the round, he had Miller's back, but when Miller did get out, he tried and quickly gave up on a guillotine.

The crowd in suburban Chicago showered Shields with boos as he walked out of the arena, but his attack was effective. After the fight, Shields said that he would fight at middleweight or welterweight, and that Cung Le, the former holder of the middleweight belt, is afraid of Shields. Le vacated the belt after pursuing a film career, but he will fight again on Dec. 19 against Scott Smith. 

Gegard Mousasi continued to show his dominance, TKO'ing Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at 3:43 in the second round. 

As he is wont to do, Sokoudjou came out guns blazing in the first round, not only landing punches on Mousasi, but also displaying his judo prowess with a few throws to put Mousasi on his back. His dominance was short-lived, though, as his well-known lack of conditioning reared its ugly head.

In the second, it looked like Sokoudjou might be in trouble after Mousasi unloaded a flurry of punches, but Soko survived and took Mousasi down. Mousasi reversed Sokoudjou, and it was quite clear that Soko was exhausted at that point. Mousasi unloaded punches and elbows, and the referee, "Big" John McCarthy called the fight. 

For Mousasi, 24, the win didn't test his Strikeforce light heavyweight title, but it did show off his skills as a top fighter. The American audience is now much more familiar with the young veteran's dominance.

In a heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Antonio "Big Foot" Silva, Werdum outlasted the big man on Strikeforce's first ever bout on CBS. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Fabricio Werdum.

In the first round, Silva knocked down Werdum with a big flurry of punches but couldn't finish him off. Despite that, Silva clearly won the first round, landing punches and knocking Werdum more than once. The times that Werdum was on the ground, Silva didn't follow. Instead, he told Werdum to get back up to continue the fight on their feet.

Werdum finally got it to the ground in the second but couldn't keep Silva there. Back on their feet, Werdum worked the clinch before Werdum got Silva back to the ground and got side control. Werdum quickly rolled into a heel hook, but Silva got out of it. 

In the third round, Werdum again was able to take Silva down. When Silva got back up, he tried to land some punches but Werdum dodged them, matrix-style. Werdum landed a knee and Silva went to the ground. The final round ended with Werdum on top of Silva.  

For winning this fight, Werdum should have a chance at either the winner of Fedor/Rogers, or eventually, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem. 

In his first fight since being released from World Extreme Cagefighting, Jeff Curran walked a way with a win, his first in five fights. His opponent, Dustin Neace, tapped out 1:39 into the fight due to injury, apparently to his ribs.

Curran had suffered four losses in a row to some of the best fighters the WEC has, a group that includes Takeya Mizugaki, Joe Benavidez, Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. This win, though quick, might not have been the most satisfying for Curran. It will be interesting to see if Strikeforce holds on to the veteran featherweight. 

As usual, female fighters don't disappoint. After Marloes Coenen landed a few beautiful kicks, Roxanne Modafferi took her down. Coenen quickly rolled Modafferi, throwing an armbar. Modafferi tapped out at 1:05 in the first round. This was Coenen's first win over Modafferi, with Roxy coming away with the earlier win coming by split decision in 2007.

Coenen will reportedly go on to face Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for the Strikeforce women's title. Though she was impressive tonight, it's hard to judge if the Dutch kickboxer will be able to stop Cyborg's incredible power. 

After an exciting first round, with Bailey goes for a quick takedown and unsuccessfully trying for guillotine and Kolocsi landing several big shots, the fight slowed down. Bailey controlled the majority of the match, winning it on the ground. All three judges called it 29-27 for Shamar Bailey. 

Louis Taylor vs. Nate Moore

After showing off superior wrestling skills throughout the fight, American Kickboxing Academy product Moore finished off Louis Taylor with strikes at 3:24 in the second round. 

Christian Uflacker vs. Jonatas Novaes

Uflacker was effective with takedowns on the ground in a game that ended up mostly a ground battle. After Novaes kicked Uflacker when he was down on the ground, Uflacker took a while to compose himself but decided to continue. Novaes was deducted two points for the iullegal kick, and Uflacker won by a 29-26, 30-25, 30-25 unanimous decision. 

Welcome to Cagewriter's coverage of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. We will have full results of the all the night's events. Keep checking back with us. 

With all the promotional mess and contract negotiations it's ashame we don't get to see Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) more often. He's only fought four times in the last 35 months. That may be the reason, he's dropped to No. 3 in the Yahoo! Sports' MMA pound-for-pound rankings (Cagewriter still has him No. 1). Or could it be all of Dana White's bashing that has affected those who formerly favored the Russian as the world's best?

Real MMA fans and bettors know how good the guy is and have bet him up to a 9-to-1 favorite in Las Vegas. Strikeforce on CBS kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

STRIKEFORCE PICKS (Odds courtest Venetian Resort Casino Hotel):
Recommended plays in BOLD

BRETT ROGERS (+550) v. FEDOR EMELIANENKO (-900) - HEAVYWEIGHT
Rogers has a lot of tools that could allow him to beat Fedor. He's a huge dude with a 31 pound weight advantage. He's a solid striker with fast hands. The biggest issue is what happens if the fight goes to the ground. We have zero clue as to how Rogers will handle himself. That's an awful question going in against a guy with 16 submission wins and six of his last seven by sub. Fedor deserves to be a huge favorite but anytime the odds get this high you have take a look at the dog. The plus-550 is nice return on a guy with knockout power. Fedor will win the fight but you have to roll the dice with a small bet on Rogers.
PICK: ROGERS +550

JASON MILLER (+220) v. JAKE SHIELDS (-300) - MIDDLEWEIGHT
Vegas says the action all been on Shields, who opened minus-220. That's a little surprising with Miller gaining some traction with his MTV show "Bully Beatdown." Truth is though only hardcores are betting this Strikeforce card and they know how good Shields is. What quality win does Miller have in the last three years? The best was against Tim Kennedy. I don't know if he could beat 2009 Tim Kennedy. If it stays on the feet the entire time, Shields stand up is shaky. But it won't. Miller has mediocre takedown defense. Shields rolls via submission. This one opened at -220. There's no value now that it's jumped 80 cents.   
SHIELDS -300

RAMEAU THIERRY SOKOUDJOU (+350) v. GEGARD MOUSASI (-500) - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Mousasi is probably the No. 2 non-UFC fighter in the world. That doesn't mean he's unbeatable but his package is pretty complete. Sokoudjou brings power to the cage but that's about it. Sokoudjou may want to get this to the ground and try to slow down the pace but he won't. He'll come out slugging and run out of gas like he often does. Mousasi finishes this one late first or early second. Same deal here on the action. It's all been on the side of the favorite. Mousasi opened in Vegas at minus-360.
PICK: MOUSASI -500

ANTONIO SILVA v. FABRICIO WERDUM - HEAVYWEIGHT 
There's been solid two-way action on this fight and there should be. I'm not a huge Silva fan but he's dangerous in this fight against Werdum. I don't like the fact that Werdum came in weighing in the 240's. He's most effective in the low 230's. Werdum needs to get it to the ground to finish it. No one is going to rock that huge noggin of Silva. Silva will be tough to get down. He'll pull the mild upset setting up a fight against Fedor on CBS in the first quarter of 2010.  
PICK: SILVA +140

MAIN CARD

Fedor Emelianenko 232 lbs. vs. Brett Rogers 264 lbs.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller 184 lbs. vs. Jake Shields 184.5 lbs. (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title)

Gegard Mousasi 205 lbs. vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou 204 lbs. 

Antonio "Big Foot" Silva 263 lbs. vs. Fabricio Werdum 242 lbs.

Fedor is a legend in the sport and hasn't lost since 2000, so why is Rogers the guy who is carrying the promotion? The reason is obvious. Fedor doesn't speak enough English to do television and radio interviews. So it's all been on Rogers. He did a ton of radio and newspaper spots. He also appeared on ESPN's First Take, ESPN's SportsNation and tonight he'll be seen on Last Call with Carson Daly. The ESPN appearances included a midweek trip from Chicago to Bristol, Conn.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said it's a necessity (3:28 mark):

"Brett's been amazing. He's been a great trooper. Part of the business that people don't understand is we need the fighters to go out there and do the PR."

Coker pointed out that promoting Fedor is difficult because he lives in Russia. That's all well and good but it has to be distraction for Rogers. He does have his wife with him in Chicago which is a little unusual. Most fighters are surrounded by camp members and have little contact with their family in the days leading up to a fight. It'll be interesting to see how this all works out for Rogers. The big guy does have a confidence about him and he certainly wasn't distracted or intimidated going into the fight against a huge name like Andrei Arlovski.

It's too bad Fedor Emelianenko hasn't gotten much mainstream media coverage over the years because tomorrow night's fight against Brett Rogers really could've been pitched as a 1980's throwback promotion. Fedor resembles some of the great Soviet Olympians from 30 years ago. He's walking around the fighter hotel in Chicago with a huge entourage that includes two dudes who look like Rasputin. The world's No. 1 heavyweight is decked out in zip up jacket that simply reads "Russia." CBS color analyst Frank Shamrock says it's all part of what makes up Fedor's aura:

"One of the things he said in his interview was 'my father and mother brought me up to have a strong love of god and of country. And I fight because I want to fight for my country. I want Russia to be pround. Just that statement we were all floored. That is a very powerful force to drive you to do something."

Fedor is a total throwback:

"He came into the warmup jumping the rope and doing pull ups. He's wearing the suits from the 70's.  He want to be a good person ... after he smashes you."

His opponent Brett Rogers is far from a bad dude. His story is unreal. Making little money until 2009, the 6-5, 265-pounder had to work a full-time gig at Sam's Club. He's a family man and has fulfilled every promotional media request.

With the Cold War laid to rest, it'll be interesting to see if american viewers will root for Rogers simply because Fedor is a Russian. Most MMA fans don't care about cultural lines but they'll make up a minute portion of the CBS audience.

Shamrock buils a pretty good case for Rogers pulling the upset. Shamrock says Rogers footwork is great and he's got a great shot if he keeps Fedor backing up throughout the fight. Is he just making the pitch for CBS or does he really believe it?

Make sure you listen to the end when Shamrock suggests that the best fighter on the card is actually Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi, 24, will face Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Shamrock said if Mousasi ever faces Anderson Silva he'd beat him every time.

In a video that has been making the rounds today, things got a little feisty between the Brigham Young and New Mexico women's soccer teams. And when I say a little feisty, I mean downright dirty. They knocked each other down, threw sucker punches and at one point used a ponytail to get their opponent down on the ground.

The problem here is not the game. I'd like to see some more sportsmanship between these two teams, but the problem is that at the beginning of the highlight, ESPN equates the dirty play to MMA. Why is that necessary? Nothing about the cheap, dirty moves these women were pulling on each other had anything to do with what is done in a cage. Especially since ESPN had actually been giving this week's Strikeforce card good coverage, they should know better. For that silliness, ESPN wins the Cagewriter Facepalm of the Week. 

Update: Apparently, more silly MMA references were made during "Around the Horn." That makes ESPN even more deserving of this award. 

The most important thing for Modafferi at this point is to get more fights. With a win, she will have that chance as the winner of this fight will likely decide the number 1 contender spot for the Strikeforce women's title. 

Part of Fedor Emelianenko's charm is that he doesn't look like a killer. Because of his stoic demeanor, he's often compared to the Dolph Lundgren character "Drago" from Rocky IV. True, Fedor does appear to come from the same Russian sports machine but he's not a ripped 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds. At 6-foot, 230, he looks like your chubby next door neighbor. But result are results. He's 30-1 with the only loss coming because of a cut. His fight against Brett Rogers at the Sears Centre in the northwest suburbs of Chicago is getting coverage in the local newspapers, but is it doing more harm than good? In a Wednesday story, the Chicago Sun-Times did a nice job of explaining why Fedor is so awesome but how many people will get by this photo and blurb on the back cover to give MMA a chance?

"... but with a body like that, how can Russian Fedor Emelianenko be the best mixed martial artist in the world."

CBS will be presenting the same image on tomorrow night nationwide at 9 p.m. What will a nation of casual fight fans think when they see the Russian? The only thing that will solve negative thoughts about the physique of MMA's best fight will be a dominant performance. A slow-paced fight like the one UFC featured during the "The Ultimate Fighter" with Roy Nelson and Kimbo Slice could hurt MMA a bit in front of an audience of 2-3 million. It was disappointing to hear the UFC's Chael Sonnen say he didn't want to see the fight because it's, "two fatties swinging like bums."

He can disrespect the one-dimensional Rogers if he'd like, but it's ridiculous for a guy inside the sport to take that sort of swipe at Fedor.

Photo via Twitter.com/allelbows

"I have a background where I grew up in a poor area where no kids had supervision, and I was bullied, so it spoke to me," Miller told Cagewriter.

He has brought Strikeforce aboard, including middleweight Scott Smith and heavyweight Daniel Cormier. The two spoke to children at a martial arts center in suburban Chicago and told Cagewriter why they chose to get involved.

"For me, I've got a couple of kids, and I coach junior high wrestling, and you can see there's a lot of kids who don't have the guidance," Smith said. "If we can get out there, and whether it's because we're good fighters or just adult role models, and it keeps them from bullying or picking on kids, we've done a good job."

Smith doesn't see a disconnect between what he does in the cage and a message against violence.

"Fighters are the exact opposite [of violent]. They're disciplined. We got into martial arts to learn how to defend ourselves. I'm the part owner of a gym, and the guys that come into learn how to fight so they can beat people up in bars? Those are the first guys to get weeded out. You've got to be disciplined to be a mixed martial artist."

"You don't know how to defend yourself as a kid," Cormier added. "You have to learn it. I didn't know how to defend myself as a kid until I learned how to wrestle. I finally figured out that when I wrestle, I win some, lose some, but if I can go out there and wrestle, why can't I stand up to some guy who is bullying me?"

Bullying has been in the headlines lately as a widespread problem in schools that can lead to other, bigger problems. Just this week, an Alabama school is investigating if bullying played a part in the suicide of a 12-year-old boy. 

For Miller, standing up to bullying and helping kids is the goal, not the by-product, of his fame.

"I work in my life not just for monetary rewards. I want fame so at some level I can influence change. I don't look at it just as, 'Oh, I want to be famous so I can hump girls.' I want to exert my influence in a good way."

The most surprising thing to come out of Strikeforce's pre-fight press conference today was not any bit of news. It was a smile from "The Last Emperor," Fedor Emelianenko, who will fight Brett Rogers in a three-round bout in suburban Chicago on Saturday. 

See that face that Fedor Emelianenko is making? That was the only face that he made the whole day. It's quite clear that Fedor is done with all of the build-up to this Saturday's bout with Brett Rogers, and just wants to fight.

While Fedor was keeping his visage stoic, Jason "Mayhem" Miller was enjoying every second of the media attention. While wearing a chinchilla coat, he spoke with Cagewriter.

"I'm feeling AWESOME, backslash, dotcom, I'm about to kick some ass," Miller said. He is looking forward to his bout for the middleweight title with Jake Shields, and is confident that he will win.

"I'm a better kickboxer, and I'm going to show that on Saturday night. And, on the ground, though I believe he's an excellent grappler, I believe I know a couple of moves on the ground. He's not going to finish me there. I don't see how he beats me. I'm going to show that to everyone."

And to the rumors that Shields will take over Miller's hosting duties on MTV's "Bully Beatdown"?

"I think he's just insecure about this fight, so he's trying to get in my head. Guess what?!? I'm the one who plays the mind games. Not him. And I'm totally not worried about a guy who can't string together a sentence taking over my job on 'Bully Beatdown.' Mario Lopez? OK, maybe I'll be a little nervous. But Jake Shields? Not so much."

Miller and Strikeforce light heavyweight Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal put on a pro wrestling exhibition during the workout.

And yes, Miller continued to wear his chinchilla coat throughout the "workout."

Strikeforce TV analyst and fighter Frank Shamrock said that he hopes to return to action in February. Since his last fight, a loss to Nick Diaz, he's been enjoying being a dad to his 18-month-old daughter.

"My theory was that if I taught her patty cake, we could translate that into pad work. She can patty cake, and the punches come next."

Of course, we've already told you about the craziest part of the day. Mr. T was standing out on the street near POW Kickboxing, where the open workouts were held. He lives in the neighborhood, and was kind enough to pose for pictures with King Mo, trainer Ryan Parsons and Strikeforce fighter Daniel Cormier.

Afterwards, Mr. T gave the line of the day:

"I pity the fools that fight you guys."

"If you win, they say good stuff, if you lose, they bring you down," Mousasi told Cagewriter. "To be able to win my fights, I must focus on the good things, like training." 

After his last fight, a TKO of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, ended in just a minute, Mousasi wants to show off his skills to an American audience.

"I can win with submission, ground and pound or stand-up, so I'm going to take my time, be sharp and put the pressure and take whatever I can. I'm going to try to do everything."

Strikeforce TV analyst Frank Shamrock thinks that Mousasi is one of Strikeforce's budding stars.

"I think there's a fighter on the card who possesses an extraordinary skill set, and has been overlooked," Shamrock said. "Mousasi, for his weight, is one of the best fighters on the planet. No one knows it yet. They found out a little bit when he won the belt, and they're going to find out a little bit more on Saturday night."

At the same time, Mousasi's not overlooking Sokoudjou, who struggled with the UFC but was quite successful in fights overseas.

"He's a dangerous opponent. I think people underestimate him. I will take my time with him and hopefully do the job well."

If Mousasi does win, he said he wants to fight soon, but stopped short of calling out any particular fighter, including Strikeforce's newest light heavyweight signing, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, who was just a few feet away from him in the gym.

"There are some good fighters. King Mo, I hear is a new talent. A match with him would be an exciting one, but it's not up to me," Mousasi said.

Lawal, who is rumored to be fighting for Strikeforce on Dec. 19, sees a fight with Mousasi as inevitable.

"Me and him are going to end up fighting. It's going to happen eventually. It's bound to happen. He keeps winning, I keep winning, it's going to happen," Lawal told Cagewriter. 

Less "Rampage" and more fights! We've been waiting for this. Now that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson went 1-7 in the opening round of "The Ultimate Fighter" we can turn our attention away from the constant bickering between the two coaches. The quarterfinals were announced at the end of tonight's episode:

Roy Nelson v. Justin Wren

Brendan Schaub v. Jon Madsen

James McSweeney v. Matt Mitrione 

Marcus Jones v. Darrill "Titties" Schoonover

Not so fast my friends, there could be more Kimbo Slice drama on the way. The postfight tease shows Matt Mitrione still suffering after his battle against Scott Junk. Power voice guy Mike Rowe says Mitrione was taken to the hospital. It could be Kimbo time! Will the streetfighting legend get a second chance?

If so, what a bummer for Mitrione. His fight against McSweeney could've been a helluva war. Kimbo may get to face the kickboxer who has over 120 professional fights.  

"The Ultimate Fighter" too often showcases buffoons and rewards outlandish behavior. Unless a fighter can make a deep run, the truly good characters never get much face time. Spike got it right tonight during Episode 8 of TUF 10. It's tough to dislike Marcus "The Darkness" Jones. Let's scratch "The Darkness," "Big Baby" is where it's at. At 6-foot-6, 262 pounds, Jones may be the most imposing looking guy in ten seasons to step into the TUF house. On the flip side, he might the nicest. 

His NFL to MMA story is awesome. Just like most NFL first round flameouts, the 22nd pick in the 1996 draft, admits that he just didn't have the passion for the game. He was never a "student of the game" like Tampa Bay Buccaneer teammates Derrick Brooks or John Lynch. It's clear from TUF 10 that he's found his new passion.

Jones must be a quick learner to exhibit the kind of jiu-jitsu he pulled off against Mike Wessel in the final first round fight of TUF 10. Wessel, who was ridiculously compared to Mike Tyson earlier in the episode by Rashad Evans and Kimbo Slice because he's a shorter heavyweight at just 6-feet tall, came out swinging. Jones calmly withstood the wild onslaught putting his hands up and out to protect himself. When Wessel tried to clinch and go for a trip takedown, Big Baby used good technique and some muscle to throw the smaller man down and gain top control. He immediately went for a kimura. Wessel escaped but got caught as Jones took his back. Jones was a little sloppy in allowing Wessel to spin out of that position, but out of nowhere, Jones showed the moxy of a 10-year veteran by slapping on a vicious armbar. Wessel yelped in pain and verbally tapped. All that in 49 seconds giving Team Rampage its first and only win. 

"It's like crack. Man it's like [expletive] crack. I'm just saying if I ever took it,"  Jones jokingly said of the rush he was feeling.

Jones' not so youthful postfight exuberance was hilarious.

"It doesn't feel like it's real right now. I want to sit down, I want to stand up at the same time. I want to talk. I want to shut up. Other than the birth of my kids, it doesn't get any better than this. Everybody's gonna see this! Everybody's gonna see this, man! Oh sorry. This is awesome." 

Rashad Evans says Big Baby is no joke. UFC president Dana White appeared to be in awe of Jones. He also looked like he was ready to lose his lunch. White thought Wessel suffered a broken arm, saying the limb looked defomed. Turns out the former strength coach for the University of Arkansas football team was fine. 

Poor Wessel. Outside the training center, he weeped at the end of the fight. The story of his wife suffering from cancer back at home was told earlier in the episode. It doesn't seem fair that the guy has to stay around for four more weeks away from his wife especially if he has little shot at being a fill-in fighter.

The show doesn't focus too much on the grieving Wessell during the postfight but it definitely milked the 0-1 door from Episode 7 at the beginning. After Scott Junk, lost to drop Team Rampage to 0-7, Jackson goes nuts on the gym door. Evans seemed really hurt that the door was destroyed saying, "there's no need to tear down a door, fool!" White was embarrassed now that the nation knows the Training Center has cheap doors and Jackson goes as far as apologizing to the door.

Houston last locked horns with a heavyweight (blogger) at UFC 78

Houston Alexander went through the final formalities in Las Vegas today in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to set up his rumored fight against Kimbo Slice at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in Las Vegas on Dec. 5. At the age of 37, Alexander was required by the NSAC to apply for a license.

The news reported by MMAJunkie puts a bit of damper the remainder of TUF 10 where there is still a chance Kimbo fights again. The swirling Alexander rumors put to rest any notion that Kimbo may have reached the TUF 10 Finale. Word has it that the fight will be at a catch weight of 215 pounds.

Several fighters at UFC 104 in Los Angeles told Cagewriter they had seen Kimbo recently and he did look trimmer. Slice's fight on the reality show was at 230 pounds. He lost that fight to Roy Nelson.

Alexander last fought in the UFC at Ultimate Fight Night 15 where he lost to Eric Schafer. The Nebraska-native is primarily a stand-up fighter which is tailor-made for Kimbo, 34, who lacks ground skills. 

On the way into Strikeforce's open workouts today, Mr. T ran into new Strikeforce signee, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Mr. T told Lawal that he respected fighters and would try to make it Saturday's fights. One thing is clear: Rampage has some big shoes to fill.

Keep checking in with Cagewriter as we will have much more from today's open workouts. 

UFC president Dana White was involved in a fender bender on the west side of Las Vegas around 10 a.m. PT,

White told Cagewriter while switching lanes in his black Ferrari, traffic came to an abrupt stop near Charleston and Hualupai just down the road from the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa. The UFC has set up shop this week at the Red Rock for its Fighter Summit. Most of the UFC fighter roster is in town for a few days of seminars.

White denied that he was video blogging at the time. We're glad he's okay but he can't say CW didn't warn him about his shaky driving. 

After voicing their displeasure, some UG readers received emails this morning, from the station's General Manager Skip Valet, again stating that the fight card could be seen on Sunday morning or live at CBS.com. Then mysteriously a switch was made:

Cagewriter spoke with Valet who said CBS made a late change in available programming and the station was unaware of the opportunity to show the fight card live. When asked if he got a response from angry customers, he said he'd received 15 emails asking about the late night re-schedule of Strikeforce.  

It appears there's a similar situation in Madison, Wisconsin on WISC-TV. The 8 o'clock CT start is being covered up by the end of a Wisconsin-Minnesota hockey game. At 9, it's  "Urban Theater: Mother Hive Syndicate." The MMA show is schedule to air at 1 a.m. CT on Sunday.

It hasn't been an easy five months for Michael Bisping. The British middleweight, once the toast of the town, is still dealing with his first second career loss, a brutal knockout at the hands of Dan Henderson. Adding insult to injury, because of his coaching appearance on season of nine of "The Ultimate Fighter," he may now be amongst the five most disliked fighters in MMA. And on top of that he's got other fighters snitching on his late night habits.

Rashad Evans told Cagewriter back in July that Bisping didn't take that UFC 100 fight seriously and was out partying inside of two weeks from the fight:

"I was actually excited [to see him lose] not because I dislike Michael Bisping," Evans said. "It's the fact that I seen him out at the club the week before the fight, and I go up to him and tell him 'dude you got a fight coming up.' And he was like 'what's it to you mate' and he got all mad and salty about it, and he like wanted to fight to me."

Bisping said that was nonsense. He had trained all day and woke up at 10 p.m. in Las Vegas. He called his buddies Quinton Jackson and Tiki Ghosn, and met them at a club. Bisping said he was hanging out, drinking orange juice. That's when Evans approached the trio: 

"Rashad comes stumbling over, drunk with half a shirt on. One half of the shirt hanging out. I said 'Rashad you're the one who's drunk. I'm drinking orange juice. Just leave me alone. I'm out for an hour or two.' I'm quite surprised he felt the need to go out and publicize it."

The reality show coaching gig has made heroes or villians out of several fighters. Tito Ortiz probably saw the biggest positive boost. Right now, Evans and Jackson are battling for heel supremacy on TUF 10. Bisping was definitely the bad boy coming off TUF 9. During a recent UFC chat session with fans, Bisping's name was booed every single time it was mentioned in Portland at UFC 102. The Brit doesn't understand that:

"I am who I am. I'm not a fake person. I'm not like a lot of fighters. Some fighters go out there and put on this fake image as a man of the people and all of that [expletive]. In reality they're [expletive]. They don't give people the time of the day."

Bisping said anyone who comes up and meets him wouldn't have a bad thing to say. He's also got a fan friendly website/blog.

TUF 9 was a mixed bag for Bisping. It brought a lot more eyes his way but he said it also derailed his progress as a fighter because nine months away from the cage was way too long.

Bisping returns to the Octagon at UFC 105 in Manchester, England on Nov. 14. 

The interviewer also tried to engage Fedor in a staring contest. Having interviewed Emelianenko, I can attest that the entire exercise of interviewing him was a staring contest. A staring contest that I lost. Badly. 

Thanks to With Leather. 

I couldn't find an exact replica of Fedor Emelianenko's sweater, but there are reasonable facsimiles to the sweater. From left, there is a v-necked Banana Republic sweater, an Eddie Bauer sweater, and a Lacoste sweater, all available on eBay. This way, you can be like Fedor, yet still keep your own personal style. It's truly a win-win. 

Brett "The Grim" Rogers made a stop at Sunday's Bears game to promote his fight with Fedor Emelianenko, going down this Saturday in suburban Chicago and on CBS. Before watching the Bears beat the Browns 30-6, Rogers hung out with Staley the Bear. Take your shot at a caption in the comments, and read on for winners of last week's create-a-caption.

First place: If only the Extenze could have made him stay upright for a longer time. -- wave f

Second place: Figaro, figaro, figaro -- Justin Case

Third place: As if getting completely destroyed by Cain weren't embarrassing enough, "Big Ben" reacts to a woman in the crowd laughing hysterically while pointing at his Extenze logo and holding up her pinky. -- Smokin' Joe Fraze 

If you would like to suggest a picture for create-a-caption, feel free to send it to us. 

"It's kind of tough, but to me it's not that big a deal," Riley told Cagewriter. "A fight's a fight. He's definitely going to have crowd support. At the same time. I'm going to try to use the negative crowd energy and use it as a boost to drive me to excel. I'll take it, flip it and use it in another way."

Riley is one of the many fighters that trains with Greg Jackson in New Mexico. To prepare for next weekend, he worked with Joe Stevenson, who beat Spencer Fisher at UFC 104.

"The cool thing about [Jackson's] is that there are so many good guys to train with. I helped Joe Stevenson get ready for his fight. He was fighting a southpaw, and I was able to mimic that, and he's orthodox, which is the way my opponent fights."

Working with Jackson means that Riley will hear Jackson's interesting way of speaking to his fighters in the corner. Jackson is known to speak to fighters in calm, soothing tones, and asking them to repeat the directions Jackson has given, which is quite a contrast to the way many other cornermen coach their fighters. Riley sees that as an asset.

"It's very relaxing. It's very refreshing, compared to someone who is just screaming at you, saying what you did wrong, what you did right, and giving you too much information to take in all at once. Greg really has a good handle on that. I think that's a productive way to corner."

Along with Jackson's expertise, Riley will bring with him the experience of fighting for 12 years, despite his relative youth. Riley will turn 29 in December.

"[The experience] will help, in that I've been in the position before of being on someone's home turf and being the bad guy. I know that I can't overlook anyone. I'm looking to fight hard. It is his home turf,  this is his first fight since winning the show, and he's looking to make a statement. I've got to bring my A-game and be prepared for that." 

Brock Lesnar isn't really sick. He's afraid to fight Shane Carwin. The UFC wanted to move Lesnar-Carwin to UFC 108 on Jan. 2 to ensure that card does well.

Fellow heavyweight Frank Mir has heard all of the internet blather about Lesnar's cancellation of his Nov. 21 fight against Carwin. Mir doesn't know what to believe but he did tell Cagewriter that getting sick during training is almost a rite of passage:

"It happens to a lot of us. You're training so hard that your immune system takes a sap. I don't think I've ever not gotten sick for three or four days. You have to be disciplined enough to take time off."

Lesnar decided to bail completely from the Nov. 21 fight. The rescheduled tilt may or may not be on Jan. 2 at UFC 108. No official word has come from the UFC.

Mir said he and his wife Jennifer were discussing the hypothetical notion of filling in for Lesnar and taking on Carwin in less than a month. The former champ said there's no way he'd take someone like Carwin on short notice. The same goes for about six other heavyweights that he wouldn't step up against without a full training camp.

At the end of the interview, Mir discusses two of the UFC's young guns, Cain Velasquez and Todd Duffee. He addresses some the final questions on Velasquez and said he's super impressed with Duffee, who he's had a chance to roll with now that the 23-year-old is training in Las Vegas.

"I still had my apartment but if something would've happened and the fight had been canceled, I would've been evicted six days later."

Barry, 30, said he didn't even tell his trainer Duke Roufus for fear that he would think the fighter had the wrong motivation going into the fight. Barry said he didn't ask anyone for money including his mother:

"I could ask someone but then at the same time, how hard are you going to work for something if everytime you get in trouble somebody catches you? I did something to put myself in this position I have to work my way out of it."

Listen to Barry talk about his troubles before the fight:

Barry got his $120,000 bonus check last Tuesday. He couldn't believe it. When he went to deposit the check, his truck wouldn't start. Barry got a jump and hit the bank sporting a black eye and pink striped shorts. 

"I go to the bank, I'm sweaty, I've got the black eye, I haven't shaven in two days, I'm strung out because I haven't slept, I have green circles under my eyes so I'm like 'Can I have a deposit slip mam?'. She gives it to me, I fill it out hand it to her. She looks at the deposit slip, then the check, then looks at me and says 'Excuse me I'll be right back.' Then a manager comes out, a guy in a suit and says 'What seems to be the problem?' I was like 'Well I have a black eye, that's the only problem I know this looks really ridiculous.' So he asks me for my ID, I hand him my license an he's like 'Your license says Pat Barry, but this check was written to Patrick Barry.' So I decided to be funny and tell him Pat Barry is in my trunk right now. He didnt laugh. So I told him take your time man do whatever you need to do because I have no where to go and my truck probably wont start when I go outside so you can just do whatever you need to do. An hour later he came back and everything was fine, the check was in my bank account."

Listen here to the entire Barry interview. 

Tip via Middleeasy.com

There's definitely a cultural gap between American athletes and a guy like Fedor Emelianenko. The Russian is a low frills fella. The blogosphere rejoiced last week when they spotted Fedor in his awful 80's sweater during a press conference in Russia before he hit the road for his fight in Chicago this weekend. The sweater came along for the trip. Fedor and his opponent Brett Rogers were invited to the Chicago Bears game yesterday, and there it is, the lucky sweater.

The only thing better would've been Fedor sweater wearing one of Mike Ditka's 80's Bears sweater. Even Lou Carnesecca is getting jealous of Fedor's multi-colored sweater. "Looie," the former St. John's basketball coach, wore a lucky sweater during 18 straight wins in 1985.  

Photo credit Twitpic.com/photos/allelbows

Leading the pack is World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Jeff Curran (pictured). He was cut from the WEC after losses to Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Joseph Benavidez and Takeya Mizugaki. Along with Miguel Torres, Curran has a huge role in building Chicago's fight scene. Curran is the promoter for XFO, a group that puts fights on in Chicagoland and has featured many up-and-coming fighters from the area. He will try to end his losing streak against Dustin Neace.

Mark Miller is another undercard fighter who has long been a Chicago fight fixture. He fought for the Chicago Red Bears in the International Fight League, and now trains with Team Dino Costeas on Chicago's near west side. You may remember him from season nine of "The Ultimate Fighter," where he fought his friend Kevin Knabijan to get on the show, but then was knocked out by Nick Osipczak. Including the TUF fights, Miller has wins over Josh Neer and Brad Blackburn, and could use a win this Saturday over Deray Davis to get back on track.

Filling the card with local fighters is such a smart strategy by Strikeforce. It ensures local MMA fans will want to get to the fights early. Curran's gym is not far from the Sears Centre, and John Kolocsi and Miller's students, friends, family and fans won't mind the trip to the 'burbs to see the fighters on a large stage like this one.

At the same time, Strikeforce can use the undercard of these events to check out fighters to sign to their Challengers series. Tyron Woodley first fought for Strikeforce when he fought on the undercard of their show in his hometown of St. Louis. They wisely snapped him up, and he will headline the Challengers show in Kansas City on Nov. 20. 

And yes, I realize that these aren't all knockout wins, but who doesn't like a few submissions along with some knockouts? 

Teddy Bears, of course! Fedor Emelianenko stopped by Soldier Field in Chicago to see the Bears beat the Cleveland Browns, 30-6. He is on the right with Staley the Bear. There is no truth to the rumor that the Bears asked Fedor to try out for the offensive line, but with the Browns sacking Jay Cutler four times, he couldn't have made it any worse. 

Thanks to Esther Lin for the photo. 

Kids these days! I'm not that old but that's the first that came to mind when I came across this ridiculous 2008 scare piece on the U.K.'s Daily Mail. According to the story found by Fightlinker, kids were being "forced" to fight. It sounds like a self-defense class and the newspaper struck gold because the little girl pictured was freaking out and scared. Not unlike some little kids when they first play football or have to bat for the first time in front of everybody. Never let facts get in the way of a good story. The Daily Mail story features some great lines:

Taking part in an alarmingly fast-growing 'sport' that pits children against other children in the terrifying public arena of the boxing ring

Incredibly parental 'advice' includes encouragement to "come on Princess, go forward, kick 'em, kick 'em."

On top of school and homework, a normal week for Thai consists of running over 15 km, doing 400 sit ups, and at least 10 hours on the bags and sparring.

On the positive, she looks happier than the little tike who was made up for the Michael Jackson Thriller dance off last week in front of Staples Center. 

Celeste said via Twitter that she is still not sure, but I can't help but cheer for Cordova. Give him a chance, Arianny. 

*I don't think a mullet makes someone more attractive, but Torres has a beautiful wife, so it must work for him.

You don't think he's serious? He also posted a video this morning featuring a derriere waxing. Now that's dedication!

Machine was a cast member on sixth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." 

You gotta love Julia Lillis. Let's hope Fedor Emelianenko does after he sees this tribute. Julia may be the "Sarah Silverman" of MMA with references to getting rear-naked choked, full mounted, grounded and pounded and having junk in her face.  

But the run of injuries and illnesses didn't end there:

-- The Thiago Alves/Jon Fitch bout for UFC 107 is off due to Alves' knee injury.

-- Erin Toughill had to pull out of her Nov. 7 Strikeforce fight with Marloes Coenen, a bout that was likely going to decide who would challenge Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. Coenen will now face Roxanne Modafferi.

-- Kurt Pellegrino is out of "The Ultimate Fighter" finale bout with Frankie Edgar.

What happened? Did Dana White and Scott Coker have dinner under a ladder while staring into a broken mirror with a black cat criss crossing their path?

Nah. This is the consequence of having so many MMA events squeezed into a short time. In the next two months, the UFC, Strikeforce and WEC have ten events. With that many events, injuries to fighters are bound to happen.

Still, just to be sure, every MMA fighter with an upcoming bout may want to sprinkle some salt over their shoulder. 

Three-time NCAA wrestling champ and UFC middleweight prospect Jake Rosholt (6-1, 2-1 UFC) will be online to talk about the week, the controversies in the sport and his fight at UFC 106 against Kendall Grove.

And a treat for the venomous viewers of UFC 104, Adam Hill will be with us from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was the only writer we could find on press row who scored the UFC 104 main event for Machida.  

Ah, MMA judge Cecil Peoples. Your name is already synonymous with questionable decisions. After the close, disputed decision for Lyoto Machida, you said that "good fans" would have agreed with you. Then, you said that leg kicks just can't win fights. Those who don't agree? Go to hell. Despite the fact that leg kicks can win fights, and have done so on many occasions, you don't win this award for your judging prowess. No, you get it because you can't stop running your mouth.

Something that comes along with the job of the judge is the fact that quite often, people won't agree with your decisions. If you feel the need to justify your decisions to multiple media outlets, and then get so angry at the people who disagree with you that you swear at them, then don't be a judge. Criticism comes along with the job. Deal with it, or move along. 

The Mandalay Bay Events Center could feel like bizarro world on Nov. 21. At UFC 106, as he enters the arena to face Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz may actually be the fan favorite. It's still unknown as to whether fans have turned their backs on Griffin after two straight losses and his odd behavior after the UFC 101 loss to Anderson Silva. After being knocked out, he sprinted from the cage back to the lockerroom.

Ortiz, a polarizing figure, always says he's about the fans. He told Cagewriter he's not so sure that's the case anymore with Griffin:

"After any loss, that's the last thing you want to do, is run away from your fans, not give an explanation, kind of quitting on your fans." Ortiz said of Griffin's mad dash. "I've heard a lot of people already talk about that."

There's plenty of pressure on both fighters. Griffin can't afford a third straight loss especially to a guy that Dana White, for the last few years, said wasn't even a top 10 fighter anymore at light heavyweight.
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"He took this fight thinkng maybe Tito Ortiz isn't a 100-percent after back surgery."

But Ortiz says Griffin may the one who's not 100-percent: 

"I've seen time and time before where guys get knocked out and their heads get soft. I hope he's getting weak."

Ortiz's back surgery was back on Oct. 6 of 2008. Before that, he said it felt like someone was stabbing him in the lower back with an ice pick. Now pain free, he's ready to go. 

Now a main event fighter, Ortiz also has the pressure of trying to sell an entire pay-per-view. Sure the fans got screwed with the Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin fight being dumped but it was Ortiz who really took a hit in the wallet. Most high level fighters with the promotion get some sort of back end PPV cut. Without Lesnar, this card may have just gone from a buy rate of 1 million down to around 300,000-400,000. 

Brett Rogers has hit the bigtime. Less than two years ago, the guy was changing tires at Sam's Club. Now he's got cameras following him for a Showtime fight documentary, Fight Camp 360.

"The film crew has been here for more than five days," said Rogers. "I tell you, it is a surreal experience to have the world watching you, watching me do what my fight team and I have been doing for five years in relative obscurity day in and day out. All of a sudden, to have my life become worthy of this attention is amazing, shocking almost.  But we are having fun with it."

His trainer Mike Reilly says Fedor Emelianenko has never seen this Rogers: 

“We have new wrinkles in training, new sparing partners and sessions.  With his striking in top form, I can have Brett focus on other facets of the game: grappling, submission defense, throws and kicks.  We are coming in from new angles, we found a new range.  We have taken conditioning to a new level.  Fedor is in for a shock.” 

Fight Camp 360 debuts next Tuesday on Showtime at 9:30 p.m. ET. 

By the looks of it, either most of the group doesn't train year-round or they were told about the assignment a week before the show.

How much damage does a fight like Matt Mitrione versus Scott Junk do with a casual fan who's giving the sport a try for the first time? They beat the snot out of each other and took massive shots, but they were exhausted three minutes into the fight. Maybe that's why the Kimbo fight was on Episode three, this way Spike/UFC could avoid a massive audience of new fans seeing the embarrassing lack of conditioning on display.

The poor stamina from Mitrione, a former college and pro football player making the transition to MMA, can be excused slightly. Plus he's a meathead. In his Fight! Magazine blog, he explained that he lost his head when he should've been going in for the kill against Junk:

"I was so pissed at Junk for throwing me under the bus that all I wanted to do was punch him in the face. Get back up, get back up so I can punch you in the face again. I knocked him out the first time I caught his kick. He was knocked out. His head hit the ground and the ground woke him back up. Then I started to gas. I didn’t know that that level of tired existed. You see people get that way but I’ve never been there on my own. It was a real big learning experience for me."

Acceptable, right? But Junk? The guy has fought in the UFC. He's a veteran of nine fights. How he does he show up in that kind of shape? He was getting destroyed and that can certainly be fatiguing but he gassed three minutes into the fight. I never thought I'd see anything worse than the conditioning of Wes Shivers and James McSweeney from Episode one, but this topped it.

There are some fighters with lots of potential on TUF 10 but it's being masked by a massive lack of professionalism.

He's old so we'll cut him a break. Not really. Legendary boxer Jake LaMotta, now 88, gave this quick quote about mixed martial arts:

"When they hit you on the floor? That doesn’t make any sense, it’s savage." The now 88 year old Lamotta told Reuters. "It’s out of control, I still think the regular way is the best way."

LaMotta wasn't exactly a wallflower. Thevideo features Robert DeNiro, playing LaMotta in Raging Bull. and what he "allegedly" did to his wife (NSFW - 0:35 mark) over the years. Make sure you watch at the 2:10 mark when he seems to mount and hit his brother, a downed opponent.

You're never going to convince or teach a guy like LaMotta about MMA. Let him believe what he wants. But it is ironic that a guy who had no self-control is opining about savagery or lack of control. 

Tip via Nowboxing.com

Ever wanted to ask Jake Rosholt how he pulled out the arm triangle win over Chris Leben? How did he teach his dog to fetch a beer? Was it that hard to jump backwards out of a pool? Well, here is your chance. The NCAA Division I wrestling champ and UFC middleweight will join Cagewriter for a chat at noon ET on Friday. Be there, or Rosholt's dog will get a beer for everyone but you.

It's Wednesday night, and that can only mean one thing: the week is half over! Also, it means that "The Ultimate Fighter" is on. Huzzah! Last week, Darrill Schoonover got back at Quinton "Rampage" Jackson by beating his fighter, Zak Jensen. Marcus Jones, Matt Mitrione, Scott Junk and Mike Wessel still have to fight. Rashad Evans' team still has a shot at a sweep. Can they do it?

The show starts with Rampage and Rashad making fun of each other. So original! Tiki Ghosn continues to be the Ed McMahon to Rampage's Johnny Carson, laughing a bit too hard at Rampage's jokes, and repeating them at will. Then Rampage comes out with, "Gay-shad! Gay-shad Evans!"

Alright, this paragraph right here is for just for Rampage. If your name is not Rampage Jackson, you should skip to the next paragraph. Rampage, it's 2009. Let's stop with the stupidity. Calling someone gay as if that's a derogatory term is SO 1996. Cut it out. I'd tell you to grow up, but that ship has clearly sailed. At the very least, stay current with teasing trends. 

Once they get through the stupidity, the fight is announced: Scott Junk vs. Matt Mitrione, which means the final fight will be Mike Wessel vs. Marcus Jones. Junk and Mitrione face off, and Junk doesn't actually put his hands up. He just keeps rocking back and forth. The Wessel/Jones faceoff is nearly as comical, as Jones towers over Wessel.

Hey, you're going to be shocked at what happens next -- Rampage and Rashad get in each other's face. Rashad tells Rampage, "I'm gonna make you quit, like you quit this competition, and I'm gonna make you quit in the fight." Rampage continues his, "I'm not a coach" BS until the two came really close to punching each other. All of this build-up leading to no fight only guarantees one thing: there is no way in hell I'm going to buy a ticket to see "The A-Team." 

Mitrione really is not here to make friends

Back at the house, Junk says that Matt showed him a note saying Mike is afraid to fight Scott, but Mike is not afraid to fight anyone, darnit. Team Rashad is ticked at Matt for saying it. Does it sound like junior high? Because that's what it felt like. At practice, Rashad tells Matt to focus on what's important, namely, winning your own fight and growing up.

Junk is annoyed by Mitrione's game playing, and he's looking forward to fighting. Junk is the best, most experienced fighter on Rampage's team, so he probably has the best chance to win.

In Mitrione's never ending quest to be a jerk, he drinks Madsen's orange juice without asking, which prompts Madsen to say he's going to slap Mitrione in the face. At practice, Mitrione goes full out in a sparring session that is supposed to be light. He gets extra meatheaded by flipping out when Madsen walks away from the session. Rashad then puts together his most coach-like speech of the season, telling Mitrione:

"Have you fought yet? So why the [expletive] are you so concerned about what he says to you when he's on your [expletive] team when you haven't even fought yet? Please tell me! Why don't you save some of this [expletive] aggression for the fight you have in a few [expletive] days ... If you don't go out there, and you don't fight like this at your fight, I'm gonna [expletive] you up myself."

The good news for our own Zak Jensen is that the teasing in the house has moved from him to Mitrione. They made a new calendar, counting down to the day Mitrione cracks. Inexplicably, this leads to Wes Sims dressing up in a black gi, sneaking arond the house like a ninja, and jumping out of the bushes to scare Mitrione. Not shockingly, Mitrione doesn't take the teasing well, but he doesn't flip out again.

Despite all the team unity with Team Rashad, you get the feeling that Mitrione's teammates aren't cheering him on.

Matt Mitrione (Team Rashad) vs. Scott Junk (Team Rampage)

Round 1: Mitrione knocksJunk down early, but Junk gets back up. This happens again. And again. Mitrione clearly wants to avoid the ground, even when it looks like he could finish Junk by going to the ground. Mitrione easily avoidss a Junk takedown attempt, and Junk doesn't land many punches. Round one ends with Junk finally fighting back, and Dana White saying "Holy [expletive]." The fight must have been more impressive in person.

Round 2: Junk lands a few clean shots, but doesn't cause much damage. After a lot of trying, Junk gets a takedown and both fighters halfheartedly throw punches. The ref stands them up, and though Mitrione gets the better of the stand-up. They are both clearly exhausted.

"Those two stood in front of each other and threw bombs," Dana White says. Huh? Were we watching the same fight? I saw two exhausted guys praying for the bell to ring. Dana, that's not what you saw? 

Mitrione is the winner, 19-19, 20-18 and 20-18. In case you were wondering, this is the episode where Rampage rips apart the door. 

But a small change in the way fights are run could make a huge difference in the way fights are fought. Currently, judges round-by-round scores are kept secret until the end of the fight. This does nothing but cause conjecture and confusion, as was shown in the light heavyweight title fight between Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Why not post the judges scores between rounds?

Few other sports require their athletes to muddle through blindly, wondering if they are winning. When working on ninth-inning strategy in the World Series, Yankees manager Joe Girardi will know if his team is in the lead. 

This isn't new to combat sports, either. Wrestlers and judo players know the scores of their matches. Even Olympic boxing has a posted score.

Posting scores at the end of each round would not only be good for the fighters. Their corners would also benefit. Instead of focusing on the question, "Did my fighter win the round?" they could strategize, see what their fighter is doing right or wrong, and use the very short time in between rounds to relay strategy. No time would be wasted on telling a fighter if he or she won the round when the judges opinion would be clear.

Posting scores between rounds would not cure everything that ails MMA judging and refereeing. However, it's an easy change that could clear up any confusion that fighters and coaches have during a fight. 

There will be no war of words. It's not in Dan Henderson's personality to flip out on the UFC and Dana White during this free agent negotiation period. Henderson's lawyer did meet with Strikeforce's Scott Coker last week. That fact was confirmed by White who happened to be eating at the same Los Angeles restaurant last Wednesday. White says the negotiations are dead between Hendo and the promotion, the fighter paints a more patient picture during the interview Canada's Sportsnet. White told the media at UFC 104 that his offer was huge and he be shocked if any other promotion can match it:

"He'd like to think that's true, you know I disagree. And feel like I'm worth more than they're offering. And I don't feel like I'm asking for way too much."

Some rumors unconfirmed rumors have place the number at $5 million per fight. White said Henderson is asking for more than anyone else in the UFC currently makes:

"I know that they've signed other deals that are a lot more than my deal or what I'm asking for. I'm always a fair guy and I'm not trying to hold anyone oer a barrel."

Henderson suggests it's closer than people think:

"Sure we're at a little bit of sticking point but either way I'm pretty confident I'll be fighting first of February."

Henderson said he's willing to walk from the UFC but he understands their position. He'll be at the Strikeforce event next week in Chicago cornering Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. 

Through the beginning of 2009, Rampage was probably amongst the top five fan favorites with mixed martial arts followers. That's probably not the case now. He is taking a beating from viewers coming off as childish, immature, selfish and his fight knowledge seems to be at an elementary level. Cagewriter spoke Rampage's friend Tito Ortiz who said everyone needs to take it easy on his buddy (5:00 mark):

"On The Ultimate Fighter, he's not a coach, he's a fighter. He's a kid who came from the streets, he's in survival mode right now," told DC and The Sunshine Man show on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas.

Ortiz explained that he was cut out for the coaching spot on The Ultimate Fighter 3 because he came from a wrestling background. Rampage has never been a guy who should be motivating others, he has enough trouble doing that himself:

"I used have to press him, I used to have to push him because he never wanted to bring the best out of him. When he went on his own, he understood that the only way to survive is to work super hard."

Ortiz backs Rampage's decision to make a run at a movie career saying he has a lot of mouth's to feed but he also said some of his decisions have been ill-advised and that the UFC did take care of him in the past. This is the new Tito, straddling the fence!&

Tito was also asked about his TMZ encounter with a flunky on the streets of L.A. who was asking for money. Make sure you listen to what Ortiz says about Mexicans and their work ethic (2:48 mark).

Going into episode six, Team Rashad was 5-0 and Team Rampage’s morale was down. We just had our most experienced fighter, Wes Sims, choked out by the youngest guy in the house, Justin Wren. Ever since the first fight, Team Rampage has been on a slippery slope with no end in sight. Not only are we losing, but our head coach leaves us alone on the Octagon floor until Rashad and his coaches come across the cage. It happened again with Wes Sims after his loss to Justin Wren. 

Before my fight, Wes continues where he left off last week. He’s seen that his feeble, infantile attempts to bother me have had no effect, so he switches it up. He goes for the story of me sniffing his shorts. James McSweeney chimes in and calls me weird. I don’t know what I did to Wes for him to direct his immaturity towards me, but I just laugh it off and try to focus on the goal at hand. That was made even harder with the introduction of the “When will Jensen crack calendar.”
 
Everyone thought I was going to get picked to fight and it happened. I’m matched up against Darrill Schoonover. When Rashad picks Darrill, Rampage made the "titties" remark again and Darrill responds just like anyone would have. After our face off, we shook hands. Rampage and Darrill went at it, and Rashad had to get in the middle. I walked away because it was childish and stupid.

We got to the training session and I sparred with Wes Shivers. Nearing the end of the practice, I was tired and Rampage was "coaching" me by saying get mad and other nonsense. Because of the lackluster final round with Wes, I had to do one more with Coach Tom. As you all saw it didn’t turn out too well. I got cut and Kimbo Slice rejoiced like an ass.

I got stitches and then at the next practice continued to train. I didn’t let the cut bother me. It’s nice to see people’s true colors and what they think of you. Tiki Ghosn had no faith but Junior and Hector said they thought I’d be fine to fight and that I had heart.

Darrill’s training focused on his stand up and breaking me. He was instructed to push me against the cage, knee my legs and dirty box. Darrill got focused and stopped drinking when the coaches asked him to. I like Darrill, he’s the kinda guy who comes to fight every time.

At the weigh-ins, Darrill and Rampage got into it again. After the altercation, I went up to Darrill and said forget all the [expletive] and let’s just have a good fight. Rampage and Tiki thought it would be funny to write “Titties” on Darrill's name on his locker-room door. It was ridiculous. The damn “Team Cocky” picture was funny but it got to the point where the pranks were getting more planning than the fights.

At the start of the fight, me and Darrill wasted no time and started going at each other. He had fast hands. I wasn’t stunned by any of his shots but they just kept coming. I saw an open shot for a takedown so I took it. I drove up the single leg, tripped him and then landed in his guard. He went for a triangle but it wasn’t tight. My brain stopped working,  I stayed in a bad situation too long. It got tighter and tighter but I kept fighting and then I just drifted off to la-la land.

Once again Rampage didn’t enter the cage to tend to his fallen fighter. All Rampage did was give me the stink eye. When we were back in the locker room said, "You just gave him $5,000, how does that feel?"
 
The only highlight I got from the episode was the funny nickname Kimbo gave me. He said "If Shrek had a little brother he would look like Jensen, and his name would be Lenderman." It was funny since one Halloween in college at Northern Illinois, I actually was Shrek.

This is the most vicious week of fan reaction I can remember while covering mixed martial arts. Between the UFC 104 decision in the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio Rua fight and Brock Lesnar pulling out of UFC 106, many MMA fans are spitting fire.

It looks like the UFC has chosen to move Shane Carwin off the card and reschedule his tilt against Lesnar. The scramble for a fill-in fight has produced Josh Koscheck against Anthony Johnson as a co-main event. Koscheck broke the story with a tweet last night.

Good for both guys. Koscheck could bitch that he doesn't have to fight someone further down the rankings like Johnson. He's also being asked to fight on short notice. Last time he did that, Koscheck wasn't himself in a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 90.

This is a huge opportunity for Johnson. Koscheck is easily the best opponent he's ever faced. An impressive win over Koscheck moves him into the discussion for a title shot against Georges St. Pierre. Although logically he may have to go through the entire American Kickboxing Academy 170 crew (Jon Fitch, Mike Swick and Koscheck) before reaching GSP.

UFC 106 is certainly deeper with that fight added to the card but will Koscheck-Johnson stem the tide of fan anger probably not. A samplingof message board posts at UFC.com shows there's a pretty high level of outrage from folks who bought tickets early for the event at Mandalay Bay: 

mmaaddiction:

I am going to UFC 106 and I am extremely disappointed that the Lesnar fight is off and there is no replacement fight. There are only 7 fights on the card now. I paid alot of money to be at this fight and I am feeling severely ripped off. Dana you need to do something to make this right!

nick757:

Come on UFC, you have to add another headliner. I spent $2,100 for my tix and Ortiz vs Griffin just isn't worth it.

jtn9981:

Wow, looks like I picked the wrong event to buy tickets to - pretty weak headlining fight for a PPV event...I really like Tito and Forrest, but you gotta add another big name match-up here.

denverfan:

I agree with every dissappointed fan, this fight card is a joke for a PPV event. Take out Forest and its a Fight Night at best, and I love Forest but he's not going to make me pay $55 by himself. Dana, please add another good fight or two becuase I really was looking foward to spending $55 that weekend.

DaveC09:

Dana, you seriously just gonna move the Tito/Forrest fight into the main event slot an be done with it?! If I had the power, I would make this PPV event now free on Spike, cause theres no way I'm gonna pay $55 to see that card. The Lesnar fight was your whole PPV selling point, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks this. You should rename this event, UFC 106: Can You Say Affliction? I feel sorry for evryone who actually bought tickets to this.

tknyrmny

I paid 500 bucks each for 2 tickets and now this card completely sucks. Who cares about Tito fighting Forrest. This is my first live ufc and my honeymoon which was planned completely around that fight. Does anybody know if you can get a refund cause I wouldn't pay 100 bucks to see Ortiz and Forrest as the main event

Fans don't want to hear this but there's an inherent risk in buying tickets early. "Card subject to change" is the key phrase. Ticket buyers certainly have a right to be angry, even livid, but there's not much the UFC can do.

The other embarrassing development this week is the "investigation" under way on some blogs to uncover why Lesnar "really" pulled out of the fight. An Oct. 18 video of Lesnar at a Vikings game is now proof that he's healthy and simply ducking Carwin. That said, indirectly the talk of Lesnar being afraid will add more fuel to the prefight fire before the behemoths go at it in 2010. 

Photo credit to SF MMA Examiner

Cage Fighter has a full selection of these regional shirts, including a few that I'm coveting. Get the Philadelphia shirt here, or the New York shirt here. Each will cost you $24.99. 

Ben Rothwell may be ticked at when Steve Mazzagatti stopped his fight with Cain Velasquez, or maybe he's upset about the lack of Old Country and Hometown Buffets in the greater Los Angeles area. What do you think? Make your own caption in the comments, and read on for winners for our last create-a-caption.

First place: Even with his new and improved defense, Nate Marquardt is still a +2500 underdog to Anderson Silva.  -- AdamG

Second place: "So what kind of mileage can I get with this?... This IS a hybrid right?... I'm trying to be more Green." -- misterj

Third place: The survivors of Oceanic flight 815 find Nate Marquardt in a mysterious hatch while exploring the Island. -- MMAniac

Joe Stevenson is slowly creeping his way back into the title hunt at lightweight in the UFC. After losing 3-of-4 fights against guys at the top of the division, he's taken out Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher. When Cagewriter and Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal sat down with Stevenson after the UFC 104 postfight presser, he launched into an attack on DREAM's Shinya Aoki (2:20 mark).

That fight is gone, Lesnar is out with the flu. So Tito is back where he loves to be - center stage.

In the spotlight with pay-per-views to sell, "The Blab Boy" is ready to fire away. Hell, TMZ caught the guy trash-talking a bum in Hollywood earlier this month, so Griffin is easy pickings: 

"A lot of fans hate Forrest now after the Silva fight, but he usually brings it, and I always come to fight," told the L.A. Times.

What will the fan reaction be for Griffin after his mad dash from the cage at UFC 101 and a recent interview where he basically told fans he doesn't need them? Could it be that Ortiz, for once, will be the more popular fighter at UFC 106? And how will that contribute to Griffin's mental state on fight if he's greeted by the Bronx cheer? Ortiz thinks Griffin's spirit has been broken:

"You figure in losing the title [to Evans] that Forrest has doubt; he had doubt against Silva. This is all or nothing for him."

Ortiz, 34, coming back from back surgery, is training in Big Bear, Ca., and it sounds like his biggest hurdle is conditioning:

"And this is my comeback fight. I'm not going to lie, it's been a challenge for me. Not pain. I have no [back] pain, but I'm dealing with the fatigue from not fighting so long. I'm like 80-90% now, not 100. Coming back is hard mentally and physically."

Calling the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio Rua fight "dull," Times' writer Lance Pugmire pointed out that Ortiz thinks his fight against Griffin will be more action-packed.  

Good night Irene, indeed. This is welterweight Zaromskis' third straight win using a head kick.

In other Dream 12 action, WEC vets Yoshiro Maeda and Chase Beebe faced off in a terrific match that ended with Maeda submitting Beebe with a brutal rear naked choke. Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez won with a second round arm triangle choke of Katsanori Kikuno, and Dong Sik Yoon won a split decision over Tarec Saffedine, a last-minute replacement for Paulo Filho. Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce's heavyweight champ that is too busy to defend his belt, won with an easy, standing guillotine choke of James Thompson.