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Mark Coleman to be the stronger man against Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 93 (Video) Posted: 05 Jan 2009 08:15 AM CST

Carlos Condit vs Brock Larson 2 WEC fight in March likely Posted: 05 Jan 2009 07:50 AM CST “I'm the real deal and I'm ready for Condit. I'm ready for it, so it's just a matter of getting (Condit) to agree, but (the WEC) definitely wants it to happen. It's up to Condit's camp to figure out what it wants. I'd like to fight as often as possible, but the way it's looking, this is the fight I want to wait for. I don't want to risk anything like I did before fighting Condit the first time. I was supposed to fight him when I fought Kevin Knabjan two months before, and I think I peaked too early for that. It's hard to peak twice in two months, so if it comes out that way, that's the way I'm going to have to take it.” Those words came from WEC welterweight contender Brock Larson (24-2) just hours after his first round drubbing of Carlo Prater more five months ago at WEC 35. Since that time he’s stayed true to his word and has quietly waited for his rematch with division champ Carlos Condit to come to fruition. Apparently, his patience is about to pay off. The word on the street is that “The Natural Born Killer” will defend his title next on a WEC event in March against Larson. The two standout fighters first threw down at WEC 29 in August of 2007 with Condit securing an fight-ending armbar near the halfway point in round one. The loss was only the second of Larson’s so far stellar career. His first setback came by unanimous decision at the hands of Jon Fitch back in 2005 at Ultimate Fight Night 2. On the other side of that coin, his hit list includes names like Prater, Shannon Ritch, Erik “Bad” Apple, John Allessio, Ryan Jensen, Keita Nakamura and others. Of his 24 wins, only two of those have gone to decision, while 16 of his opponents have been forced to tap out. He knows how to finish fights. Carlos Condit definitely has his hands full, regardless of what happened in their first fight. Here’s the champ’s thoughts on potentially facing Larson for a second time: "It's not ideal, because I have everything to lose, and he has everything to gain. The pool of contenders is a bit shallow. There's not a whole lot of guys for me to fight. He's a very tough guy, and just because I beat him before doesn't mean anything. I'm going to have to be on my toes. I'm very motivated to fight him, and I'm looking forward to a very tough training camp." Condit’s last fight also came on the WEC 35 card in August. He successfully defended his title with a fourth round technical knockout win over Hiromitsu Miura in what is considered to be one of the best fights of 2008. Larson trains with one of the real up-and-coming camps in the United States these days in Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. He gets day-to-day training with some of the top wrestlers in the sport and works with a team that is known for producing fighters with great cardio. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Condit was running out of gas late in that Miura fight. If Larson can avoid any early mistakes this time around, he may just have the stamina, strength and ability to become the next WEC welterweight champion. We’ll find out in March … maybe.

Chuck Liddell says he’ll take the light heavyweight title from Rashad Evans Posted: 04 Jan 2009 09:40 PM CST Props: Sun Sentinel Quoteworthy: “I’ll fight anybody they put in front of me as long as it gets me back closer to the title. I have to try to be the best at what am I doing. I want Rashad Evans, he’s got the title and I’ll take it.” Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell — who was most recently on the wrong end of a vicious knockout at UFC 88: "Breakthrough" courtesy of Rashad Evans — wants another crack at “Sugar” when asked who he’d like to fight next. That more than likely isn’t going to happen anytime soon — Liddell has lost three of his last four fights. And he no longer appears to be the same world beater who dominated the talent-rich 205-pound division for two years up until 2007. “Iceman” is expected to return at UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7; however, his opponent remains a mystery. With a win in March, Liddell — who has been getting some extra training at American Top Team (ATT) recently — could very well begin to mount his final assault on the light heavyweight hill before calling it a career. Because of his celebrity and drawing power it’s not crazy to imagine that two impressive wins could get him to the top, regardless of what else is happening in the division. Can he pull it off? Does he have enough gas left in the tank? Has he been surpassed in skill by the other top fighters in the division? Let us hear your opinions in the comments section below.

Matt Riddle vs Steve Bruno UFC Fight Night 17 bout possible Feb. 7 Posted: 04 Jan 2009 07:33 PM CST The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 cast clown, Matt Riddle (1-0), will meet up with Steve Bruno (12-4) inside the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 17 from the University of Southern Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., on February 7, 2009. FiveOuncesOfPain.com reported the welterweight match up — a first for Riddle — earlier today. Riddle — who on the show joked that he still lived with his mother, didn't have a driver's license and much more — is perhaps best known for shattering Dan Simmler's jaw in the opening of the show, which coach Quinton "Rampage" Jackson quipped was the "Knockout of the Century." He was bounced out of the tournament-style show courtesy of a Tim Credeur armbar. He rebounded to score a unanimous decsion win over Dante Rivera at the TUF 7 Finale back in June — the first of his professional fighting career. Riddle now trains at Arizona Combat Sports alongside WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner, CB Dolloway, Ryan Bader and others, proving that he is serious about improving his mixed martial arts skills. His opponent, Bruno — the United States Navy veteran turned mixed martial artist — scored his first win inside the Octagon against Johnny Rees via submission (rear naked choke) at UFC Fight Night 16: "Fight for the Troops" on December 1. The American Top Team (ATT) member was overwhelmed by Chris Wilson at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” in August 2008, dropping a lopsided unanimous decision. UFC Fight Night 17 features a 155-pound match up between Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca. Fellow lightweights Mac Danzig and Josh Neer are also likely hook 'em up in the co-featured fight of the night, provided Neer is in the clear following a recent arrest for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and other charges in Iowa. To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.

Josh Neer video after arrest indicates Mac Danzig fight not a lock Posted: 04 Jan 2009 04:50 PM CST The reporter at the end of the feature hints that the promotion is currently deciding whether or not Neer will compete against Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7. He says that a decision will be made earlier this week. We’ll keep you posted. Check out the video after the jump.

Beating is fundamental: The ten best fights of 2008 Posted: 04 Jan 2009 02:34 PM CST Fighting solves everything. Unlike many of today’s mainstream sports, mixed martial arts (MMA) is all about the power of one. You can’t lose a fight because your receiver dropped a pass in the end zone, or the clean-up hitter struck out with the bases loaded. Success in the fight game boils down to a couple of variables. Of course one cannot compete at a higher level of fighting without natural talent and a developed skill set, but one also cannot discount the influence of a fighter’s heart and determination. And yes, sometimes a little bit of luck can help when everything else fails. Most of the great fights in MMA history have a combination of those elements. In a year of ever-increasing visibility, fighters from around the globe in several different organizations left it all in the cage (or ring) for a chance to reach the summit in the world of combat sports. Like the ten best knockouts of 2008, trying to find the year’s ten best fights was no easy task. I didn't want to just bring you a list of big names with bone-shattering finishes or slick submissions, because there are a lot more than ten of them. Instead I tried to look at each fight and its ability to not only entertain the fans, but also display a certain level of technical ability, whether it be on the ground or on the feet. In the absence of technical prowess, heart went a long way in narrowing the field. With that said, I present to you my picks for the ten best fights of 2008. Karma Chameleon: Randy Couture vs. Zuffa - January 2008-August 2008 While they never actually traded blows, Randy Couture spent most of 2008 slinging mud at the Zuffa brass after they called him out for stiffing the UFC (and the fans) with two fights. From January to August “The Natural” tried to sign with HDNet, balked at a fight with Nogueira, sued and got sued, flirted with Fedor, played in a few card tournaments and starred in the barely mediocre ‘Redbelt’ before eventually giving up and coming back to the promotion he should have never left. It was the topic of discussion at least twice a month until his unsettling return in early September. Winner: Zuffa by TKO. Randy eventually threw in the towel after taking a beating in the court (and court of public opinion). Upon his return, he lost his heavyweight title to the 2-1 Brock Lesnar. Welcome back. Cinematic equivalent: Frank Dux vs. The US Army (Bloodsport). Ol’ Belgium eyes wanted to fly overseas to fight a seemingly indestructible foreigner despite having a binding contract with the US Army. Uncle Sam wasn’t havin’ it. An AWOL Dux was relentlessly pursued across International borders (jurisdiction be damned) by some old guy in a cinereal suit and a presumably post-grad Charles Jefferson. Wrongful Conviction: Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold - EliteXC ‘Heat’ Gina Carano put herself on the map with a TKO destruction of Kaitlin Young at EliteXC ‘Primetime’ back in May. That performance had a lot of people paying attention to something they never had before: Women’s MMA. “Conviction” once again lived up to expectations and looked insanely hot during her three round clinic on the very game Kelly Kobold when she returned to television this past October. Make no mistake about it: This was a real test for Carano because the 16-2-1 Kobold was not a plant. She was a well-rounded mixed martial artist with an impressive resume. Carano rose to the challenge, showing both technique and style, and for the first time in history the expression “Fights like a girl” was used as a compliment. Winner: Gina Carano via unanimous decision. It was a masterful performance, and the thought of her not fighting again because Jared Shaw was given the keys to his father’s Caddy and wrecked it makes me sad on the inside. Cinematic equivalent: Christie vs. Yamada (Ninja III: The Domination). I’m not suggesting that Kelly Kobold looks like Sho Kosugi, but that was the first time I can remember that I actually believed a woman could kick my ass. Watching Gina Carano was the second. Christie is possessed by a cop-killing ninja spirit that forces her to kiss hairy men and splash V-8 across her breasts. Like Carano, something about watching Lucinda Dickey fire off leg kicks had me stuttering and drooling like Simple Jack. Grapples to oranges: Demian Maia vs. Jason MacDonald – UFC 87 I tend to be a little hard on Jason MacDonald in my Nostradumbass predictions, but this is one fight that definitely has me singing his praises. Maia was coming into the bout with an undefeated record and MacDonald was last seen at UFC 83 where he finished off Joe Doerksen. It didn’t take long for them to get started and credit to “The Athlete” for fearlessly storming the jiu-jitsu black belt and giving him all he could handle, including a cut above Maia’s left eye. The Brazilian turned up the heat in round two and had MacDonald running scared. Still, the Canadian showed heart and a solid defense to keep himself from getting tapped until midway through the third, when he could no longer survive the relentless ground attack. Many fights that feature extensive grappling are greeted with silence from the crowd. This was no exception. It wasn’t because of boredom, it was because most fans were on the edge of their seats. Anyone else snap to attention when MacDonald escaped the triangle and sunk in a rear naked choke? Winner: Demian Maia by submission (rear naked choke). Maia is a dangerous foe. I’m beginning to wonder who amongst the middleweight elite will be able to stop him. Somewhere down the road there has to be a jiu-jitsu bragging rights match between him and Rousimar Palhares. Cinematic equivalent: Indiana Jones vs. the giant Sherpa (Raiders of the Lost Ark). Okay, so Jonesy and the giant airplane mechanic don’t have an ounce of grappling in their brawl, but this pretty much sums up the Maia vs. MacDonald fight: You knew who was going to win the entire time, but that didn’t make it any less fun to watch. Sweep of faith: Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock - Strikeforce ‘Shamrock vs. Le’ Frank Shamrock was the face of the Strikeforce promotion and unfortunately the mouth of them as well. Imagine Jimmy Hart without the megaphone and a decent ground game and you have Lil’ Shammy. The up-and-coming Cung Le was 5-0 with five straight (T)KO stoppages. While his striking was highly rated, it was untested in the MMA world by anyone of any consequence. Enter Frank Shamrock. Tired of boring the crowds with his ongoing Gracie feud, Shambone stepped up to silence the Le hype machine. Not only did Frank agree to fight him, he promised to do it entirely on his feet. Many critics balked at his proclamation, knowing Shamrock’s ego and obvious advantage on the ground. Still, Shammy kept his word and the two let it fly for three rounds. What started fairly even began to sway towards Le, and Shamrock’s arm was broken at the end of the third round courtesy of repeated kicks by the relentless Sanshou disciple. Winner: Le by TKO. The ground game was non-existent, but no one in attendance seemed to care. There was plenty of action and watching Shamrock get iced after two rounds of antics seemed like poetic justice. Cinematic equivalent: Leroy Green vs. Sho ‘Nuff (The Last Dragon). Just direct-a yo feetsa, to Frank Shamrock’s arm. Leroy had the kind of skill that made him special, but got overlooked in favor of the loudmouth bully who likes to hear himself talk. We knew Sho ‘Nuff was a bad MOFO - he told us every fourth frame. Sound familiar? In the end he was bested by a fighter who kept his mouth shut, trained hard and got his skin to glow. That kind of stuff happens when you live that close to the Hudson River. Scrumbags: Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor - UFC 89. I don’t think it’s an insult to say that Chris Lytle will never be the UFC welterweight champion. But by that same token, he’ll never be unemployed either. “Lights Out’ is either fearless or hard-up for cash, because his go-for-broke gameplan is the same for every fight. That includes his three round war with Paul Taylor at UFC 89, a battle good enough to earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors and a place on my list of ten best. “Relentless” was just that, sticking it to Lytle at every turn, and the two hammered away at each other from one side of the Octagon to the other. With plenty of bombs and some very impressive dirty boxing, Lytle and Taylor shamed the main event between Chris Leben and Michael Bisping with a dizzying display of striking. Lytle’s next fight is against Marcus Davis at UFC 93, and no question we can expect him to pick up right where he left off. Winner: Chris Lytle by unanimous decision. This was another close fight, but the judges gave it to Lytle. Despite a 2-3 record, Taylor brings his fight to each event and should be back sooner rather than later. Cinematic equivalent: John Matrix vs. Cooke (Commando). While the ending was a bit more definitive, nothing says “testosterone sandwich” like two men whaling on each other in front of screaming onlookers. Credit Cooke for a sensational upkick - long before Gegard Mousasi made it cool at DREAM 6. Black & white (and red all over): Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson - UFC 86 Apparently disregarding everything Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder taught us in 1982, Forrest Griffin tried to keep a brother down with his ruthless leg kicks and frenetic pace when he faced fellow Ultimate Fighter 7 coach Quinton Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight championship. “Rampage” came out like a dominant champion, nearly stopping Griffin in the first round with a brutal uppercut. Griffin answered that round with one of his own, buckling the leg of Jackson and softening him up with a relentless ground and pound assault. Capturing a sort of grit and determination they were never able to achieve during the show, the two battled back-and-forth for an entire five rounds, with a very close decision going to Griffin. Forrest would eventually yield his title to Rashad Evans at UFC 92, but that hasn’t stopped Jackson - or the fans - from wanting a rematch. Winner: Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision. It may have been unanimous for the judges, but plenty of fans were crying foul after this five round nail-biter. Forget instant replay. I vote for sudden death. Cinematic equivalent: Nada vs. Frank (They Live). It’s not often you get a couple of guys bashing each others brains in over a pair of sunglasses not named Oakley. I suppose Nada could have just told Frank they would let him see through Holly Thompson’s clothes but then there would be no fisticuffs. Like the main event of UFC 86, They Live proved that people of all colors can beat the crap out of each other for twenty five minutes and still maintain a working relationship. God Bless America. Cowboy Bebop: Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCoullogh - WEC 36 The now 9-0 Donald Cerrone was on an absolute tear coming into his fight against “Razor” Rob, and both men were using the WEC 36 contest as a springboard into a title fight with lightweight champion Jamie Varner. “Cowboy” was electric right out of the gate, dropping the venerable McCullough twice in the opening stanza and once in the second before nearly finishing him with an armbar. Credit to Razor, who was not only able to weather the storm, but for also keeping it competitive through pure heart and determination, sweeping Cerrone on two occasions to stay alive. Cerrone took the contest in dominant fashion, but watching McCullough’s composure and never-say-die attitude was a testament to the kind of talent they have in the WEC. Anyone still think Donald Cerrone isn’t ready for a crack at Varner? Winner: Cerrone by unanimous decision. Like most great fights, there are no losers here. I still don’t like that the UFC chose to eliminate weight classes in the WEC, but we can at least be grateful it wasn’t this one. Cinematic equivalent: Colonel Braddock vs. Colonel Yin (Missing in Action 2: The Beginning). Yin was running the place for a long time, but that’s only because Braddock was too busy babysitting the inept Mazzilli and his idiotic rooster. Things changed when the artist formerly known as “Colt” got his hands on his captor. Sure, Yin had skills, but Braddock was the better man and proved it with a solid helping of American whoop-ass. Shooto first, ask questions later: Akitoshi Tamura vs. Rumina Sato - Shooto Tradition 01 Former Shooto lightweight champion Akitoshi Tamura rumbled with Shooto legend Rumina Sato on Shooto's 20th anniversary card back in May - and for those of you who still snicker at the Japanese promotion out of a lack of understanding, well, you’d better ask somebody. Tamura lost the Shooto lightweight title to Hideki Kadowaki at Shooto "Back to our Roots 8" after a lackluster decision and came into this fight with a pretty sizable chip on his shoulder. Sato was also coming off a loss to Kadowaki when he choked (literally) at Shooto “Back to our Roots 5.” The action was underway early with both men exchanging until Tamura went to the ground and looked for the sub. Sato defended well and then went went bonkers in round two, throwing punches and knees sprinkled with some nasty ground and pound. Tamura survived only to eat a spinning side kick in round three. Tamura let a high kick fly and stunned the “Moon Wolf,” who countered with an inverse triangle choke. “Ironman” escaped and transitioned to North-South for the submission win. Winner: Akitoshi Tamura by submission (North-South choke). Fights like this are the reason Shooto has been around in one form or another since 1985. Do yourself a favor and open your mind (and your browser for a google video search). Cinematic equivalent: Chen Zhen vs. General Fujita (Fist of Legend). Sato may not be a supreme killer, but he was submitting hapless Americans right around the same time Royce Gracie was doing it at UFC 3. Fujita delivered his trademark beatdown on the younger warrior, but instead of Zhen waiting for the torch to be passed, he went it and took it away himself. Classic throwdown. Burn after beating: Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda - WEC 34 You would think a guy who was 33-1 coming into a fight with 21 submissions would be lauded as one of the worlds best but alas, welcome to the plight of the bantamweight division. Despite being one of the last fighters to train under Carlson Gracie Jr. and holding the WEC bantamweight title, Torres was received with little fanfare. Then he faced Yoshihiro Maeda at WEC 34 and gave the mixed martial arts community a much needed wake-up call. Torres came out swinging but a very-game Maeda wasn’t going to roll over. The two exchanged evenly in the opening round and the second round saw similar action including an exchange of submission attempts. The champion found his range in the third, working his jab on the former Pancrase warrior until Maeda’s eye looked like a rotten grapefruit. Despite the Doctor’s interference, Torres proved that not only can he dish it out, he can take it too. Winner: Torres by TKO. The fight was stopped after the third by the ringside physician, presumably to help WEC officials locate Maeda’s missing eye. Cinematic equivalent: Billy Lo vs. Carl Miller (Game of Death). Miller was as tough-as-nails and gets his share of strikes in. Unfortunately it’s not enough against his quicker, more well-rounded opponent. Lo not only beats him down, he stuffs him in his own locker. You lose, Carl Miller. DREAM Warriors: Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen - DREAM 3 Hansen came into the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix as one of the favorites to win it all. Alvarez had built an impressive 13-1 resume including ten (T)KO finishes, but was still seen as the underdog. That quickly changed when he dropped “Hellboy” twice in the opening frame of the GP quarterfinals. Hansen recovered and made it competitive heading deep into the first. After a grueling ten-minute opening round that saw more action than most three round fights, the two combatants do it all over again in round two. This round sees Hansen controlling, including two oh-so-close submission attempts that nearly finished Alvarez. The action flip-flops from one fighter to the other and Alvarez lands big at the bell. Clearly fight of the night and for my money fight of the year. Winner: Eddie Alvarez. It was close, but the first round knockdowns probably gave Alvarez the edge. He would face Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM 5 but was denied the opportunity to fight in the finals after a Kawajiri elbow cut him open and finished his night. None other than Joachim Hansen would take his place after winning his reserve bout against Kultar Gill. As luck would have it, Hellboy upsets Shinya Aoki in the finals to win it all. Aoki would later face Alvarez and win the WAMMA lightweight championship at Fields Dynamite!!. Alvarez beats Hansen, Hansen beats Aoki, Aoki beats Alvarez. Oh what a tangled web we weave. Cinematic Equivalent: Mick O’Brien vs. Paco Moreno (Bad Boys). Forget about that dreck with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Sean Penn was the real bad boy in this 1983 classic. Mick and Paco slug it out in the end to settle once and for all who is the worse criminal: The sadistic rapist or the accidental murderer. The crowd cheers their every move and Paco almost sinks in a rear naked choke. They beat each other bloody but the real highlight is watching Clancy Brown (pre-Mr. Krabs) eat his own boogers in the mess hall. Good stuff. That my friends, has just about wrapped it up. 2008 was another banner year for the sport of MMA, and I can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store for us. With fights like BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre 2 at UFC 94 just a few weeks away, I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start. Be sure to sound off in the comments section about who you think belongs or doesn't belong on the list of ten best fights of 2008 - and make sure you can back it up!

UFC Fight Night 17: Anthony Johnson vs. Luigi Fioravanti Posted: 04 Jan 2009 02:18 PM CST The fight card for UFC Fight Night 17 'Lauzon vs. Franca' continues to take shape with the addition of welterweights Anthony Johnson (6-2) and Luigi Fioravanti (14-4), set to do battle at the University of Southern Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida on February 7. MMAmania.com learned earlier today that Johnson, fresh off his thrilling KO victory over Kevin Burns at UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale 8, will opt to come back in February rather than wait for a rumored fight with Mike “Quick” Swick later in the year. Johnson avenged his controversial loss to Burns back at UFC Fight Night 14, knocking the Iowan senseless with a brutal head kick in the opening seconds of round three. Burns joins Tommy Speer and Chad Reiner on “Rumble’s” ever growing highlight reel. He won’t have a free pass however against the gritty Fioravanti. The American Top Team standout and military serviceman-turned mixed martial artist has his share of knockouts, ending 50 percent of his fights by way of (T)KO. Fioravanti was last seen taking Brodie Farber the distance in a unanimous decision win at UFC 16 ‘Fight for the Troops.’ UFC Fight Night 17 features several 155-pound match ups. Mac Danzig is expected to take on Josh Neer and Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca are slated to headline the show. Kurt Pellegrino and Rob Emerson will also likely hook 'em up. Here is the current UFC Fight Night 17 fight card: Main event: 155 lbs.: Hermes Franca (19-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (17-4) Main card: 155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (18-5-1) vs. Josh Neer (24-7-1) 155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau (15-6) vs. Rich Clementi (32-13-1) 170 lbs.: Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (14-4)* 185 lbs.: Amir Sadollah (1-0) vs. Nick Catone (5-0) Under card: 155 lbs.: George Sotiropolous (9-2) vs. Matt Grice (9-1) 155 lbs.: Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) vs. Rob Emerson (8-6)* 185 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (13-7) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-0) 265 lbs.: Cain Velaquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (5-1)* *Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com. To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.

Mir and present danger: UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir headlines Monday’s Pro MMA Radio Posted: 04 Jan 2009 01:51 PM CST UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir will be Monday's guest in Part II of his interview on MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio airing at 9pm ET. In his first interview after defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, Mir talks about the experience of winning the gold, his feelings on the “Interim” label and whether or not he thinks “Minotauro” is the same fighter he was in PRIDE. The Ultimate Fighter 8 coach also talks Junie Browning, his improved striking and the inevitable rematch with Brock Lesnar to unify the UFC heavyweight belts. Hosted by ESPN 1420’s Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of MMA's biggest names. If you're looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that's already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn't for you. However, if you want to hear from actual fighters answering questions that are relevant to their careers and the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night for our exclusive live feed. Can't make the 9pm start time? Interested in hearing from past guests like Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture? No problem. Pro MMA Radio offers an easily accessible and downloadable archive by clicking here. See you tomorrow at 9pm!

Dana White: Lyoto Machida could be pound-for-pound best fighter in the world Posted: 04 Jan 2009 11:31 AM CST He really just needs to “let it all go:” Thanks to BloodyElbow.com for the assist. More videos after the jump.

MMA Quick Quote: ‘Fireball Kid’ gets doused (again) at Sengoku Posted: 04 Jan 2009 11:13 AM CST “He looks strong, but I think I hate him; I don’t know why. After this fight, I don’t think I’ll ever talk to him ever again, no matter the result…. I told [Shinya] Aoki, from here on out, I’ll make it so that you won’t ever hear anything about Gomi anymore. It’s going to be too long for me, but I don’t intend to let it go long. Gomi says he wants to show speed and strength. So I’m thinking, ‘Fine, let’s finish it fast.’ If I go as usual, this will be a quick fight.” – Satoru Kitaoka tells Sherdog.com before his fight against Takanori Gomi at Sengoku: “No Ran 2009″ that he doesn’t like the lightweight sensation and predicted he would finish him fast. He did just that, locking in a fight-ending heel hook in less than 90 seconds and winning the promotion’s first-ever division title. “The Fireball” kid — the Pride FC posterboy for years — was widely regarded as the top lightweight fighter in the world not too long ago. But with two consecutive losses and having won just two of his last five fights it’s safe to say that he has lost much of his luster. Perhaps as Kitaoka suggests Aoki is now the man to worship in the division in the “Land of the Rising Sun.” And maybe he should have been all along.

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