Coker interview: Strikeforce boss uncertain about Daley, Fedor and Barnett in the UFC

Scott Coker, the other guy in the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce, sat down for a lengthy interview with HDNet's Bas Rutten. Coker was grilled on many of the hot button issues that last Monday's� conference call never hit on.

Rutten asked the Strikeforce CEO if he thinks fans will ever see Josh Barnett, Paul Daley or Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC. Coker said he didn't know (11:35 mark), but added that he hoped all three continued to fight with Strikeforce.

Other interesting points included:

Coker confirmed that the deal between Zuffa and SVSE came together quickly. He only informed Showtime of the sale one day before the news leaked on Mar. 12.

He denied the rumors that Josh Barnett will be removed from the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix and replaced by Shane Carwin.

The Strikeforce boss joked about his first meetings with the UFC brass talking about Zuffa's 25-person marketing and P.R. staff. He brought along his two employees in those positions (4:40 mark).

Coker is excited about the new resources behind Strikeforce and growth possibilities which include a goal of pay-per-view by the end of 2011.

Surprisingly, even with a roster of 150-plus fighters, Coker says "business as usual" also includes signing new fighters in the future (9:00 mark).

Read into it anyway you'd like - Coker was asked if the purchase by UFC was a good or bad day, he answered by it's a reality (9:30 mark).

Showtime got the call the day before the news leaked 11 days ago, but Coker still hasn't had a chance to speak with M-1 promotions, Fedor's management team (13:25 mark).

Hopefully, Coker is involved in the MMA business at the highest level for years to come. He's definitely an asset, who puts the fans first. He did an amazing job turning a regional promotion, which held its first big fight in Apr. of 2009, into something worth buying for an estimated $40 million less than two years later.

Tip via MMAConvert

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Coker: UFC commercials helped "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley" ticket sales surge

The UFC's marketing muscle has already given a boost to Strikeforce, according to CEO Scott Coker.

On Wednesday Coker told MMAjunkie.com that the first Strikeforce commercial to air on a UFC broadcast prompted a surge in ticket sales for "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley."

The executive believes the promotional push will drive ticket sales even higher when the final tallies are in.

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Titan Fighting Championship 17 results and LIVE updates for 'Lashley vs Ott' on HDNet

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Leonard Garcia Looks to Remake Himself in 'Korean Zombie' Rematch

Filed under: UFC

Leonard Garcia has a problem. To put it more precisely, he has a difficult decision to make. He has to choose between being the fighter fans have come to expect and being the fighter his coaches and teammates see glimpses of in the gym. He has to choose between wild brawls and technical displays.

Maybe, when it comes down to it, he even has to choose between entertaining and winning. The thing is that, lately, he's begun to wonder whether it's even his choice to make in the end.

"I get a lot of talk about how I'm willing to go out there and brawl," Garcia said. "The fans like it, the UFC likes it, but then everybody in the gym says, hey, when you're technical and you do things correctly, it's hard to stop you. But when we go out for the rules meeting and Dana White is talking about the Fight of the Night bonus, he stares right at me. I mean, right at me. And all the guys in the room, you can see them, they're like, man, Leonard's on the card. He's going to go get that bonus. So it is a double-edged sword."

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UFC Fight Night 24 fight card: Dan Hardy vs Anthony Johnson preview

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UFC Fight Night 24 fight card: Dan Hardy vs Anthony Johnson preview

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MMAjunkie.com Radio: UFC's Rich Franklin, UFC Fight Night 24 preview

With anticipation growing for his next fight, UFC light heavyweight Rich Franklin today joins MMAjunkie.com Radio to discuss his preparations.

We also talk to the former champ and fan favorite about Jon Jones' quick rise, the pressures of being a new champion, his thoughts on UFC Fight Night 24's Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira headliner, and more.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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Phenom Jones blows away Rua to take light heavyweight title at UFC 128

The pace at which MMA is evolving is amazing and Jon Jones is full proof of that. Bigger, more athletic and harder working athletes are getting into the sport everyday. Jones, a good college wrestler from a family of football players, just completed a short three-year journey to take out one of the greats of MMA with relative ease.

Jones pummeled Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on the feet and ground for two and half rounds. The Brazilian couldn't take anymore and slumped to the canvas at the 2:37 mark of third round giving the UFC light heavyweight title to the 23-year-old Jones at UFC 128 in Newark, N.J.

"It feels go good. It's a testament that dreams do come true guys. They really can, believe in yourself," Jones told UFC analyst Joe Rogan following the victory. "It means a lot to me, but I know it also means I have a huge target on my back. And when you guys come to strike at me, I'm going to strike right back."

The 6-foot-4 Jones is really unlike any athlete the UFC has ever seen aside from former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. He walks around at roughly 225 pounds, but his frame looks like it could easily carry 250 pounds. His football playing brothers are massive. Chandler, a defensive lineman at Syracuse, is 6-6, 251 and his older brother Arthur, is a 6-3, 313-pound tackle in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

The dwarfed Rua (19-5, 3-3 UFC) was in trouble from the opening seconds of the fight. A very well-rounded fighter, Rua looked like amateur in the clinch, on the ground and even standing up. Just 20 seconds in, the fighters clinched and Jones did what he's done to every previous opponent, he tossed Rua on his head like he was fighting a lightweight.

Anytime the fight was on the feet, Jones kept Rua at long distance and delivered a bevy of front, leg and body kicks. He was also devastating with his knees. Jones, who appears closer to 6-5 or 6-6, used his height to grab Rua's head on multiple occasions to deliver nasty knees to the body from a thai clinch.

By the end of the first round, Rua looked out of gassed and stunned. The onslaught continued in the second. Jones did damage with a nasty front kick and an inside leg kick with three minutes in the round. Amazingly, Rua, who's known for his kicks, hadn't thrown one the entire fight. Jones scored another takedown with 2:33 left in the round and showed great patience. He wore down Rua with forearm across his chin and grinding elbows across his face.

In the third, Jones got top control again when Rua made a desperate attempt at a leg lock. The Brazilian stayed out of trouble for a few seconds before Jones landed some nasty elbows. After getting abused on the ground for nearly a minute, Rua scrambled and as he tried to get to his feet, he got crushed by a knee to the body. He was hurt badly and immediately stumbled across the Octagon to put his back on the fence. Jones, possessing incredible killer instinct, threw a vicious body shot to Rua's right side. He went down in a heap. That was it. He had no more fight left in him.

UFC analyst Joe Rogan captured the scene by saying, "That ladies and gentlemen is the future and the present!" Rogan went on to say that Jones might be the greatest natural talent the sport has ever seen.

Rua, 29, was once the future of the sport. He shocked the world by winning the PRIDE 205-pound Grand Prix back in 2005. Shogun, just 23 at the time, wrecked a field filled with legendary fighters like Vitor Belfort, Alistair Overeem, Quinton Jackson, Dan Henderson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Arona and Wanderlei Silva.

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After starting his career with a $500 payday, Faber on the verge of superstardom

As frustrated as New York MMA fans must be this weekend remember it was less than five years ago, when the Empire State was the norm.

Urijah Faber started his career in the dark days when outside of Indian reservations, states like New Jersey and Nevada and those without commissions, the rest of the U.S. was off limits. As he readies for his UFC debut, Faber recalled his first fight in 2003 when he battled for $200 to show and $200 to win. He also got $100 for his cut of the gate.

"I loved it," Faber told Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press. "My rent was $225 a month. I had a tiny little room in an apartment with a couple of my buddies. And it only took me a minute and a half for the fight and I was like 'man, this is awesome.'"

Faber won in 82 seconds and hauled in that "major" payday of $500.

How things have changed for Faber. Through hard work and success in the cage, the California became one of the most popular fighters in the sport while with the WEC. Faber faces Eddie Wineland this weekend at UFC 128 in Newark, N.J.

The jump to the UFC means a ton for Faber, who'll get a lot more exposure and a massive boost to his business endeavors outside of the Octagon. Faber owns Form Athletics which was purchased by K-Swiss in 2010. He's also got a popular website and is working on a self-help book.

To make the next step at the top of the sport, he needs to take out Wineland. That should set up a bantamweight title fight against the new UFC champ Dominick Cruz.� Faber was the longtime champ at 145 pounds and wants the hardware at 135, where he's facing guys closer to his natural size.

"I feel a little bit faster at 135 (bantamweight) and a little bit more powerful at 145 (featherweight), but very little difference really," Faber said. "I was only 2-3 pounds off my competition weight and I think that puts me at par with most of the guys at 135 and an advantage with some of them."

"I never really had that at the 145-pound weight class. I was always giving up weight and was able to do well because I'm an accomplished fighter but as far as having every advantage to win, I think now I have that advantage."

You can watch UFC 128 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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Paul Daley Signs Contract to Fight Nick Diaz in April

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, News

Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, the most anticipated welterweight title fight in Strikeforce history, is officially happening on April 9.

Diaz's manager and trainer, Cesar Gracie, confirmed with MMA Fighting that the British slugger signed the bout agreement on Tuesday, thus ending speculation that "Semtex" would pull out of the fight.

Diaz vs. Daley had already been announced by the promotion, but after Zuffa purchased Strikeforce two weeks ago, Daley hinted online that he may back out of the title fight given his previous relationship with UFC president Dana White.

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Leonard Garcia Looks to Remake Himself in 'Korean Zombie' Rematch

Filed under: UFC

Leonard Garcia has a problem. To put it more precisely, he has a difficult decision to make. He has to choose between being the fighter fans have come to expect and being the fighter his coaches and teammates see glimpses of in the gym. He has to choose between wild brawls and technical displays.

Maybe, when it comes down to it, he even has to choose between entertaining and winning. The thing is that, lately, he's begun to wonder whether it's even his choice to make in the end.

"I get a lot of talk about how I'm willing to go out there and brawl," Garcia said. "The fans like it, the UFC likes it, but then everybody in the gym says, hey, when you're technical and you do things correctly, it's hard to stop you. But when we go out for the rules meeting and Dana White is talking about the Fight of the Night bonus, he stares right at me. I mean, right at me. And all the guys in the room, you can see them, they're like, man, Leonard's on the card. He's going to go get that bonus. So it is a double-edged sword."

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Twitter’s evil downside: Tito and Jenna fighting again online

Tito Ortiz, still one of the most high profile fighters in mixed martial arts, is a prolific tweeter, but the last day or so is one of those times you wish he and his former pornstar wife Jenna Jameson would power down.

Two nights ago, Ortiz got MMA fans and followers all worked up when he sent out a tweet saying, "I'm out."

The rumor mill cranked up thinking the fighter was talking about his career in the cage. After all, Ortiz has had a ton of injuries and delays in recent years. He was supposed to fight this weekend at Ultimate Fight Night 24 against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira before pulling out. It was confirmed early this week that he'll return against Ryan Bader at UFC 132.

Right now, there's no need to worry about his work in the Octagon. Instead, it looks like Tito was talking about the latest run-in with his wife. Ortiz wasn't very forthcoming, but Jameson was tweeting on the topic of her marriage with every Tom, Dick and Harry.

In his efforts to stay relevant, continue to earn a living and complete his contract with the UFC, Ortiz is already battling father time. God only knows how the seemingly constant drama on the homefront has to be affecting his career.

Thanks to Cage Potato for this tip and Twitter screengrabs. CP also did a great job of summing up the latest chapter in the Tito-Jenna story:

Seriously. Is Twitter and Facebook just a major waste of time for anyone who isn't a creep or an attention whore? Hopefully they follow through with this latest threat of a split so we don't have to report on their train wreck of a relationship again.

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MMA overtime: Yay or Nay?

With Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard and Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn both going to a draw, a debate has broken out in the MMA world over ties and overtime. Should fights that are scored as draws be given an overtime, sudden-death round?

Edgar is on board.

"I think another five-minute round would be perfect," Edgar said. "You go into a fight, you prepare, and you want a decisive outcome. To have to wait another three months and possibly another fight is kind of annoying. I would say another round would be great. You get to figure out who's the winner right then and there.

Edgar had to face a rematch with B.J. Penn after winning the belt in a narrow decision, and now has another one scheduled because of the draw with Maynard.

The positives that Edgar mentioned are obvious. It would give both the fighters and fans a decision that night on who should win. It would also favor fighters who have stronger cardio. 

But it's not a completely perfect idea. For a sport as punishing as MMA, adding a round adds the opportunity for injury. Also, if commissions overseeing MMA in the U.S. were to adopt an overtime rule, would it be just for championship fights in major promotions, like with Edgar and Maynard, or would it extend to all fights? That could be problematic for fighters on smaller shows who don't train full-time.

I'm in favor of using overtime to decide championship bouts that end in a draw, which would mean no rematch for Edgar/Maynard, and that the lightweight belt would get to be tested by a new fighter. However, as Penn/Fitch was not for a belt, it would remain a draw.

It's not all about me, though. What do you think, readers? 

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After starting his career with a $500 payday, Faber on the verge of superstardom

As frustrated as New York MMA fans must be this weekend remember it was less than five years ago, when the Empire State was the norm.

Urijah Faber started his career in the dark days when outside of Indian reservations, states like New Jersey and Nevada and those without commissions, the rest of the U.S. was off limits. As he readies for his UFC debut, Faber recalled his first fight in 2003 when he battled for $200 to show and $200 to win. He also got $100 for his cut of the gate.

"I loved it," Faber told Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press. "My rent was $225 a month. I had a tiny little room in an apartment with a couple of my buddies. And it only took me a minute and a half for the fight and I was like 'man, this is awesome.'"

Faber won in 82 seconds and hauled in that "major" payday of $500.

How things have changed for Faber. Through hard work and success in the cage, the California became one of the most popular fighters in the sport while with the WEC. Faber faces Eddie Wineland this weekend at UFC 128 in Newark, N.J.

The jump to the UFC means a ton for Faber, who'll get a lot more exposure and a massive boost to his business endeavors outside of the Octagon. Faber owns Form Athletics which was purchased by K-Swiss in 2010. He's also got a popular website and is working on a self-help book.

To make the next step at the top of the sport, he needs to take out Wineland. That should set up a bantamweight title fight against the new UFC champ Dominick Cruz.� Faber was the longtime champ at 145 pounds and wants the hardware at 135, where he's facing guys closer to his natural size.

"I feel a little bit faster at 135 (bantamweight) and a little bit more powerful at 145 (featherweight), but very little difference really," Faber said. "I was only 2-3 pounds off my competition weight and I think that puts me at par with most of the guys at 135 and an advantage with some of them."

"I never really had that at the 145-pound weight class. I was always giving up weight and was able to do well because I'm an accomplished fighter but as far as having every advantage to win, I think now I have that advantage."

You can watch UFC 128 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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Tito Ortiz In The Hospital

First there were rumors of a Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin fight.�� Then Dana White came out and said the fight was really Rich Franklin vs. Randy Couture (story here).
Today Tito Ortiz posted on his Twitter account that he is in the hospital.
Sorry flu. This sucks!! 31 minutes ago
This is the worst ful I have [...]

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MMAjunkie.com and Full Tilt Poker host star-studded poker tourney this Sunday

UFC cage announcer Bruce Buffer, UFC veteran Mike Swick and a myriad of poker's highest-profile players will be participating in the inaugural "MMAjunkie.com KO Invitational" this Sunday, March 27, at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on Full Tilt Poker.

This is a no-limit poker tournament with bounties galore.

A $25 bounty will paid for each pro you knock out of the tournament, and a $1 bounty will be awarded for everyone else you KO. The buy-in for the tournament is only $5.50, with $5 going to the prize pool.

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Watch Rua/Machida II and UFC 128 right here on Yahoo! Sports

As always, you can watch Saturday's UFC 128 pay-per-view right here on Yahoo! Sports. To remind you how Mauricio "Shogun" Rua won the championship belt, here is his second bout with Lyoto Machida. Fight action starts around the 10-minute mark, but it's worth watching the whole video to see Machida's entrance.

Now that you're sufficiently pumped for Saturday's main event,� click here to order it.

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Watch Junior dos Santos throw the ‘Showtime’ kick

Remember that kick Anthony Pettis threw against Ben Henderson that made us all go crazy? Now everyone is trying it, including UFC heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos.

It was impressive enough when Pettis did it, but this time, it was a heavyweight who weighed in at 240 lbs. in his last bout. Yet, he was nimble enough to run off a wall and kick Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who was holding the Muay Thai pad.

Think we'll see him pull it off against Brock Lesnar in June?

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Miguel Torres Has a Sense of Humor

Not too often do we see a fighter who can crack jokes at a recent loss. �Miguel Torres has no problems doing it though. �On his recent doctor visit to get his “axe wound” taken care of he shows off this sense of humor.
Chief Complaint: �My insurance went up 30% Obama Stinks
Location: Forehead
Severity: Yes
Timing: Bad
Signs/Symptoms: [...]

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UFC 128′s Three Stars: Jon Jones, Jim Miller and Erik Koch

After a stop in Newark, the UFC has a new light heavyweight champ, a few more WEC stars shining in the big Octagon, and a lightweight with a strong claim on a title shot.

No. 1 star -- Jon Jones: He's young, he's still learning, and he's the UFC light heavyweight champ. Jones put on a clinic against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, throwing flying knees, spinning elbows, head kicks, jabs and the kitchen sink to win the belt. Next, he'll have to face his friend and teammate Rashad Evans to hold onto the championship. Maybe by then, I'll finally learn not to pick against Jones.

No. 2 star -- Jim Miller: Fighting at home in the Garden State, Miller ruined Kamal Shalorus' UFC debut with a dominating performance. His third-round TKO was Miller's seventh win in a row, and it's hard to dispute that Miller has earned a shot at the lightweight belt.

No. 3 star -- Erik Koch: Coming from the same camp as Anthony Pettis and Pat Barry, Koch showed off his own striking skills in a first-round KO of Raphael Assuncao, serving notice to the UFC's featherweight division. But he did leave one question unanswered: how does someone training in Wisconsin in winter get a tan like that? Perhaps GTL is part of the training routine at Duke Roufus' gym.

Who are your Three Stars? Tell us on Facebook or in the comments below.

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Paul Daley Signs Contract to Fight Nick Diaz in April

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, News

Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, the most anticipated welterweight title fight in Strikeforce history, is officially happening on April 9.

Diaz's manager and trainer, Cesar Gracie, confirmed with MMA Fighting that the British slugger signed the bout agreement on Tuesday, thus ending speculation that "Semtex" would pull out of the fight.

Diaz vs. Daley had already been announced by the promotion, but after Zuffa purchased Strikeforce two weeks ago, Daley hinted online that he may back out of the title fight given his previous relationship with UFC president Dana White.

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Evans and Jones beef getting serious

Rashad Evans waited a long time to get his shot at the UFC light heavyweight belt against Mauricio Rua. Then he suffered an injury that would keep him out 6-8 weeks. Evans was hoping the fight would be delayed, but the UFC's troubles were averted when Jon Jones stepped in on short notice. One problem, Jones is a teammate of Evans and now the former UFC 205-pound champ is peeved at "Bones."

"When he joined the team, he joined the team on the premise that he wouldn't fight none of us because that's…with Greg Jackson, that's one of his policies. Greg brought him on the team and he said he was like, you know what? Jon's on this team, he'll be a good addition to the team. He's got a good style and he's an up and coming kid and he'll never fight you or never challenge you or nothing like that," Evans told Larry Pepe. "There's nothing you need to worry about. He brought him onto the team with that intro."

Jones didn't get the memo and jumped at the opportunity to take on Rua at UFC 128. He's clearly aware that Evans isn't happy and snapped off during last week's prefight teleconference.

"I absolutely hate when people mention Rashad Evans, especially throughout this training camp….for people to even be mentioning Rashad Evans right now…I think it's ludicrous. Rashad is not in my mind, he's not in my being, he has absolutely zero to do with my heart and who I am right now," Jones said. "This guy has nothing to do with Shogun and from here on out, I don't think I'll answer a question about Rashad.�I have a lot of people outside of Rashad who I can draw energy and power from and they'll all be with me."

Evans got the message and said Jones is speaking out of inexperience.

"That does sound a little bit cold-blooded. Jon's a young guy and when you're a young guy sometimes you talk a little too fast for your brain to keep up. I don't think it's acceptable at all. I don't think it's something I'd say.�It sounds like he wants to fight, huh? Those sound like fighting words," Jones told Pepe. ".[...] Sometimes when you open your mouth you show what you're afraid of more than anything. I don't know why he has such an adverse response like that to me. I've never challenged him or made him feel like he should do that sort of thing. It sounds to me ? if I was out of the situation ? that he was feeling insecure about me. You can't just expect to not talk about a situation where you stepped in for a friend and training partner in a title fight who was injured. You can't take it personal… That sounds like a baby."

If Jones wins the title, Evans has to consider taking the fight and more significantly leaving the only training he's known in Albuquerque under Greg Jackson.

"It's something I gotta talk to Greg [Jackson] about it and I gotta talk to Jon [Jones] about. That's how I believe things should be done. We entered into an agreement together and if things are gonna go another way, I don't think he should have to find out from TV. He should find out from my mouth before I tell anybody. That's just how I do it as a man.I just have to sit down and decide on whats its going to be, because whatever it is going to be, there is no going back. There is no making it better. There is no going back to the team after it is done.�If we agree to fight, if we say we are going to fight, it's over," Evans said. "[...] I would need to divorce myself from the situation and just start over, and come with something new. I would divorce myself from the crew from Jackson's.�Trevor [Whittman] would be separate because he is at Grudge. Jon trains in Albuquerque, so I just would divorce myself from Albuquerque and from training with Greg."

Dana White is pretty clear on his thoughts about friendship being a roadblock anywhere in the fight game. He's happy that Evans is finally seeing the light.

"It makes sense [that they fight each other if Jones wins the title]. There's been a lot of stuff [said by] Rashad. Rashad thinks that I'm hatin' him or whatever the deal is. I don't. The reality is ? I said it on your show the last time I talked to you ? he hasn't known Jon Jones that long. To call him a brother and this and that…I really believe that…and Rashad didn't tell me this. Jon Jones didn't tell me this. This is just something that I came up with in my head. This has to be coming from the camp," White told MMAFighting.com. "[...] The reality is, this isn't a team sport, man. You look throughout the history of boxing, guys used to have to spar with each other all the time and the guys who came in as sparring partners eventually became world champions some day. You have to train with other people. You have to train with the best. It's a fact. You just don't become such "close friends" that you don't want to fight each other. It's [expletive]."

Evans should straight out call for the winner regardless of training camps and "friendships."

"If I was Rashad, I would say whoever wins this fight I wanna fight," White said. "The guy got injured; he was next in line for the fight. I'd wanna fight him too. But now he's gotta sit around, he's gotta wait and see what happens with these two, he's gotta wait to see who wins ? do they come out 100 percent or are they injured and have to wait a little while or do they want to fight again? He's put himself into a bad position and that's what I was saying about him: He's boxed himself into this corner."

You can watch UFC 128 right here on Yahoo!

Quotes via Cage Potato

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Affliction 2 Review: Fedor Emelianenko stays undefeated, Arlovski blows it, Babalu and Belfort win

 

Photo via Orange County Register

Affliction 2 Day of Reconing turned out to be a good sophomore effort in my opinion. None of the main card fights went to a decision and most fights turned out great with definite outcomes. If you read my Affliction: Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski picks you know I missed the mark on some of the picks, but I have real good explanations though, I swear!

 

So, I'm going to get the negatives of the show right out of the way because it was mostly good and this can be just nitpicking, though a lot of casual fans agreed with me on these:

• Tito Ortiz is a dumbass. He embarrased Affliction at the pre fight press conferences and continued on with crappy commentating and post fight interviews. You can put lipstick on a pig, it'll still be a pig though. I don't know if he completely blocked out his embarassing exit from the UFC but he was very pretentious in his comments through out the show. I wonder if Donald Trump got him the gig. He is a joke and I hope he get a shot at Babalu so Babalu could embarras him yet again and send him off to whereever Sokoudjou will go. WEC?
• The "Rabid" commentator that went behind the scenes to show Babalu relaxing before the fight and kept calling Babalu "intense" and "rabid". Too bad Babalu was yawning throughout. Where the hell did he come from? Get rid of that joker!
• Extensive public display of poor Matt Linland's waking up after a brutal KO. On thing UFC does good if someone get badly KO'd is not show their wake up process until the fighter is ok and can stand on his own. There was no reason to show all that, especially when it was clear that Linland wasn't waking up well at all. 

On to the good of the show.

• Production was just fine. There were plenty of replays and the show moved along at a good pace.
• John McCarthy - I was very happy to see him and that he is still an active MMA referee. I guess his retirement was only from UFC.  Good for him, I'm sure he is being treated better and doesn't have to deal with Dana White. That along be huge in my book!
• The "Fight Quest" alumni was a decent commentator and should definitely be a mainstay for Affliction.

On to the fights.

Paul Buentello vs Kiril Sidelnikov  - well I was right about one thing, just cause you can hang with Fedor in training doesn't mean you can beat everyone else. Sidelnikov also did not take it to the ground where he most certainly would have done better than Buentello. Why? He only tried for one takedown and it was when it was already too late for him in mid round 2. With a big debut like that, his coaches let him down or may be he just didn't listen to them. I am also questioning his training. Was he just helping Fedor with Fedor's fight and getting beat on by Fedor mostly, or was anyone actually helping him train for his fight? I'm leaning towards the first. Hopefully next time when the Russian promoters pretend they're in it to promote other younger fighters, they actually bring a huge camp of fighters to Starii Oskol, if that where Fedor must train, and concentrate on their improvement and preparation and not just Fedor.

Buentello did ok but seemed to be very apprehensive about throwing more than just a jab. He won so that's all that counts for him. Superstar he is not though. Beating an overweight Fedor's very young training partner is not exactly impressive, especially on the heels of three round decision over Gary Goodridge. Who decisions Gary Goodridge? Not a lot of fighters, they usually beat him very quickly.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Thierry Sokoudjou - this one I was exactly right about. If there was any doubt that Sokoudjou had a few great wins early but folds everytime the going gets tough, he folding to Babalu should have cemented his lack of heart and ability to keep any stamina past round one. Yet again another example of how he gives incredibly hard time to Team Quest luminaries like Dan Henderson, but that doesn't mean he can beat other guys. Not sure where he goes from here, he may get another chance in Affliction, may be. If it's anyone decent, he may very well choke again. Then what? Japan? WEC if he is lucky?

Babalu leveraged his experience and weathered everything Sokoudjou had for him and easily took over in round two. It was pretty painful to watch him going through "show and tell" D'arce choke drill in the middle of the fight cause his opponent just sat there already given up. Great win for Babalu and his confidence. I guess stupid Tito was challenging him during the post fight interview. I think it'll be a good fight for Babalu, what can Tito do to him? Babalu's punching is better, wrestling is probably better and definite edge in submissions.

Vitor Belfort vs Matt Linland -Matt Lindland didn't get a chance to out work Vitor Belfort like I thought he would. Belfort took advantage of the very first exchange and Linland's striking weakness. A precise left straight from Belfort put Linland on the floor and Belfort did great capitalizing on the downed Linland. Four punches later fight was stopped with Linland laying almost lifelessly on the floor except for the uncontrollably shaking left leg. He got cought and should have been way more careful than rushing in with his weak sloppy striking against some one like Belfort.

Though the fight didn't show much, Belfort did what he had to do and didn't waste a single opportunity to exploit Linland's weakness. He looked fast, precise and showed good reflexes to get in there and finish the fight. It was interesting to see K-1's showman Ray Sefo in his corner.  Nice to see him keep sharp.

Josh Barnett vs Gilbert Yvel - wow, what a huge disappointment! Barnett looked aweful! Three rounds to finish a huge underachiver and non-crosstraining lazy striker in Gilbert Yvel!? Barnett's corner should have left him in the ring to celebrate his disappointing win by himself. He disrespected their time and efforts by just sitting on top of Yvel for almost 2 full round and not finishing him. What was that? How dared he do his "throat cutting" win gesture after that? Anyways, if he thinks he has a chance against either Fedor or Arlovski with that type of fighting....he probably doesn't though. I just hope he can snap out of his depression in time to get good training in before those fights. Oh, and how stupid was his excuse/give away about his poor nose bleeding and making him choke? I think very. Watch his nose being busted first thing in any of his future fights.

Gilbert Yvel was the winner in my book. Not like a winner in a sense that he'll amount to anything after this display of toughness. But he kind of redeemed himself for all those cowardly times he tapped out at the first sign of trouble. If only he was this tenatious when he was younger and more popolar.  May be he earned another fight with that? Gilbert Yvel vs Paul Buentello? That could actually be a good fight, given how Buentello has self admittedly never initiated a take down in his whole career.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski - News flash!!!!! Fedor again looked very beatable and human! This isn't really news by now, is it? Definitely not. 

• Fujita had Fedor sliding on ice when he rocked him
• Nogueira reversed him and got on top
• Coleman had his back and was on top
• Randleman damn near killed him when he slammed him on his head
• Mirko CroCop bloodied him up and landed a bunch on him
• Mark Hunt out of all people was  on top
• Hong Man Choi stuffed his takedowns

He almost always looks beatable. Well in this fight against Andrei Arlovski he looked very beatable again. Arlovski was bigger, a little faster and was actually landing some glancing shots. Why was it such a big deal though? Because Sylvia didn't land any? CroCop did, Fujita did, Mark Hunt did. It's a fight, you're going to get hit! But as long as you don't get rocked or KO's or get hit too many times it's ok. That front kick that Arlovski landed towards the end that pushed Fedor back looked ok, but it wasn't like it doubled Fedor over.  I'm sure that if the fight went on longer Fedor would have adjusted to Arlovski's timing and would have found his rhythm.

Arlovski's jump for the flying knee was aweful! Looked like he was going to do an olympic board diving jump. WTF was that? Per his own words he truly did dump his chance down the toilet. Fedor stood calm and capitalized on the first opportunity Arlovski gave him and finished the fight. Is that his magic? May be.

All I know is that I can't wait to see it again. Affliction together with it's great allies in Trump and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Productions should strike again while the iron is still hot and promote yet another Fedor headliner event. Hopefully in another six months. I wish they wouldn't give Barnett a chance at Fedor because while it will be entertaining I think it won't have that "this is the fight Fedor may finally lose" type hype. Arlovski vs Fedor 2 would garner more attention and may be Arlovski won't go to boxing just yet. Arlovski is just so much more marketable than Barnett - he is Russian, very hairy, thick beard and those vampire/werewolf teeth gimmick will just sell tickets and PPV buys. We'll see what happens. Until then Fedor is KING!

Check out and learn Fedor's MMA style from his new book:  Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA

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Video analysis: Hendo wins another title, what's next?

Many were ready to toss Dan Henderson on the scrap heap following his upset loss at the hands of Jake Shields. Back at light heavyweight, Hendo has responded nicely with huge knockout wins over Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.

How big were those wins? Where does that put Henderson in the pecking order in the middleweight and light heavyweight rankings? Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to talk about Henderson's future in Strikeforce and also addressed some fans talking about a possible fight against Fedor Emelianenko.

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The completely confusing UFC lightweight title picture

Joe Silva is the UFC matchmaker, the man who is in charge of deciding fights, title shots and the like. He is also a man whose job I don't want, as it's his job to sort out the ridiculously confusing lightweight title picture.

Ready for the confusion? OK. Start with the fact that the title will already be tested on May 30. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have a rematch scheduled that should finally decide who is the better fighter among the two.

It's a title shot that was promised to WEC champ Anthony Pettis. Before Maynard and Edgar fought to a draw in January, Pettis was told that if he won the WEC belt in his last fight for the promotion, he would get a chance to unify the championships. A wrench was thrown into that plan because of the Edgar/Maynard draw, and now Pettis will fight Clay Guida in June for his first UFC bout.

And what of Jim Miller? He won his seventh straight bout on Saturday with a TKO of Kamal Shalorus. Four of those seven wins have been by stoppage. That resume reads like that of a title contender, but Miller has flown under the radar.

To make things even more confusing, consider what will happen if in the future, the UFC absorbs Strikeforce's roster of lightweights. Would Gilbert Melendez -- or whoever holds the belt at that point -- get an immediate title shot?

It's enough to make you dizzy. But if you had Joe Silva's job, how would you map out the UFC lightweight title? Does Pettis, Miller or someone else get a title shot next? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Bamma Fail to Pay Tom "Kong" Watson, Relinquishes Title in Protest