In case you didn’t know, Brock Lesnar will climb back to the Octagon this Saturday.

And that will be on December 30, as the UFC sends off 2011 in style with a match between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem who’ll be making his debut inside the Octagon for UFC 141.

The last UFC card of the year features a face-off between big guys, Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem, with the winner facing UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. The night of fights will also have a preliminary card available for Facebook viewers and another card available to watch on Spike TV.

The main card remains exclusive on pay-per-view and has been moved back to the 10 p.m. eastern-time start in an attempt by the UFC to regain footing in a slipping pay per view market.

For Brock Lesnar, this means a chance to regain a title he has previously held and successfully defended in the past. A victory also adds to Lesnar’s status as the highest paid athlete in MMA, earning an approximate 5.3 million dollars in 2010. For Alistair Overeem, a victory means a chance to own yet another MMA heavyweight title after only two fights in the UFC.

He could add that to an impressive list of titles including the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Kickboxer, the 2005 Abu Dhabi Combat Club European Trials Champion, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, the Dream Heavyweight Championship and two-time World MMA awards International Fighter of the Year (2010, 2011).

Overeem is taller (by two inches) and a little lighter than Lesnar possibly making him the former WWE superstars’ most physically intimidating…

Read More » Will the lasting image of 2011 be Lesnar celebrating?

It doesn’t look good, I can tell you that much.

Following his loss to Little Nog in UFC 140, there’s a lot of speculation running rampant about the future of former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.

As he prepares to turn 37 next month, many believe that his worn down body and dedication to his family may sway the Huntington Beach Bad Boy Tito Ortiz to hang up his gloves for good (who wouldn’t want to spend all day with Jenna Jameson rather than step into the octagon with a hungry up-and-comer?) Luckily for fight fans though, Tito is a warrior; fighting is what he does best and he thinks he still has something left in the tank.

Just a few days ago Tito tweeted “I want to thank everyone for the support even after a loss. It hurts to let you all down but next time I will win Big. I will take my camp back to Big Bear for 9 weeks. The fans mean the world to me so I owe this to you and myself.”

So there you have it, Tito is not done, and although he’ll have to do a bit of convincing to Dana White to let it happen, I expect to see him back in the octagon; to go out on his own terms.

It seems not so long ago that Tito was on top of the MMA world, setting attendance records, generating pay-per-view buys, and putting the UFC on the map. He really was the People’s Champ as he took the light heavyweight strap from Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 and went on to defend it against Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Ken Shamrock.

Although he would drop the title to Randy Couture at UFC 44…

Read More » What the future holds for Tito Ortiz in the UFC

We are.

Will Brock Lesnar end 2011 on a high note against Alistair Overeem in UFC 141 and get back in the title picture?

As title eliminators go, the one between heavyweights Brock Lesnar and newly signed Alistair Overeem is about as big as they get. The UFC did the fans a solid by booking it to blow out the big New Year’s show in Las Vegas at UFC 141 on Dec. 30.

It’s a fantasy matchup with all kinds of comic book appeal; reigning champion against former champion, the battle of the thoraxes (one sworded, one sordid), the shifting of tectonic plates where the winner gets a title shot. In other words, this fight between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem is must-see TV. Which means it has a lot in common with every other Lesnar fight. Only different.

Whether you like him or you don’t, the 2.1 million pay-per-view buys Lesnar did in two fights in 2010 means we’ll pay to watch him either way. He draws attention from everywhere, MMA hard-cores go in for nuances, outsiders go in for spectacle, everybody else tunes in out of curiosity.

Yet, when he steps in against former Strikeforce champion Overeem, the drama will just as likely center on the oldest of inherent dramas, that of the unknown.

Nobody knows how Lesnar will look coming back from his second bout with…

Read More » Ready for Brock Lesnar – Alistair Overeem?

If he can, he’ll wrap up 2011 undefeated with the UFC light heavyweight title still around his waist.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his crown for a second time when he meets former titleholder Lyoto Machida in the UFC 140 main event Saturday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The clash between two of the sport’s most unorthodox fighters marks the UFC’s third and final trip to the Great White North in 2011.

The defending UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has demonstrated another dimension of his game as of late, winning 2 of his last 3 fights by submission. Overall, Jones has won 5 straight — all via stoppage — since suffering his lone career loss (via disqualification) in December 2009.

Jones defeated Rampage Jackson in his first UFC title defense, becoming just the second fighter to ever submit Jackson (Kazushi Sakuraba in Jackson’s PRIDE debut in 2001). Jones also became the first to knock Shogun Rua out (other TKO loss was via injury), handed Ryan Bader his first career loss, and scored a pair of first-round stoppages during his 5-fight win streak.

On the other hand, Lyoto Machida is coming off a win where he literally kicked the teeth out of Randy Couture en route to the TKO victory. The win helped the former light heavyweight champion stop a two-fight skid.

This is a unique fight in that the styles of each guy will play into…

Read More » Can Jon Jones beat Lyoto Machida in UFC 140?

Two-fight losing streak.

That’s what Antonio Rogério Nogueira is looking to end heading to UFC 140 against the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, Tito Ortiz.

And in case you haven’t been paying attention, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will attempt to end a two-fight losing streak, after dropping decisions to Ryan Bader and Phil Davis. Nogueira is just 2-2 in the UFC since making his Octagon debut in November 2009.

On the other hand, we have Tito Ortiz, who dropped his last bout to Rashad Evans via TKO. Ortiz is just 1-5-1 in his last seven fights, with the lone win coming against Ryan Bader via submission.

The opening minutes of this fight will be huge. If Tito Ortiz can get Antonio Rogerio Nogueira down early and zap some of his gas tank, it will help him out big time later in the fight.

Neither one is known for tremendous cardio, but I’m more concerned about Ortiz gassing than I am Nogueira. Ortiz has faded late in many of his recent fights and he even looked flat as early as the first round against Rashad Evans.

Both are tough to finish, so scoring points and finishing rounds strong will be in both game plans. Ortiz won’t be overwhelmed as long as he stays fresh. He needs a strong start. If he digs a hole early, climbing out will be…

Read More » Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in UFC 140

This is a rematch of of their December 2008 bout which Mir won via TKO.

In case you didn’t know, Frank Mir became the first fighter to ever stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back in 2008. Following that fight, it was revealed that Nogueira was recovering from a staph infection, which hindered his preparation for the fight.

Heading to UFC 140, Frank Mir won his last two bouts, beating Roy Nelson via decision his last time out. The two served coaches opposite each other during the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. After fighting just once (and losing to Cain Velasquez) in 2010, Nogueira returned in August with a knockout win against Brendan Schaub.

Somehow, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira looked healthier in his last fight than he had in years. His jab was quicker, he moved well and his reaction time seemed much better. That said, he’s facing an uphill battle against Frank Mir, athletically. Mir is explosive. He’s not the brute strength-type, like a Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin, but he generates power using speed and angles.

Both men are durable, but you get a sense Mir can hurt Nogueira on the feet more than vice versa. Nogueira is, of course, a threat on the ground but a submission win over Mir is hard to see. Not only is Mir a black belt, his wrestling advantage makes me think he’ll be able to…

Read More » Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in UFC 140

And it’s on this weekend.

On UFC 140 this coming Saturday, on Jon Jones will once again defend his UFC light heavyweight championship, this time against arguably one of the greatest light heavyweights in the division, Lyoto ”The Dragon” Machida.

That’s right, Jon Jones takes on Lyoto Machida for the UFC light heavyweight title. Can Jones successfully defend his title again? Can he overcome Lyoto Machida and the unorthodox style ”The Dragon” brings to the Octagon?

The defending UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the epitome of difficulty for opponents. First, his reach advantage is tremendous. Second, he is explosively athletic.

And then we come to his technical skills. In sum, Jones possesses ridiculous takedowns, very strong ground control, and the ability to literally take people’s heads off with elbows and the like on the ground. What’s more, on his feet he’s tremendously fast, has great kicks, and surprises a lot of people on a regular basis with unorthodox strikes, such as spinning back elbows.

Weaknesses? Well, we don’t know what might happen if he ends up in a tough fight- what’s his heart like? And that’s about it.

On the other hand, Lyoto Machida is the man that brought karate back to…

Read More » Jon Jones defends UFC title against Lyoto Machida

Of course, he needs to beat the debuting Alistair Overeem first.

“I’m back,” Brock Lesnar crowed at a press conference promoting his title eliminator against Alistair Overeem (35-11 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 141. And judging by the screams of those in attendance, that’s good news for business.

Lesnar, who was forced to withdraw from a title eliminator at UFC 131 against Junior Dos Santos when the illness struck, said it took him “about six hours” to feel right again after a surgical procedure, which removed a 12-inch section of his lower intestine.

“I avoided the surgery for as long as I could,” Brock Lesnar said. “It was just a major decision. When you’ve got to go under the knife and have someone take out our intestines, it’s a big deal.”

Not a big enough deal, of course, to keep him from getting back the hulking physique that puts him in a league of his own in the big-man division. Asked of about video that suggested he had lost some of his bulk as the result of his illness, he issued his right arm and…

Read More » Brock Lesnar ready to return to the UFC title picture

In case you missed UFC 139 last weekend, well, you missed one helluva’ show.

In what was one of the greatest fights ever seen in MMA, Dan Henderson edged out Mauricio Shogun Rua in UFC 139 to earn a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title.

Unbeknownst to fight fans, Dan Henderson, who had prepared himself for a five-round fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, caught a bug the week prior to UFC 139 that sapped his strength and left him so dehydrated that he needed IV fluids following a bout that’s been called one of the best in UFC history.

Yeah, Henderson is a solider. Although I saw Shogun winning the fight last weekend, I gotta’ give it to Henderson for the kind of performance he pulled.

On his way to a unanimous decision over Mauricio Shogun Rua in the headliner of this past Saturday’s event, Henderson also suffered a sprained thumb but managed to escape a trip afterward to the hospital with no more than a few Motrin. A small cut underneath his chin didn’t require stitches.

“He’d been ill throughout the week, so the five-round fight was pretty tough on his body,” Aaron Crecy, Henderson’s business partner, on Sunday said. “He was having trouble breathing because he was so dehydrated.”

Henderson noticeably slowed and at one point teetered unstably after taking punches in the championship rounds of the fight, which allowed Rua to surge back on the scorecards after falling behind in the first three. All three judges called the contest 48-47 in Henderson’s favor.

Crecy said the bug Henderson caught, possibly the flu or a chest cold, also…

Read More » Dan Henderson ready for title shot after UFC 139

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva has heard his critics loud and clear, but he’s simply not listening.

Yeah, Wanderlei Silva is scheduled to fight in the co-main event of UFC 139 and while his critics say he just doesn’t have it anymore, he’s got more important folks to consider.

”My motivation is back,” Wanderlei Silva said. ”I need to make my fans happy again. I have a lot of fans around the world. I know Saturday a lot of guys are going to have barbecue in their homes, and I know my responsibility to the millions and millions and millions of people that are going to watch that fight. I want to make my fans happy.”

Silva (31-11-1 MMA, 3-6 UFC) meets fellow striking specialist Cung Le (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in the co-feature of Saturday’s UFC 139 pay-per-view event, which takes place at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. It’s the first fight for Silva since suffering a 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at July’s UFC 132 event.

The devastating loss caused many MMA pundits to call for his retirement, but Silva points to former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s recent 64-second defeat as proof that anyone can fall victim to a well-placed punch.

”It happens. It happened with Cain Velasquez last week. You never know,” Silva said, referring to Velasquez’s loss to new UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos last weekend. ”In the first three minutes, everybody has power. The gloves are very small. One punch can finish you. But we tried to train so that this won’t happen anymore.”

In Le, Silva faces a devastating striker known for an overwhelming variety of…

Read More » Wanderlei Silva wants to prove something in UFC 139