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Brian Stann Iraq veteran and WEC champion on CNN (Video) Posted: 28 Apr 2008 08:55 AM CDT Was actually surprised to see this segment of WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann on CNN while I was visiting someone in the hospital this weekend: Props: CNN.com

Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski Elite XC fight added to Saturday Night Fights under card Posted: 28 Apr 2008 08:48 AM CDT Nick “The Mad Monkey” Serra (4-2) — brother of former UFC welterweight champion and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 winner Matt Serra –  will reportedly fight up-and-comer Matt Makowski (2-0) on the undercard of EliteXC’s Saturday Night Fights at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J, on May 31, according to FiveOuncesOfPain.com. Serra is a New York native; therefore, fighting in the Garden State makes sense for him. He obviously trains with his brother at Serra Jiu Jitsu in Long Island and is a solid submission specialist himself. All four of his career wins, in fact, have been via tap out and he’s never been submitted or knocked out. This will be his first fight since June 23 of last year — a second round submission (armbar) victory over Mike Varner at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5: “2 Worlds, One Cage.” Makowski is a 22-year-old fighter out of Philly who has been impressive in his two victories in his short MMA career. He most recently overcame Muay Thai specialist Joe Schilling with a first round rear naked choke at the ShoXC Callenger Series in Atlantic City, N.J. on January 25. The welterweight showdown is the first undercard bout to be announced or rumored for the prestigious mixed martial arts network television debut on CBS. We know the Serra’s can fight or at least roll, so this should be a good scrap for the fans. Remember that EliteXC under card bouts are and will be streamed LIVE on ProElite.com prior to the 10 p.m. telecast on CBS.

Rampage Jackson: Forrest Griffin is ‘going down’ at UFC 86 (Video) Posted: 28 Apr 2008 08:32 AM CDT

UFC 83 payouts and salaries for ‘Serra vs. St. Pierre 2′ Posted: 28 Apr 2008 08:08 AM CDT We’re not going to get them, according to the Quebec Boxing Council. The official sanctioning body for the region has declared them confidential, which is not uncommon for major pay-per-view (PPV) events that take place outside of the United States. In fact, Texas, New Jersey and Colorado, among other states often don’t reveal fighter salaries like Nevada, California, Ohio and Florida. However, remember that UFC President Dana White revealed in the post-fight press conference that Demian Maia (Submission of the Night), Jason MacDonald (Knockout of the Night), as well as Jonathan Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Fight of the Night), all earned $75,000 bonuses each for their efforts. And not one of those fights was aired during the PPV telecast. Ho Hum.

Travis Lutter released from the UFC Posted: 27 Apr 2008 02:10 PM CDT Apparently the UFC has seen enough of Travis Lutter. Pramit Mohapatra of FightTicker.com has confirmed with “The Serial Killer” that he’s been released from his UFC contract effective immediately. Lutter (9-5) seemed on the verge of a career resurgence after a successful stint on The Ultimate Fighter 4 where he defeated Patrick Cote to earn a title shot against middleweight deity Anderson Silva. Lutter however squandered the opportunity (despite a good showing against Silva) by failing to make weight for the biggest fight of his career. That particular shortcoming cost him the respect of many fans and even UFC President Dana White. Still, Lutter was able to continue fighting but had to pull out of his UFC 74 fight with Ryan Jensen after re-aggravating an old neck injury. During his hiatus former middleweight champion Rich Franklin was victorious over Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami before being dismantled by Anderson Silva for a second time. That left “Ace” with little options in his weight class - and a perfect opportunity for Travis Lutter to erase some bad memories. Once again Lutter held a dominant position in the first round, but his lack of conditioning left him a sitting duck for the calculated assault of Franklin in round two. Two opportunities against two of the UFC’s top middleweights. Two opportunities squandered from what seemingly could have been prevented by Lutter himself. It’s no secret that the UFC has been increasingly frugal with the employee payroll, but one has to wonder how much Lutter contributed to his own demise.

James Irvin: Rashad Evans taking a ’step down’ at UFC 85 Posted: 27 Apr 2008 08:56 AM CDT Props: MMAWeekly.com Quoteworthy: "I'm just so happy that he would even take the fight against me. I consider him an 'A' level fighter, and I consider myself a 'C' level fighter, maybe a 'B' level because I just beat Houston trying to claw my way up to the top. So for him to take a step down and fight me, I'm greatly appreciative of the guy, who is someone I look up to as one of those top tier fighters.” James Irvin comments on his upcoming fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 85 in London, England on June 7, which was all made possible because of an injury to former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. “The Sandman” sounds surprised (and excited) that Evans accepted the bout because, as he puts it, the two are on different levels right now.

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