Fedor Talks About His New Book(Video)

Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson Set for EliteXC on CBS 3 on October 4th

Sherdog's Loretta Hunt has the Scoop

At least two fighters will not sit on the sidelines following the postponement of Affliction’s Oct. 11 “Day of Reckoning” event in Las Vegas.

Former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski (13-5) and IFL kingpin Roy Nelson (13-2) have been offered a heavyweight bout at EliteXC “Heat” Oct. 4 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. The event will be aired live on CBS.

Arlovski’s management team would not comment Wednesday on the proposed bout, while Nelson’s attorney, Rod Donohoo, also refrained from remarks. However, Sherdog.com has learned from separate sources that both fighters have agreed in principle to the match and that contracts have been issued for review.

There are also rumors that Josh Barnett turned down this opportunity to fight Arlovski on CBS because he would've had to take a pay cut.

This certainly strengthens the card for the more knowledgeable fan. I've never been a Roy Nelson fan, it just seems that every time I see an interview with the guy he comes off as a cocky prick. Arlovski is on a different level than Roy is, Arlovski should dominate him.

DREAM 6 Live Blog Results Play-by-Play at 3am EST

I'm staying up all night and I will post the televised results as they happen with full play-by-play, my first time trying it.

Here is the card.

Middleweight tournament final:

Melvin Manhoef or Gegard Mousasi vs. Zelg Galesic or Ronaldo Souza

Middleweight tournament semifinals:

Melvin Manhoef (22-4-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1)
Zelg Galesic (9-3) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (9-1)

Middleweight tournament reserve bout:

Dong Sik Yoon (4-5) vs. Andrews Nakahara (0-1)

Non-tournament bouts:

265 lbs.: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (23-6-2) vs. Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem (28-11)
265 lbs.: Sergei Kharitonov (15-3-0) vs. Jimmy “The Titan” Ambriz (13-9-1)
185 lbs.: Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (40-28-8) vs. Masakatsu Funaki (38-13-1)
185 lbs.: Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) vs. Masanori Tonooka (1-1)
170 lbs.: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (32-8-2) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (12-5)
160 lbs.: Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki (17-3) vs. Todd “Maniac” Moore (9-2)
160 lbs.: Keita “K-taro” Nakamura (14-3-2) vs. Adriano Martins (9-3)
145 lbs.: Hideo Tokoro (21-13-1) vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (11-5-1)

Play-by-Play begins below at 3am EST.

Let the show begin! The show starts with a nice little description of all the middleweight tourney semi-finalists. Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten are talking about tonight's festivities, and they go to Ron Kruck with a little preview of Crocop vs. Overeem. First fight coming up and its gonna be the tourney reserve match of Andrews Nakahara vs. Dong Sik Yoon. We'll have to wait for the action as they announce the judges and officials ringside, now Saitama Super Arena goes dark and they start the opening, looks awesome, but HDNet is not letting us in on the fun, all they're showing is a wide shot of the arena and screen. Some pyrotechnics and now fighter introductions, this will take awhile I'm sure, I'll be back when the match starts.

Middleweight Tournament Reserve Match- Andrews Nakahara vs. Dong Sik Yoon
Round 1- Yoon is sporting a full Gi and here we go. Nakahara misses with a low kick, then stuffs a Yoon takedown attempt. Some clinching in the corner and the fight ends up on the mat with Nakahara on top in Yoon's guard, but Nakahara quickly stands up and out. Low kicks are finding their mark for Nakahara and he also lands a nice knee to the body before being put on his back by Yoon. Yoon moves to side guard and now he moves to full mount and now is going for a Gi choke. Nakahara defends well, but is still mounted. Yoon is throwing some weak punches from the mount. Nakahara finally escapes the back door, both fighters back to their feet. Nakahara's low kicks are starting to take a bit of a toll, he also throws some Andy Hug like Axe kicks. Yoon goes for a takedown, but is stuffed and the round ends with Nakahara in north/south position and landing a knee.
MMA Post Scores the first round for Nakahara 10-9.

Round 2- Fighters come out swinging and Nakahara knocks down Yoon with a couple of well-placed left hooks, Nakahara pounces on Yoon with a flurry of unanswered punches to Yoon's face, Yoon has pretty much stopped defending himself and the ref saves him at 30 seconds into the round. Very good fight by Nakahara, he defended the dangerous submission game of Yoon well and pretty much dominated the stand-up.
Winner-Andrews Nakahara(TKO Punches)


Middleweight Tournament Semi-Final Match- Melvin Manhoef vs. Gegard Mousasi
This is gonna be a hell of a scrap, unless Mousasai gets a quick sub. Bas Rutten really likes Melvin Manhoef, not suprisingly.
Round 1- Fighters come out and Mousasi throws, but misses a low kick and not suprisingly Mousasi shoots in for a takedown. Manhoef initially sprawls, but is still taken down, he gets back to his feet, but Mousasi clinches and now gets a perfect takedown. Manhoef scrambles, Mousasi gets his back, lands some punches to the side of Mahoef's head and is now going for the rear-naked choke. Manhoef gets the sweep, but falls right into a triangle choke! Manhoef picks Mousasi up Rampage style, but man he is still caught in the choke deep while standing-up, Manhoef goes against Bas Rutten's advice and slams him on the mat, now the choke is even tighter. Mousasi pulls the head down hard now and Manhoef is forced to tap just a minute and a half into the fight.. Mousasi just totally dominated Manhoef on the ground, wow that choke was brutal!
Winner- Gegard Mousasi(Submission: Triangle Choke)


Middleweight Tournament Sem-Final Match- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Zelg Galesic
Round 1- Jacare quickly slips a front kick from Zelg and moves in with a nice takedown. Jacare works from the guard, but is immediately looking to pass. Zelg trys to get up, but Jacare keeps him down and easily advance to side mount. Jacare lands some nice punches to the head from side control and now he looks for an arm. Jacare gets knee on belly position and from there goes straight to full mount, awesome grappling display! Zelg goes for a sweep, but Jacare gets a quick armbar and Zelg is forced to tap, also a minute and a half into the fight.
Winner- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza(Submission: Armbar)


The non-tournament bouts begin.

Keita Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins
Round 1- Martins comes out and lands a nice inside low kick. Some sloppy exchanges now. Martins now scores a knockdown with a right hand. Nakamura recovers though. Another right hand stuns Nakamura a little. Nakamura secure a single leg takedown.
Not much going on, on the ground here, but all the pitter-patter punching has led to a cut on the left eye of Nakamura, a replay shows a well-placed elbow from the bottom by Martins led to the cut. The ref stops the fighters and wants to check the cut. It's not a bad cut. The fighters come back and start on the feet. Nakamura is starting to land some good punches now. Martins is taking some shots as the bell sounds.
MMA Post scores Round 1 Nakamura 10-9.

Round 2- Nakamura comes out and lands some nice punches. Martins' chin is way too high. Nakamura now landing numorous unanswered stiff jabs. Alot of clinching going on between the exchanges and thats how the fight ends. Fight started out pretty good, but ended up pretty uneventful.
Should be a unaminous decision victory for Nakamura.
Wow, one judge scored the bout for Martins.
Winner- Keita Nakamura(Split Decision)


Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Man I can't wait to see Sergei back in action. Bas and Kenny are talking about Ambriz and hey the camera catches Fedor sitting ringside. Sergei is walking out and Kenny talks about Sergei fought Fedor 2 years ago on September tenth? No idea, that has to be a mistake.
Round 1- Sergei lands a nice left and bam! a hard left hook from Sergei knocks down Ambriz, but Ambriz pops back up, gets a body lock and is going for a takedown against the ropes. Sergei is holding the ropes and gets a yellow card for it. The action resumes, the fighters circle each other a little and Sergei is pretty much landing at will, nothing too hard yet, but it looks like this guy is gonna get KO'd pretty soon. Ambriz has zero striking ability and he looks like he's gassing already. Hard right straight to the head lands for Sergei, now a nice straight body shot. Huge overhand right from Sergei staggers Ambriz a little. Sergei is starting to tee off, landing everything he throws. Ambriz is dazed now as Sergei lands a big uppercut. Now some hard knees to the chin of Ambriz, and this is gonna be over soon. Ambriz drops to his knees and Sergei(standing over top) lands two hard body punches and a hard head punch and Ambriz taps. Thats as easy as it gets for Kharitonov.
Winner- Sergei Kharitonov(Submission: Strikes)

Fedor is getting alot of camera time. Kenny(speaking of Kharitonov)-"Bas, ya think Fedor's impressed?", Bas-"NO"!

Now an interview with Zelg, he picks Mousasi to win the tournament.

Featherweights up next.

Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Round 1- Both fighters come out and some nice boxing from both fighters. Now a beautiful left hook-right straight combo drops Tokoro to the ground. Yamamoto smells blood and jumps on Tokoro, but Tokoro recovers fast and now has Yamamoto in rubber guard. A stall in the action now as both fighters lobby for position. Tokoro goes for an armbar, but Yamamoto escapes and the fighters are back on their feet now. Yamamoto dancing around and getting cocky as he lands a jab. Yamamoto is dropping his hands, taunting Tokoro and he lands another nice jab. Inside low kick finds its mark for Yamamoto. Yamamoto lands a decent flying knee. Tokoro comes back with a nice body kick followed by a one-two. The two fighters clinch and Tokoro goes for a Flying armbar, but ends up pulling guard. Some scrambling and Yamamoto pops back to his feet and the two look to exchange punches again. Tokoro lands some hard punches with a left-right combo to the the chin. Yamamoto is landing his jab at will. Tokoro trys a flip kick, but ends up pulling guard.
MMA Post scores the first round Yamamoto 10-9.

Round 2- Another jab from Yamamoto, this one snaps Tokoro's head back. Tokoro's nose is bloodied up good. Tokoro again trys a flip kick, but again gets guard and goes for an armbar but Yamamoto defends. The ref stops the action to take a look at Tokoro, who now has a mouse under his eye. The action resumes and Yamamoto gets a single-leg to secure his first takedown of the fight. Not much doing on the ground and Yamamoto simply stands up. The fighters are back to the ground with Yamamoto in Tokoro's guard. With 2 minutes left, Tokoro reverses and gets an arm. He has it locked, but can't break the grip of Yamamoto to fully secure the hold. Yamamoto defends all the way to the end of the fight. Really good scrap, but Yamamoto should win it easily and he does.
Winner- Yamamoto(Unanimous Decision)


Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Round 1- Funaki attempts a spinning back kick, but is taken down in the process. Funaki gets a leg and rolls over. Funaki has a heel hook, Minowa is trying for the same move. Funaki gets an inverted heel hook and it is brutal looking as he twists Minowa's foot almost completely around and Minowa is forced to tap just 53 seconds in, Ouch! Bas rutten points out the huge mistake Minowa made wearing shoes against someone like Funaki.
Winner- Funaki(Submission: Inverted Heel Hook)

A break in the action as HDNet shows a nice piece on Eddie Alvarez.

Hey, Fedor is now walking to the ring! Possibly to announce a New Year's match-up? Fedor says he wants to practice the Gold Medalist Judo winner Ishii. Bas and Kenny talk about how they would want to see Fedor fight the winner of Overeem/Crocop, but why would Fedor even mention Ishii? It seems like that fight is probably in the works for New Year's.


Hayato Sakurai vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Round 1- Front kick and spinning back fist attempt misses for Sakurai. Hironaka lands some nice low kicks. The fighters clinch and Hironaka secures a takedown. Hironaka lobbying for position, postures up, but falls back into half guard. The fighters scramble back to their feet. Hard low kick scores for Sakurai. Some uneventful punching exchanges. Sakurai lands a nice left straight and follows up with another nice low kick. A front kick to the chin lands for Sakurai and another good low kick scores. Another really hard low kick for Sakurai. Sakurai is controlling the stand-up and lands another hard low kick. The low kicks are starting to really hurt Hironaka. The fighters clinch now and after a stall the ref re-starts the action. Sakurai loses balance and falls to the canvas. He gets the guard now, Hironaka throwing punches, but nothing significant. Hironaka stands-up and stomps his opponent on the chin(ahh back to the good old Pride days), but Hironaka just gets a warning for it. Sakurai lands a good liver punch and another one, Bas is loving it. Some good front kicks to the gut for Sakurai land and the round ends.
MMA Post scores round 1 for Sakurai 10-9.

Round 2- Hironaka shoots in and secures a double-leg takedown. The fighters are in the corner and the ref moves them to the centers. Sakurai scrambles up as Hironaka goes for a Gulliontine, but Sakurai easily escapes. The fighters on their feet again and Sakurai lands another low kick. Some good straight punches land for Sakurai and some good counters by Hironaka now. Sakurai landing some good combos now to the head of Hironaka and lands 2 good knees. Huge left hook from Sakurai lands flush and drops Hironaka to the ground! Sakurai pounces and is looking for the finish, but there's not enough time left and the bell sounds as he lands some nice ground punches. Sakurai all the way.
Winner- Sakurai(Unanimous Decision)


Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Masanori Tonooka
Round 1- Akiyama in the full Gi, nothing doing as the fighters feel each other out for the first minute. Akiyama lands a short left hook, Tonooka swings wildly. Akiyama gets a body lock and takes the fight to the floor, passes right away into side mount. Nothing happening in side mount, Akiyama goes for an armbar, but switches posiitions and now has his opponent in full mount. Goes for another armbar, but to the suprise of the Bas and Kenny and myself he escapes back to his feet. Akiyama quickly takes it back down with a nice trip. Now he has the armbar and the overmatched Tonooka is forced to tap with 3:33 left in the first round.
Winner- Akiyama(Submission: Armbar)


Shinya Aoki vs. Todd Moore
Round 1- Some strikes from both fighters don't land. They clinch and Aoki jumps on Moore's back and goes for a rear-naked-choke, they fall to the canvas and Aoki has his hips locked up and pulls off a neck crank that forces the tap from Moore. I have never seen something like that before, I've seen positions like that, the fighter always twists out of it. Aoki prevented the hips from twisting.
Winner- Aoki(Submission: Neck Crank)


Crocop vs. Overeem coming up. Kenny Rice says its possible the winner fights Fedor on New Year's Eve. Fedor gets in the ring and gives flowers to both fighters.

Mirko Crocop vs Alistair Overeem
Round 1- Good staredown and here we go. Overeem looks huge. Both fighters circle, crocop lands a inside low kick. They clinch and Overeem throws Crocop to the canvas, wow. Working in Crocop's guard, and Crocop is cut above his left eye. Overeem landing some good strikes from the top. Ref stops to check the cut, its small and restarts it on the ground. The fighters come back to the feet and Crocop lands a hard liver kick and follows up with a high kick that misses and Overeem makes him pay for it and puts him on his back with a trip takedown. Overeem is doing damage to Crocop from top position with body and head punches. Huge hammer fist lands for Overeem. A little stall and the ref stands them up, Overeem lands a hard knee to the body, Crocop complaining it was low, but ref says fight on. They clinch and Overeem is connecting with knees to the body. Knee to the groin does land this time and there is a momentary stoppage. The action resumes and they clinch again and another knee to the groin from Overeem. Crocop doesn't look like he wants to continue, he's laying flat on the ground. He was certainly getting beat up badly before the groin shots, but yep they just called it a no contest. Well this sucks, especially with Kenny Rice now spurting out every minute that Fedor will fight the winner.

I'll say this, Crocop didn't look very good even before the groin shots, but who knows, one high kick later in the fight and just like that he's Crocop again.

Alistair gets the mic and apologizes for the groin shots and says he's number 1 in DREAM and he'll fight anybody.

The final fight of the night coming up.


Middleweight Grand Prix Final- Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Round 1- Both fighters tentative early, Mousasi looks like he really doesn't want this fight to go to the ground(with good reason). A jab scores for Mousasi. Jacare goes for a takedown, but misses the legs momentarily, recovers and picks Mousasi up and slams him down to the canvas. Mousasi trying to work his way back to his feet, but ends up securing half-guard. Jacare stands over Mousasi and rains down some punches, but Mousasi lands a devastating upkick that knocks Jacare out cold! Wow!! The replay shows he was out cold before he ever hit the floor.
Winner- Mousasi(KO Upkick)

Gegard Mousasi is the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Congratulations to Mousasi.

Good event, I wish the Crocop/Alistair fight wouldv'e had a real ending, but I can't complain because the event as a whole was exciting.

Thanks to those who stayed up late with me!!

Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson to be Coaches for "The Ultimate Fighter 9"

The Sun is reporting that the most likely coaches for the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team USA vs. Team UK", will be middleweight contenders Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. Bisping, the UFC's popular British star, will have to beat Chris Leben at UFC 89 first.

The UFC have not yet offered Bisping the coach's role on TUF 9 because he is scheduled to fight Chris Leben at UFC 89 at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena on October 18.

But SunSport understands Dana White will immediately hand the British star a contract to appear on the show if he overcomes Leben next month.

It is believed Dan Henderson will coach the US team, with the TUF 9 finale featuring him in a clash for the No1 middleweight contender's spot against Bisping, which could take place in December next year.

If this comes to fruition then whoever wins the finale fight would probably get a shot at Middleweight champ Anderson Silva, but of course alot can happen and this is a long ways away.

Nate and Nick Diaz Launch into Tirade at UFC Fight Night 15 Post Presser

The Diaz boys are at it again.

From Sports Illustrated

“In what was a baffling and undoubtedly rare moment for the media, Nate Diaz was short of salacious quotes about his latest win and opponent Josh Neer. Diaz’s time was limited in dropping four-letter bombs. Why? Because Nate had noly taken his seat in front of reporters at the post-fight press conference when his older brother Nick launched into a tirade that disrupted the interview and left the UFC staff with the unenviable task of keeping the Diaz clan from causing a scene. Good luck with that one. Nate abandoned the press conference as his brother shouted profanities at no one in particular, and together they took their rant into the hallway. Yes, the notorious potty-mouthed pair struck again. Maybe this was Nick’s way paying his family back for their feud with the Noons’ at EliteXC on Showtime in June. All about reciprocities in the Diaz household.”

Hopefully a video will surface soon and I'll post it.

(Props MMANews.com)

Affliction and Golden Boy Partnering Up and Frankly, I Don't Give a Damn!

MMA Weekly has the worthless scoop.

Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio on Saturday confirmed that his company has entered into an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, the boxing promotion led by Oscar De La Hoya. The two will co-promote a hybrid evening of boxing and mixed martial arts to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Jan. 17.

“It’s very good news,” Atencio told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s good for the company, and it’s good for the sport.”

Already confirmed for the fight card is Fedor Emelianenko, who was forced off Affliction’s second card originally scheduled for Oct. 11 due to a chip fracture in his right hand. An opponent for the Russian has not yet been named.

Well, and people still wonder why Dana White and the UFC continue to dominate the market, maybe its because other promotions continue to show unbelievable stupidity. Yep, you know what this means, we will be waiting through boxing matches to see Fedor fight.

I just don't understand who in their right mind would think this is a good idea, this means Affliction head honcho Tom Atencio leap frogs Monte Cox to become MMA's premiere douchebag. Congratulations to Tom for jumping the rankings in record time. I guess the simple fact that the majority of boxing fans hate MMA and vice versa never entered the tiny brains of anyone involved in this soon to be colossal failure. Please UFC, pry Fedor away from this god awful train wreck.

UFC Ruling Pay-Per-View in 2008

The UFC is beating the WWE and HBO in PPV numbers for 2008 so far. Adam Swift goes over the numbers on "Inside MMA" in the video below.


UFC 89 and UFC 90 are solid cards, but they probably won't do much more than the average of 420,000 buys. On the other hand, UFC 91, with the huge match-up of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar, plus Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva 3 and Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson may break UFC PPV records.

Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson 3 Likely for UFC 91

The long awaited third match in the Rampage vs Wandy saga looks like its finally gonna happen. MMACanada.net has the scoop.

Sources have told us at MMACanada.net that Rampage Jackson will fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 91 which is headlined by Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 15th in Las Vegas. This will mark the third fight between Jackson and Silva since last meeting twice in the PRIDE organization. Both fighters have changed their training around since leaving PRIDE and this will be one fight that has "FIGHT OF THE YEAR" written all over it

UFC 91 is looking like a huge card that may shatter pay-per-view records. The big question in this match-up is can Jackson finally defend the clinch of the Brazilian.

Fedor Emelianenko Will Fight on New January Affliction 2 Card. Tito Ortiz A Possible Opponent?

My speculation of Russian heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko possibly fighting on the rescheduled Affliction 2 "Day of Reckoning" has been confirmed by Affliction COO Michael Cohen. Cohen talked to NBC Sports about the development.

Affliction COO Michael Cohen told NBCSports.com that the company is expecting to run the show in January, and that they would also make a major announcement in the next two weeks that would “change the dynamics of mixed martials arts. Not just nationally, but globally.”

The October event was initially expected to feature a main event with current WAMMA champ Fedor Emelianenko against Arlovski, but the former broke his hand in defeating Tim Sylvia and would not have been ready in time for October, necessitating an opponent switch.

Cohen said that Emelianenko will fight on the new January card, but an opponent has not yet been decided.

“It is to be determined,” he said. “We are considering changing the combatants. We have not finalized that at this time. That is as a result of the issues to be revealed at the announcement.”

Some are speculating that a Fedor vs. Tito Ortiz fight could be the big announcement, but I would lean towards just the Tito signing or possibly a merger with another promotion.

Affliction 2 "Day of Reckoning" for October 11th Canceled, Rescheduled for January 2009

(Photo Props MMA Mania)

Affliction's second MMA event "Day of Reckoning" has been canceled for October 11th, but apparently has been rescheduled for sometime in January 2009.

MMA Rated broke the story earlier

MMARated.com has learned that the second Affliction show scheduled for October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been cancelled.

The show was set to feature a main event heavyweight eliminator between Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski.

As of this morning, the event was taken off the Thomas & Mack Center's schedule.

Additionally, Loretta Hunt confirmed the rescheduling on Sherdog.

The Oct. 11 Affliction event scheduled for the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas has been postponed, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer confirmed Wednesday to Sherdog.com.

Affliction contacted Kizer on Wednesday morning to inform him that the event would be moved to a January date at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Advertising for the Oct. 11 pay-per-view event had already begun, including in New York, where scheduled headliners Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) and Josh Barnett (Pictures) were featured on a billboard in Times Square.

Arlovski’s management said they had not been contacted by Affliction with the cancellation as of this morning, and were “shocked” and “extremely disappointed” by the news.

Some disappointing news for sure, but does this extra time clear Fedor Emelianenko to fight on the card again?

UPDATED: Evan Tanner Dead at Age 37

From The Imperial Valley Press

UPDATE:CAGE POTATO CONFIRMS DEATH FROM HIS MANAGER

Hayner said that Tanner had gone into the desert on a motorcycle expedition and had run out of gas. Tanner was attempting to walk out of the desert, Hayner said, but apparently didn’t realize how far away from civilization he was and died of exposure in the triple-digit heat. Tanner’s empty campsite was spotted Sunday, and an aerial search located his body earlier this afternoon.

“Here was a famous UFC fighter who didn’t have enough food to eat at times. I’d call him just to make sure he had food in his fridge, but he never let it get him down. Starting over was kind of a theme in his life. He hardly ever lived in the same place more than six months,” Hayner said. “He moved out to Vegas and then found it too shallow for him, so he moved out to Oceanside and had a great place, he was learning to surf, and he was really enjoying his day-to-day life.”

A body was discovered in the Palo Verde mountain area on Monday, said Lt. George Moreno from Imperial County Sheriff's Department.

The Palo Verde mountain area is 60 miles northeast of Brawley.

Authorities have not confirmed if the body is that of missing mixed martial arts fighter, Evan Tanner, who had fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Tanner, 37, has been missing since last weekend.

Tanner's friends from Oceanside, where Tanner resides, had been texting him without reply since Wednesday before they reported him missing on Friday.

On Sunday, a campsite was discovered in the Clapp Springs area of the Palo Verde mountains. Tanner's motorcycle was found at the campsite. A body was found today when a sheriffs deputy was flying around the general location of the campsite.

The Imperial County deputy coroner is being flown in to retrieve and identify body.

This is what Tanner had to say on his last blog entry.

I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life. I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment. One more week. I think one more week, and I’ll be ready to go.”

We can only hope it isn't true, but if it is, it is terrible news in the MMA community.

10 Things Learned From UFC 88

10. Kurt Pellegrino is never in a boring fight, you gotta love "Batman" he gives it his all every time out. Anytime he fights, no matter the opponent, its worth tuning in.

9. I thought the judges called the Dong Hyun Kim vs Matt Brown the right way. It was close, but I thought Kim won rounds 1 and 3.

8. Rousimar Palhares' jiu-jitsu is surely world class, you could sense the danger for Henderson every time it went to the ground, it reminded me of Nogueira's early Pride fights, except Nogueira always found a way to lock in the submission. Palhares still has to learn the "Mixed" in Mixed Martial Arts. Some are complaining that he actually won the fight, are you kidding me, how can you win a fight if all you're doing is going for takedown after takedown with most being stuffed by Hendo?

7. Dan Henderson had a game plan and stuck to it completely. A classic example of a great wrestler using his skills in reverse.

6. Nate Marquardt suprised me alot. I was really high on Kampmann winning this fight to the point that I put some money on him. I would love to see Marquardt get a rematch with Anderson Silva, but I would still pick against him.

5. Matt Hamill was disappointing. I really thought he would make this a great fight with Franklin, but he had a bad game plan and he gassed.

4. Rich Franklin looked as good as ever and he immediately becomes a top 5 light heavyweight in my opinion. If Anderson stays at Middleweight now, he has a real chance to make some noise in the division. Somewhere Bas Rutten was watching this fight and screaming at the television in joy after that brutal Liver kick by "Ace".

3. Rashad Evans will fight Forrest Griffin in December for the title, its been all but confirmed by Dana White and company and he will win the title against Forrest. Before this fight I re watched Evans' last 2 fights against Bisping and Ortiz and you could tell he had some heavy hands, but it was the speed that was too much for the Iceman.

2. Chuck Liddell needs a new approach to fighting. His hands low, chin too high approach is catching up to him. I just don't understand why he went into this fight thinking it was a boxing match or something. I mean the guy has lethal legs and he didn't even try any kind of kick. A new camp and a new mindset and Chuck will be just fine.

1. Lyoto Machida will be your light heavyweight champion in 2009. If he gets a shot at Rashad or Forrest he will win decisively.

UFC 88 Post Fight Video Interviews

Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans


Rich Franklin and Matt Hamill


Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt

UFC 88 Weigh-Ins Video

Its Official: Randy Couture is Back in the UFC and will Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com breaks the news, which happened at the UFC 91 teleconference. If any audio or video comes available I will post it.

From Thomas Gerbasi

If we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never say never. This old adage was solidified once again today, as UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract. But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.

In addition BloodyElbow has many details of the announcement.

- Dana White: Brock vs. Couture will be "the biggest fight in UFC history".

- Dana White on competitors and co-promotion: ": These guys are dying on the vine. You’re not under contract if the company’s not in business anymore.

- Dana White: "I would be horrified if Affliction's still in business in January."

- Couture: would rather fight Fedor, but fight with Brock "a step in the right direction"

- Couture says UFC and he have "cleared the air"; "comfortable with way things stand right now"

- Couture says he'll weigh approximately 225lbs for this fight.

- Dana White says he doesn't know if Couture is the richest fighter in the UFC.

- Dana White: Nogueira is probably thrilled Couture is back.

- Dana White: research was done and proves Brock vs. Couture will be biggest fight in UFC history.

- Couture: re-signing with the UFC to get Fedor is "path of least resistance"

- Dana White: the heavyweight division "is looking pretty damn good now"

- Couture: MMA is the combative sport for this generation

- Couture: how can you overlook a guy [Brock Lesnar] that size?

- Dana White: over the next year we are going to see some really great heavyweight fights.

- Randy and Dana: feels good to have this problem resolved; "to see a little sunshine for a change is pretty nice"

- Dana White: "I like fighting with Tito"

- Dana White suggests Fedor might have to be not under contract for the UFC to sign a fight with him. He didn't say it was required, but he alluded to it.

- Dana White: Affliction is losing "shitloads" of money.

- Couture: biggest part of my decision was communicating with Lorenzo and Dana that I was feeling. Second was frustration with legal system. Tired of throwing money with lawyers with no end in sight. Best place for me to fight is a cage, not a court room.

- Dana White: "I'm like a giddy little girl right now"

- Dana White: "It drives me insane when Fedor is called the best p4p fighter in the world." If Fedor is the best, he has to come to the UFC eventually.

- Dana White: people don't know this, but there was bad blood between Brock and Herring. Herring was insulted he had to fight him.

- Brock Lesnar: "not a lot of people get this opportunity".

- Brock Lesnar: "who gives a shit about Fedor Emelianenko?" I'm sick and tired of sitting on the phone listening about Fedor. "Who fucking gives a shit?"

- Dana White: "UFC Countdown" for this fight could be two or three part series.

- Dana White: this is where all the best heavyweights are. Randy Couture is relevant; Fedor is not.

- Couture: I can't spend any time worrying about losing to Lesnar and losing luster on a fight with Fedor.

- Dana White: rivals can have whichever fighters we cut.

- Dana White: Werdum is still in the mix.

- Dana White: expecting 1million to 1.5 million PPV buys for this fight. It's a new deal: 3-fight deal.

- Dana White: I would not sign a one-fight deal with Fedor.

- Dana White: all court action is dead.

- Dana White: Randy Couture is the guy everyone wants to fight. Fedor is completely irrelevant.

- Couture: Mark Cuban wants what's best for me. He just wanted to facilitate what I wanted. Now the best path is to make the fight with Fedor happen in the UFC.

Some amazing news for MMA fans, hopefully they are serious about making the Fedor fight happen. Does this willingness to work with Couture and possibly Fedor come from Lorenzo Fertitta now working full-time with UFC or did Dana White finally come to his senses?