Any time UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar fights, people watch.

Simply because he’s a freak of nature. Brock Lesnar possesses more size, power, and athleticism in one body than we’ve ever seen combined in MMA.

What’s more, he talks a lot of junk and has the ability to hype a fight, via his professional wrestling background. In fact, his pro and collegiate wrestling experiences have also brought a tremendous amount of fans to MMA, simply so they can continue to watch him.

All wondered aloud how Lesnar would do against a man with supposedly similar size and athleticism in Shane Carwin coming into their UFC 116 encounter. Beyond the fact that Lesnar was able to win, so the biggest question now is who can stop this guy?

Here’s a look at the top fighters in the division and where they might stack up.

Cain Velasquez. Fresh on everyone’s mind is the California native’s knockout over legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Velasquez continued his unbeaten streak and did so in impressive fashion. He is now 8-0 and has catapulted himself into the heavyweight title discussion.

Prior to UFC 110, president Dana White admitted that the winner between Nogueira and Velasquez would be considered as a possible opponent for Lesnar if they earned a convincing victory. Check. Now Velasquez will wait to see how the rest of the division shakes out, but his relentless style and punishing attack have not gone unnoticed by the UFC’s fight makers.

Frank Mir. Mir is the only man to defeat Lesnar in the UFC but…

Oh yeah, that will be for the light heavyweight championship.

Now that we know Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be defending his title against Rashad Evans, it’s as good a time as any to preview the impending light heavyweight title bout.

Although company president Dana White has confirmed the championship matchup, the organization has yet to announce when the 205-pounders will collide.

In Shogun Rua and Rashad Evans, you have two of the most explosive fighters at 205-pounds, but striking might not be what ultimately decides who exits the Octagon with gold around their waist.

If we were to compare the two from a pure striking perspective, the edge has to go to Shogun simply because he has more weapons in his arsenal. The former Chute Boxe fighter can be wild at times, however is able to put together lethal combinations of punches, kicks and knees that most can’t match.

Some might argue that Evans is the far more technical boxer – and rightfully so – but this is MMA and that shouldn’t be the deciding factor when they meet. Team Evans would also argue that Rashad’s kicking game could prove to be the difference, but again the nod still has to go to Rua after putting on a clinic against Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.

Like he did this past weekend against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 114, the glaring advantage Evans will look to capitalize on will be his explosive wrestling skills.

On the flipside, Rua would have no problems showcasing his…

In case you didn’t know, arguably the most anticipated fight inside the Octagon this year will take place on May 29.

That’s right, Quinton Rampage Jackson and Sugar Rashad Evans, after all the trash talking, will finally meet each other at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the pay per view event simply dubbed as, UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans.

A lot of fans have been clamoring for this one ever since both Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans became opposing coaches in ‘The Ultimate Fighter 10.’ In the show, UFC fans witnessed just how much both fighters hated each other, helping the 10^th season of the show to become it’s most watched season, EVER. (Of course, Kimbo Slice starring in the said show also helped…)

UFC President Dana White has also confirmed that, if either Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans wins their epic showdown in Vegas, that fighter will get a shot at Mauricio Shogun Rua for his UFC light heavyweight championship belt. How’s that for one heckuva’ main event on the 29^th eh?

”I did commit to the winner (of UFC 114) getting a title shot,” UFC President Dana White stated.

Although every single UFC fan knew that this fight between Rampage Jackson and…

Not if it’s a step towards the light heavyweight title it isn’t.

Yep, on May 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Quinton Rampage Jackson and Sugar Rashad Evans will main event UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans with the winner earning a title shot for the UFC light heavyweight championship.

And since we all know how bad Rampage Jackson wants that light heavyweight title back since losing it to Forrest Griffin, this fight with Rashad Evans will be a step closer to his goal of becoming the 205-pound king again.

But how come Rampage is saying that fighting Rashad Evans is a step backwards? That’s easy. Rampage simply doesn’t have any respect for the guy. ”I would’ve preferred to have did ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ against [Lyoto] Machida, to fix the problem back in the day from square one,” Jackson said in an interview.

Yep, Rampage believes that he should’ve been with Lyoto Machida coaching in ‘The Ultimate Fighter 10′ and the only reason why Dana White got Rashad after he lost to Machida was because of Machida’s inability to speak English.

”Just X Rashad [Evans] out because he don’t got the damn belt, but Machida’s English is not so good so I get stuck having to fight Rashad,” Rampage said…

And that’s merely days after he proclaimed Silva as the best pound for pound fighter in MMA today.

So why the change of heart? Well, after the mess Anderson Silva pulled last Saturday in UFC 112: Invincible, White was not pleased. Sure, Silva retained his belt in Abu Dhabi, but the way he spent most of the fight taunting his challenger Demian Maia and staying away from any kind of contact, watching the entire fiasco was like watching paint dry.

White said he was embarrassed by the way Anderson Silva defended his UFC middleweight title. And if you saw UFC 112 last weekend, you can’t really blame the disgruntled UFC president for feeling exactly that.

Silva dominated Demian Maia for the first two rounds before spending the next three backpedaling and posturing. Silva’s antics not only frustrated White but referee Dan Miragliotta as well. Miragliotta even warned Silva in the fifth round that if he keeps it up, he would deduct a point.

”This was a big event for us tonight, it was a really big moment. The whole last three weeks of my life have been leading to this event,” UFC president Dana White said right after the fight. ”The people in this country, including the media, have really gotten behind this thing with support like I have never seen anywhere. I’m really embarrassed.”

”He [Silva] feels that he doesn’t owe the fans an apology,” White…

The Spider will be in action again.

For the first time in history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA athletes will slug it out in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, on April 10 as UFC 112: Invincible features middleweight title holder Anderson ”The Spider” Silva facing off against Demian Maia.

Middleweight champion Anderson Silva is 25-4 with 19 wins by TKO. He is a striker and has a dangerous jiu jitsu game. He is arguably the best fighter on the planet and has the resume to prove it. Silva is a perfect 10-0 in the UFC, including a successful title defense over Thales Leites last April before again moving up to 205 pounds to beat Forrest Griffin in August.

His opponent, Demian Maia, replaced an injured Vitor Belfort to get a shot at Silva. Maia (12-1) returned to action back in UFC 109, rebounding from his first career loss, a 21-second knockout to Nate Marquardt in August, with a unanimous decision over Dan Miller, which improved his UFC record to 6-1, including a previous victory over top 185-pound contender Chael Sonnen.

A left eyelid cut prompted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to medically suspended Maia until August, but he was not suspended from training and will apparently be healed and cleared to fight Silva this Saturday.

”It’s always tough when a top fighter like Vitor Belfort has to pull out of a big title fight, but we have found a high quality replacement,” said UFC President Dana White in a press release.

Top contender Chael Sonnen was not available due to injuries sustained in his fight with Nate Marquardt, so Demian Maia stepped in to fight for the title. Maia is an Abu Dhabi grappling champion and a five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. He is 12-1 in MMA and is…

Good. That means all that weight Frank Mir put on won’t be for nothing after all.

That’s also good news for UFC fans who thought they’ve seen the last of Brock Lesnar in the UFC after only four fights inside the Octagon.

And in case you didn’t get that yet, Brock Lesnar is good to go this year after being sidelined by what was first believed to be mono, but later revealed to be an intestinal disorder, diverticulitis.

According to his head trainer Greg Nelson, Lesnar will be definitely back. ”Brock Lesnar is definitely coming back to fight,” Nelson said. ”And he’s just kind of coming up slowly, training, trying to get his body ready and being smart with his recovery.”

Nelson is the leader of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in St. Paul, where Lesnar joined in 2007 when he began his pursuit in MMA.

As one of the few with access to the very private heavyweight, Nelson has been communicating with Lesnar through emails, texts and occasional phone calls.

”He’s been going into the doctor and making sure everything is going well for him and he’ll continue to go in for a couple more tests to make sure he is 100 percent ready to train when he starts up,” Nelson said. ”He still has a few more things to go through.”

UFC President Dana White has described Lesnar’s illness as potentially career-ending, but Nelson believed right then and there that’s not the case. He already believed then that Lesnar is the type of individual with the strength to pull through the…

Bettors take a trip inside the Octagon before they wet their pants watching the Super Bowl this Sunday.

And in case you didn’t get that, businessman extraordinaire and UFC President Dana White managed to squeeze his little UFC pay per view event right before Super Bowl XLIV.

You read it, before we get to see the Colts and the Saints play for the championship in Miami, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman, two Hall of Famers inside the Octagon, will headline UFC 109: Relentless as both try to make their way back to the title picture in the heavyweight division.

UFC 109 on Saturday, February 6 has 11 bouts on the card including the headliner that includes Randy Couture and Mark Coleman. There are five fights on the pay-per-view portion of the card and six preliminary bouts, two of which will be televised on Spike TV.

UFC 109 has a lot of big UFC odds favorites and that is somewhat unusual. Randy Couture is listed as -450 in UFC odds at SBG Global for his bout against Mark Coleman.

Not many people are giving Mark Coleman much of a chance. These two fighters were supposed to meet almost 12 years ago in UFC 17 but Couture was injured and pulled out. Couture is a five-time UFC champion and he has proven that he can still win big fights as he got a unanimous decision against Brandon Vera at…

Easy. He hates Vitor Belfort.

Looks like we won’t get to play as Dan Henderson again in the coming UFC Undisputed 2010 eh? Yes, Hendo just inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, leaving Dana White and the UFC for greener pastures.

But at 39 years old, how greener can these pastures still be for Dan Henderson? Really? As far as Henderson is concerned, it looks like he could care less, as long as he can stick it up to Dana White for giving Vitor Belfort a title shot.

Yes, apparently, that was the reason why Henderson left the UFC. After beating Michael Bisping to a bloody pulp in UFC 100, Henderson proved he is still one of the best fighters in the welterweight division. And yet, the UFC gave Vitor Belfort a title fight with welterweight champion Anderson Silva. That proved to be too much for Henderson’s ego to bear.

”Honestly, even if they had given the Silva fight to Nate Marquardt I would have been OK with that, because he’s pretty much in the same boat as I am,” Henderson said in an interview. ”But to give it to Vitor Belfort, a guy who hadn’t fought at that weight? And a guy I’d beaten?”

”I felt like there could have been a lot more respect for what I’d done,” he said. ”I just felt like they didn’t really care one way or the other whether I was there. I felt like they could have taken care of me a little better, but I have no hard feelings.”

As for his new bosses? Henderson is thrilled that somebody is still willing to take him in and give him the opportunity to salvage what’s left of his career.

”I’m very happy to be a part of Strikeforce and their partnership with…”

You read it, Dana White has decided not to reveal any status of Lesnar’s condition.

For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Brock Lesnar had to pull out of UFC 106 last November after suffering a condition called mononucleosis.

He was suppose to defend his title against Shane Carwin then but because of his health issues, Lesnar will instead be replaced by rival Frank Mir across Carwin for what would be the interim heavyweight title at UFC 111, that’s just a few months after the promotion’s upcoming pay per view event, UFC 109: Relentless.

And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Brock Lesnar has been stripped of his UFC heavyweight title, meaning that he will still be out of action for at least SIX MORE MONTHS. How unfortunate huh?

If Lesnar’s injury is THAT BAD, UFC President Dana White can at least tell his fans the real score. Is Lesnar coming back? Will he retire? Is he pregnant? Unfortunately, White won’t budge, leaving Lesnar’s fans in the dark.

”If the doctors say things are going well and things are going in the right direction, then maybe we’re a few months away from him coming back,” Dana White said. ”If it’s not going in the right direction, he’ll either be done and have to retire, or he’ll be out for a couple of years. After we get that announcement, then we’ll be able to plan what we’re going to do with the heavyweight division.”

”I didn’t even know that we were going to have Brock…”