Oh yes he did.

In case you didn’t know, Brock Lesnar made his return to professional wrestling on the latest episode of WWE Raw after retiring from mixed martial arts last December.

The timing of the move was shocking to some. Lesnar had competed against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 just three months prior. Following his loss at UFC 141, UFC president Dana White did not confirm or deny if Lesnar could return to wrestling.

However, it appears White gave the former WWE star his approval, as the former UFC heavyweight champion made his presence felt in the squared circle once again.

When asked how he felt about Lesnar returning to the WWE, White responded via Twitter, stating he was genuinely happy and held no hard feelings toward him.

After Lesnar announced his retirement, White assured his MMA career was finished. Despite only competing in the sport for three years, he defended the 265-pound South Dakota native. Reoccurring bouts with diverticulitis had hindered Lesnar’s recent performances and his health as well.

”Here’s what Brock said to me, he said ‘I’ll tell you what…’

Read More » UFC boss ok with Brock Lesnar’s return to the WWE

Disappointment. That’s what Japanese fans hoping for the return of Rampage Jackson got.

You see, UFC 144 in Japan was supposed to be coming home party of Quinton Rampage Jackson, but it’s been anything but smooth thus far. The former Pride star who fought for much of his career in Japan struggled through his training camp to get ready for opponent Ryan Bader, and after an injury occurred, he went against his doctor’s advice and decided to stick it out and take the fight anyways.

The result? An overweight Quinton Rampage Jackson lost via unanimous decision to Ryan Bader. Jackson pointed towards the injury as to why he came in so heavy for this fight and just couldn’t shed the extra weight.

”Well, I wasn’t going to say anything. I thought I was going to make the weight, but I got injured in my camp that kind of hindered me from doing a lot of running. But I didn’t want to miss this fight cause this fight’s so important to me and I fought so hard to get it. So I said forget it, I’m just going to man up and still make the fight,” Jackson told Fuel TV after the weigh-ins ended.

Back in the Fuel TV studios in Los Angeles, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin was there as an analyst. He stated that coming in that much over weight generally means a fighter didn’t take their job seriously or something happened during camp that prevented them from making weight.

Obviously, as Jackson revealed, an injury seemed to be the cause of his weight cutting problems, but the former Pride star took Franklin to task for questioning if he was really taking the fight with…

Read More » Rampage Jackson’s rocky return to Japan

I’m really hoping he can.

Arguably one of the most popular UFC fighters to come out of Japan, Quinton Rampage Jackson returns to the Land of the Rising Sun as he takes on Ryan Bader in UFC 144.

Quinton Rampage Jackson is one of the few fighters on this card that hark back to the good old days of Pride, when the Japanese promotion led the way in mixed martial arts. A lot has changed since then of course, but there is no doubt that this fight will be eagerly anticipated by the Japanese crowd.

It is no secret that Rampage Jackson’s biggest asset is his raw punching power. He spends fights looking for the opportunity to land that one right hand that can change any fight. Against Jon Jones, this approach made Jackson look rather one dimensional, which he is not. Jackson is a good boxer with brilliant wrestling ability.

In his Pride days, Rampage would brutally slam opponents and execute violent ground and pound, but we do not see that so much anymore. Nowadays, Jackson is using his wrestling to just stay on his feet and hunt for the knockout finish. His ability to slip or eat punches and counter has more often than not been enough to rely on. But in recent years, opponents seem to have grown wise to his approach and Rampage has fought to some controversial…

Read More » Can Rampage Jackson beat Ryan Bader in Japan?

And this is for the UFC lightweight championship.

The UFC returns to Japan for UFC 144 as Frankie Edgar defends his UFC lightweight championship title against top contender Benson Henderson.

Japan holds a special place in the hearts of many fighters and fans as it was the home to some of the best fighters in the sport in the early part of the century. Zuffa (the UFC’s parent company) bought Pride in 2007 and the organization was shut down shortly after.

The UFC now has far surpassed Pride’s popularity and heads back to Japan with a great card that blends old Japanese favorites and some of the new faces of MMA.

While Japanese fans may be most looking forward to the return of Rampage Jackson to their shores, the headlining bout is an incredible lightweight title between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson.

Ben Henderson is an incredibly well rounded fighter. He possesses unrivaled pace and energy as he showed in his incredible fight against Clay Guida at the inaugural UFC on Fox event. He has brilliant powerful wrestling and diverse striking. Even when he goes to decision it is not for lack of trying to finish his fights, as he is always exciting.

Defending UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, on the other hand…

Read More » Frankie Edgar takes on Benson Henderson in UFC 144

And as far as Rampage is concerned, he would love to fight for Japanese fans again.

Heading to his match against Ryan Bader in UFC 144, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is pumped about the fact that after quite a long spell, he’ll be fighting in front of the Japanese fight fans again.

You see, in case you didn’t know, Quinton ”Rampage” Jackson became a main staple during his tenure in PRIDE FC and earned somewhat of a cult-following with Japanese fans. The 34-year-old Jackson went on to establish himself as a household name, due to his aggressive style and colorful personality.

And when he returns to Japan next weekend to face Ryan Bader at UFC 144, he’ll be looking to entertain fans once again. “I really miss the fans, I’m not going to lie. I really miss fighting there,” Jackson said during a UFC 144 conference call.

It was his love for the Japanese fans that excited him and allowed him to collect such a violent array of wins over some of the organization’s top stars, including his vicious knockout slam of Ricardo Arona.

Jackson recalled the fans not taking much interest in a fighter’s statistics or winning streaks, which helped him perform and put on exciting matchups, whereas in the UFC, it ultimately determines one fighter’s success.

Since coming to the UFC in 2007, Jackson has seen…

Read More » Rampage Jackson returns to Japan for UFC 144

That’s a first.

Yes, Frankie Edgar is a favorite heading to his title match in UFC 144 against Benson Henderson.

This is the first time that UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is heading to a title fight as a favorite. But as far as the champ is concerned, he couldn’t care less. ”I didn’t even know I was the favorite. I really don’t pay attention to those things,” Edgar said. ”I’ve been the underdog most of the time and I’m finally favored to win. The more I win, the more respect I’m going to get so that’s always the plan.”

As the UFC prepares for its return to the land of the rising sun, the promotion’s current lightweight champion finds himself as the unlikely overseas ambassador while headlining UFC 144 at the end of the month.

A native of Toms River, N.J., Frankie Edgar’s journey from homegrown wrestler to the defending UFC champion remains one of the sports most inspiring stories with surprisingly deep roots in foreign soils.

In his first taste of fighting internationally, Edgar shocked the world by not only capturing the lightweight title, but doing so in convincing fashion against one of the all-time greats in BJ Penn, all while fighting in the UFC’s first event in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112. Now set to go to Japan for his fourth title defense, Edgar looks to continue his…

Read More » Frankie Edgar favored to beat Benson Henderson

And this is for the interim UFC welterweight title.

Originally scheduled between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz for the UFC welterweight title, UFC President Dana White had to take the welterweight champion out of UFC 143 after St-Pierre suffered a serious injury that will sideline him for about 10 months.

Of course, we all know the show must go on and that’s exactly what Dana White did, tapping Carlos Condit to face Nick Diaz for what now would be the interim UFC welterweight title. White announced the news on his favorite media channel, Twitter.

”GSP blown acl will be out for 10 mos.,” UFC President Dana White tweeted. ”Now Condit vs Diaz for the interim welterweight title on Feb 4th in Las Vegas!!”

Nick Diaz, a former Strikeforce title holder, was supposed to fight Georges St-Pierre in UFC 137 in a champion vs. champion match. But thanks to Diaz not showing up in a pair of pre-event press conferences, White pulled him off the St-Pierre fight and instead got B.J. Penn.

After earning a unanimous victory over B.J. Penn, Diaz called out St-Pierre, prompting the champion, who was scheduled to fight Carlos Condit, to lobby for a title fight against Diaz instead, leaving Condit hanging.

But because of the injury to St-Pierre, it turned out that Condit…

Read More » Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit in UFC 143

UFC on Fox 2 is on this weekend.

And featured in the co main event is the mercurial Chael Sonnen, the guy who got Anderson Silva before he got careless in the final moments of the final round and let the middleweight champion catch his arm for a triangle choke.

But as far as Sonnen is concerned, he did beat Anderson Silva. He believes it so much that he even got his own UFC middleweight belt to boot, displaying it at the press conference leading up to UFC on Fox 2.

”For those of you that can’t see, this is the world championship title of which I took from Anderson Silva, and in this country possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Sonnen said of his unofficial buckle. ”Finders keepers, losers weepers, and if he wants it back, he knows where to find me.”

Michael Bisping, who faces the self-proclaimed 185-pound king this weekend, quickly chimed in, ”Yeah, I think you can get [that belt] on eBay for about $29.99.”

When asked if Sonnen intended to walk down the aisle on Saturday for UFC on Fox 2 with the strap wrapped around his waist, Sonnen avoided answering while providing a WWE-esque response. ”It’s my belt, I slept with this thing last night,” he shared. ”You’re lookin’ at the reflection of perfection, the one that gets all your attention. You’re lookin’ at the man with the biggest arms, the man with the greatest charm, and the man in Chicago to do a lot of harm to a guy three doors down.”

”I believe that I’m the true champion. This is a true…

Read More » Sonnen defends his unofficial UFC title this weekend

Who will be next to challenge Jon Jones?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship invades the United Center in Chicago on Saturday, January 28 for UFC on Fox 2 with an ultimate tripleheader.

In the night’s main event, former light heavyweight champion “Suga” Rashad Evans takes on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis to determine the next challenger to the 205-pound title.


The 185-pound division will watch intently as Chael Sonnen meets Michael “The Count” Bisping in the Octagon. Plus, Chris Weidman hopes to keep his unbeaten streak alive as he battles against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Demian Maia.


This outstanding two-hour broadcast airs live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

History was made when the UFC® debuted on FOX in November, as 5.7 million viewers (8.8 million peak) tuned in to watch Cain Velasquez battle Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight title. Now, fight fans around the world can gear up for another incredible night of action inside the Octagon® live on FOX.


“This is the show that officially starts our deal with FOX and we’re bringing what the fans want – a night packed with great fights,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’re kicking this thing off with an incredible tripleheader. Rashad Evans looked fantastic in his last fight against Tito Ortiz and he wants to get the belt back. But Phil Davis is no joke. He’s undefeated at 9-0 and has stormed through guys like Brian Stann, Alexander Gustafsson and Rogerio Nogueira. He wants the title shot just as bad as Rashad.”

Jon Jones will have his eyes on the UFC on Fox 2…

Read More » Rashad Evans and Phil Davis headline UFC on Fox 2

Pro wrestling fans are already counting on it.

After he announced his shocking retirement following his humbling loss to Alistair Overeem in the recently concluded UFC 141, rumors have begun to erupt claiming that the UFC’s biggest draw will make his return to the pro-wrestling shenanigans of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Yes, Brock Lesnar retired from the UFC following his loss to Alistair Overeem. Overeem didn’t let Lesnar take the fight to the ground and after punishing the former UFC champion with vicious strikes, a nasty shot to Lesnar’s body eventually ended the career of the self-proclaimed baddest man on the planet.

And it only took Alistair Overeem one round.

With Lesnar done with MMA, will he really return to pro wrestling and come back to the place where he became the big star that he is now? Fans certainly think so.

That’s because as far back as a last year rumors were swirling that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was courting him for his services but was always foiled by UFC President Dana White and his company, which offered Lesnar a much sweeter deal.

Not necessarily in terms of money, although it’s likely better, but…

Read More » Will Brock Lesnar return to the WWE?