Rashad Evans in the Broadcast Booth at UFC 96

Saturday night's UFC 96 main event between Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine is a fight with strong implications on the UFC's light heavyweight division.

Jackson lost the UFC light heavyweight championship in a close fight with Forrest Griffin, then bounced back by knocking out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92. Jardine has been on a roller coaster ride going 3-2 in his past five fights, most recently winning a split decision over Brandon Vera.

Jardine's teammate, UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, will have a premium seat when Jackson and Jardine fight. He will be Octagonside, joining UFC broadcasters Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, to do commentary on the fight. As well he should. The fight will determine his next opponent.

If Jackson wins, UFC president Dana White has said that he will fight Evans, getting a shot at gaining the belt that he lost to Forrest Griffin back. If Jardine wins, No. 2 ranked Lyoto Machida will be next up for Rashad.

Dana White's UFC 96 Video Blog (Episode 4)

Dana takes viewers with him to the Arnold Fitness Expo and behind the scenes at the UFC 96 weigh-ins.

Frank Mir Tells BodyBuilding.com May 23 Date is Off

Will he? Won't he? Well, it appears he won't.

Frank Mir did an interview with Bodybuilding.com at the Arnold Sports Expo on Friday saying that he will not fight Brock Lesnar on May 23. He is hopeful that they can still fight in the summertime, but it now appears the UFC 98 is out of the picture.

Unless of course, Mir changes his mind.

Breaking Down the UFC 205-Pound Division

(Courtesy of of ESPN 1100.)

Dana White's UFC 96 Video Blog (Episode 3)

UFC Video Game Preview: Jardine vs. Jackson

UFC "Primetime" Plans Depend on Jardine/Jackson

The UFC's Spike TV special, "UFC Primetime," helped propel UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 into one of the most successful cards in the promotion's history. The series averaged just over three quarters of a million viewers over the course of three episodes, costing a reported 1.7 million to produce. The live gate, just shy of $4.3 million, made its mark as the fifth highest box office in Nevada's MMA history.

At the post-fight press conference for 94, White said he enjoyed the experience and would do it again, up to three times a year.

With one of the specials in the can, reporters at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 96 asked White if Lesnar vs. Mir 2 would get the "Primetime" treatment. The first meeting of Goliaths did a live gate of approximately $2.4 million, and drew a reported 650,000 pay per view buys.

The answer was maybe, maybe not.

"It's going to depend," said White. "I've got to see what's going to happen this weekend."

White seemed more keen on a scenario where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson emerge victorious this weekend.

"If this weekend it ends up being Rampage and Rashad, I'll probably do primetime on that fight."

But first, Jackson needs to get through Jardine, and as White said earlier, that's not an easy task.

(Watch the UFC 96 pre-fight press conference.)

White Confirms Nogueira Had Staff Before UFC 92 Fight

There's no easy way to say it: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira got his ass kicked by Frank Mir.

The 32-year-old Brazilian did not look like the fighter that, save for one Russian, lorded over one of the best collections of heavyweight talent in history at Pride Fighting Championships, nor the man who came from behind to win the UFC interim heavyweight championship last year. He looked sluggish, out of step, and sadly, old.

But there was a reason for it, says UFC president Dana White.

White maintains the former champ was suffering from a serious case of staph infection going into the Dec. 27 bout.

"I think Nog had staph real bad like six days before that fight," White told reporters on Thursday.

Though he didn't have blood tests to prove his theory, his eyes gave him all the evidence he needed.

"He had these things all over his body," continued White. "I can't explain what they looked like."

Since the fight, Nogueira has remained silent on the circumstances leading up to the fight. Last month, he underwent knee surgery to repair an injury that also hampered his preparation for Mir, according to trainers.

Last week, Nogueira accepted his first bout since the loss, a meeting with former heavyweight champ Randy Couture at UFC 101 in August. Sources say he will do most of his preparation for the fight in Los Angeles.

(Watch the UFC 96 pre-fight press conference.)

ESPN'S MMA Live Previews UFC 96, Reviews WEC 39

Quinton Jackson Talks Training at Wolfslair, UFC 96, & Wanderlei

(Courtesy of Steve Cofield of ESPN 1100 and Cagewriter.com)

Dana White on Jardine's Chances (Updated)

Following the pre-fight press conference for this weekend's UFC 95 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, UFC President Dana White answered questions for members of the media.

In recent days, White has voiced his disapproval on main eventer Keith Jardine's stance that friend, training partner, and light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was off limits if he won on Saturday.

From the sound of it, though, White believed Jardine had a good chance of putting him in an awkward position.

"Jardine is a tough, durable guy," he said. "He's very unorthodox, and his style is pretty much the style that Forrest beat Rampage with. He's very good a kicks to the legs and kicks to the body.

"Chuck Liddell is one of my friends. For twelve or thirteen years I've been to fights with him all over the world. I've never seen his body look like it looked after the Keith Jardine fight. I don't think you guys saw it because he was back int he locker room. His whole body from under his arm pit to below the legs, he was covered in bruises. Jardine can kick and Rampage is susceptible to the leg kick and body kick."

In an earlier conference call for the fight, Jackson bristled at those who thought the same fate would befall him.

"I'm really glad that people think that I have a low kick defense, because I used to be a kick boxer so that's how I trained in boxing," he said. "And I didn't work on my kickboxing anymore. So now we're just working on everything. I'm kind of happy if you think I have a low kick defense problem."

White said Jardine's style made him impossible to count out. Going back to their first meeting at the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he expected big things out of the Albuquerque resident. And interestingly enough, it wasn't Jardine's kicks that drew attention.

"I knew coming into the fight that he was a tough guy," said White. "I had heard a lot of buzz about him before he even came in. What I had heard a lot about was his wrestling, his ground game. Obviously he's been working on his stand up. He's really an unorthodox fighter - the way he punches and kicks, the way he moves - He's a tough guy to fight. That's why I think for bookies to make him a 3 to 1 dog, he's a live dog. That's a good bet.

On Saturday, fans will see how many bruises Jackson walks away with, and, if White has a future as a bookie.

Countdown to UFC 96 Airs Tonight on Spike

Tonight at 11pm PST/EST, the showdown between Keith Jardine and Quinton Jackson gets a little more light shed on it when Spike airs the latest edition of its "Countdown" series, "Countdown to UFC 96."

The show goes behind-the-scenes to reveal the each fighter's preparation for the March 7 fight in Columbus, Ohio.

The event is the UFC's third in Columbus, part of a growing tradition between the fight promotion and bodybuilding expo "Arnold Classic" that takes place this weekend.

According to Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports, the event has sold over 11,000 tickets.

UFC 96 also features a main card of Shane Carwin vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, Matt Brown vs. Pete Sell, Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz, and Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller.

Petruzelli Out, Shamrock vs. Lashley Heads MMA on Roy Jones, Jr. Event

PRESS RELEASE:

Ken “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Shamrock battles Bobby Lashley in the main event of the mixed-martial-arts portion of the March 21st pro boxing/MMA hybrid pay-per-view event at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Fla.

Eight-time world boxing champion Roy Jones, Jr. (52-5, 38 KOs) headlines the show, presented by Square Ring Promotions in association with Hirsch Borao Boxing and the Pensacola Civic Center, against 4-time world title challenger Omar Sheika (27-8, 18 KOs).

Shamrock-Lashley, featuring an intriguing match-up between an MMA icon (Shamrock) and the hottest new combat fighter (Lashley), replaces the originally announced MMA main event featuring Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli and Doug “Rhino” Marshall because Petruzelli pulled-out due to an injury suffered during training.

“I’ve done a lot of firsts,” Shamrock commented. “I was the first heavyweight champ of MMA and first foreign champ in Japan. This is the first time two champions (Jones and Shamrock) in their individual sports, at this level, will be fighting on the same card – boxing and MMA. I think it’s the way of the future and it’s happening now. Lashley got things going in wrestling and then the WWE. Now he’s in MMA. He’s very good. I think he’s 270-pounds of muscle – quick, explosive and strong. The area he lacks, gound skills, he makes up for with his strength and ability to move on the ground. He can really move on his feet. This isn’t a fat guy laying on his back.”

The unique pro boxing/MMA show is being distributed by Square Ring Promotions, Inc. at 9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in North America on cable and satellite via iNDemand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States, as well as Viewer's Choice, Shaw Cable, Star Choice and Bell TV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

“I am excited to be part of this card alongside Roy Jones, Jr. and Square Ring Promotions,” Lashley said. “I am looking forward to fighting an experienced opponent like Ken Shamrock and showing the fans that Bobby Lashley is a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division. I am going to come out from the opening bell and show Ken Shamrock and the rest of the world that Bobby Lashley is not someone you want to mess with.”

Lion’s Den founder Shamrock (27-13-2, 2 KOs, 23 Submissions), fighting out of San Diego, was the original UFC Superfight and King of the Pancrase MMA champion. Ken dominated the UFC and Pancrase for years, defeating a Who’s Who of MMA stars including Bas Rutten (twice), Masakatsu Funaki (twice), Dan Severn and Kimo Leopoldo (twice), as well as fighting Royce Gracie to a draw.

In 1997, Shamrock joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was a star there for three years, returning to MMA with Pride Fighting Championships until 2002, when he returned to the UFC. An outstanding athlete who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, Ken won his last bout by first-round submission (arm bar) this past February 13 against Ross Clifton.

Lashley (1-0, 1 KO) is a true physical specimen, standing 6-3 and weighing 265 pounds, which helped him become a 3-time NCAA champion (1996-98) and 4-time All-America wrestler at Missouri Valley College. After graduating from college, Bobby joined the U.S. Army and was a 2-time Armed Forces Champion and 2002 Military Games Championship silver medalist.

Two years ago, Lashley became a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar, highlighted at Wrestlemania 23 as a representative of Donald Trump in a bet against WWE president Vince McMahon. Lashley won the match and helped Trump shave McMahon’s head in the ring. Bobby made his MMA debut last December 13, stopping Joshua Franklin only 0.41 into the opening round.

The MMA co-feature pits two world-class grapplers, former IFL heavyweight champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson (13-6, 6 KOs, 4 Submissions) against former UFC title challenger Jeff “The Snowman” Monson (27-8, 2 KOs’ 15 Submissions).

Tickets, priced at $128.00, $103.00, $78.00, $53.00 & $28.00 are on sale and available at all Ticketmaster locations, the Pensacola Civic Center Box Office and ticketmaster.com.

Mark Munoz Talks UFC 96 and Training with Freddie Roach

(Courtesy of Steve Cofield of ESPN 1100 and Cagewriter.com)

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine Video Preview

Sidelnikov Camp Claims Nose Spray Tainted with Steroids

M-1 Global released a statement on Wednesday regarding Kiril Sidelnikov's positive test for Stanozolol on the heels of his losing effort against Paul Buentello at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning."

Representatives from M-1 explained that Sidelnikov had trained outside the M-1 family (Russian Imperial Team) and got himself into trouble there.

"Kirill indicated that during that time away he began to experience complications from a broken nose that he had recently sustained," said the release. "Not wanting to miss any training time leading up to Day of Reckoning,' Kirill followed the advice of a coach not affiliated with M-1 who gave him a nose spray commonly used in Russia to help treat some of his symptoms. It is M-1's belief that the nose spray is what contained the Stanozol.

"For those that are skeptical of this explanation, we believe Kirill's account is true based in large part to his physique. If he had been using large amounts of Stanozol on a regular basis, we believe that the frame of his upper body would have contained leaner muscle that had more definition.

"While we do not believe the use of a nose spray provided Kirill with an unfair competitive advantage, we are obviously very disappointed in his lapse of judgment. Even though it was only a common nose spray that he used to treat an injury, an athlete must take full responsibility for what he puts into his system at all times. While we are not citing youth as an excuse, we feel we need to offer the public an explanation and we attribute the mistake in part to the fact that Kirill is just 20-years of age.

"In spite of our disappointment, Kirill remains a part of the M-1 family and as such, he can continue to count on our support through this turbulent period. While we do not endorse his actions, we stand by him.

"M-1 takes full responsibility for Kirill's actions and we respect the decision of the California State Athletic Commission. The organization would also like to make it clear that we do not condone the use of performance enhancing drugs of any kind and we'd like to hereby apologize to the MMA community for Kirill's indiscretion."

So, there you have it: the smoking nose.

Dana White's UFC 96 Video Blog (Episode 2): The German Press Conference

The latest edition of Dana White's UFC 96 video blog includes a look at the UFC 99 press conference in Germany along with Dana and Lorezno Fertitta spending time with Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, and more.

Strikeforce Deal with Showtime and CBS Worth Millions

Strikeforce is quickly putting the pieces together for its next year of MMA programming on Showtime and CBS. It's been a frantic month for CEO Scott Coker and his small staff as they zero in on dates, venues, and fighters for a possible 16 shows over the next 12 months.

So far, one show is nearly booked, "Shamrock vs. Diaz," which hits the promotion's home base at HP Pavilion on April 11. All but two of the event's main card bouts have been revealed, with a source indicating that former EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler will fight on the card against an unnamed opponent, and terror Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, who also remains without an opponent.

With up to 48 shows to book, that's a lot of work. But according to another source with knowledge of the negotiations between Strikeforce, ProElite, Showtime, and CBS, the deal will prove very lucrative to the San Jose, Calif. promotion.

The source, who chose to remain anonymous, said Strikeforce stands to make $25 million dollars in license fees over the course of its three-year deal with the broadcast network and its premium channel sibling.

A portion of that revenue, first disclosed by an SEC filing by ProElite on Feb. 11 and, according to the source, put in the neighborhood of five percent, will be paid to ProElite Inc. as consideration for the sale of its assets to Strikeforce. The total revenue coming into ProElite coffers could total up to $1.25 million.

Since the sale, the Los Angeles-based company has been mostly silent about its future in MMA promotion. CEO Chuck Champion told SI.com that the company had an existing TV deal with Fox Sports, and planned to nurture its relationship with the remaining active promotion under its umbrella, King of the Cage. But how that relationship would develop, and what shape the restructured company would take, remained unclear.

On March 12, Strikeforce and Showtime will trumpet the upcoming San Jose show with a media day featuring its executives and athletes.

"Baby Fedor" Positive for Steroids; Cabbage Flagged for Pot

Red Devil Sport Club fighter Kiril Sidelnikov, nicknamed "Baby Fedor" for his work with Fedor Emelianenko, was on Tuesday suspended by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for Stanozolol.

Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission, informed the media of the result.

Sidelnikov last completed at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" on Jan. 24 in Anaheim, Calif., losing a lopsided, bloody TKO loss to American Kickboxing heavyweight Paul Buentello.

The Russian is retroactive to the fight and runs through Jan. 18, 2010. He is also fined $2,500.

"The mere presence of Stanozolol in the system constitutes a violation under the new testing procedures for CSAC," said Douglas.

Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, who bailed on his recent fight in Fresno at the Ken Shamrock-promoted "War Gods," got a post-event present he probably didn't want.

The UFC and Rumble on the Rock veteran's pre-fight drug test came back positive for marijuana, registering a staggering 700 ng/mL of the drug in his system. As Douglas earlier told MMAInsider, "anything above 50 ng/mL is a truely active user."

Correira's suspension is retroactive to the missed fight and runs until Aug. 12, 2009. He is also fined $1,000.

Editor's Note: The original report stated Sidelnikov's loss to Buentello as a decision, when in fact it was a TKO (Doctor Stoppage) loss. The article was corrected at 2:20 PST.

Dana White's UFC 96 Video Blog (Episode 1)

Jackson and Jardine on Greasegate

Light heavyweights Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine had different takes on the scandal du jour of greasing allegations against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre by lightweight champ BJ Penn during their UFC 96 conference call.

As a teammate of St. Pierre's, Jardine's thoughts on the matter came as little surprise.

"I think it's pretty silly, actually," he said. "Not too many fights are dominated like that. You never see a high level fight where one guy just completely reaches in and takes the other guy. That's what happened with Georges and BJ. I think they've still got to fight because of the headlines...they've got to save some face with that. So they're trying to make a controversy with the Vaseline which is just silly. Everyone who knows Georges, knows that he would never want to win that way. He's a true competitor and a true athlete."

After initially shying away from the topic, Jackson gave his two cents.

"I've heard of fighters using Vaseline and stuff like that. I never used it. So I don't know. Most my opponents haven't used it. I never witnessed any of my opponents using it.

"Me, I'm the type of fighter, I don't deal with other types. I want to be able to whoop somebody's ass knowing that I whooped their ass because I whooped their ass, not because I needed help whooping their ass. That's the type of ass-whooper I am, you feeling me?"

Jardine And Jackson on Middleweights

Keith Jardine and Quinton Jackson come from different schools of thought when it comes to getting the lay of the MMA land, sharing their thoughts during a recent teleconference for the upcoming UFC 96.

Jardine, along with his Greg Jackson teammates, liked to watch tape and break down opponents, whether they were his or others.

Jackson, on the other hand, watched little tape and relied on his coaches to provide him the Cliff's Notes of his opponents' strategy.

Both have been successful, but when it came down to the 185lb. division, and how hot prospect Demian Maia fit into the title picture, they didn't have much to say.

"You know, to tell you the truth, I don't even know," said Jardine. "But if you guys saw Nate Marquardt the other night, ever since he lost to Anderson Silva he's a different person. He's just been taking apart everybody he's fought. He just beat up a really good Wilson Gouveia. I think that he's ready for that title shot."

It was clear middleweight's weren't Jackson's thing.

"I don't even know who Demian Maia is," he said.

Jardine was quick to note where Marquardt fell short in his UFC 73 fight with Silva, though.

"As I saw it, he was too concerned with getting that takedown," he said. "He didn't need to do that. I think at the beginning of the fight he was doing all right on his speed. And he stepped up trying to get takedowns. I think the way he approaches fights, the way he attacks, the way he relaxes and attacks at the same time, it would be a far different fight."

Jackson, who lost his light heavyweight crown to Forrest Griffin, one of Jardine's greatest upset victories, said if given a choice between facing the TUF 1 winner or current champ (and Jardine teammate) Rashad Evans, he'd likely take on Evans.

So much for second chances.

Gabriel Gonzaga Seminar In Columbus, OH

UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga and his head coach, Marco Alvan, will head to Columbus, OH to get ready for his weekend showdown against undefeated prospect, Shane Carwin. Before the fight starts, Gonzaga and his coach will first conduct a seminar at the Lashley Jiu-Jitsu Academy on Wednesday, March 4th.

Gonzaga and Alvan will be in attendance for autographs and a MMA & No-Gi seminar for those who attend the session.

The seminar will also include an open training session with Gonzaga for his final preparation for his fight on March 7th against Shane Carwin.

For more information on the seminar visit www.lijja.com or call 740-398-5579.

Marcus Galvao Checks Out Okay After Scary KO

In just :18 seconds, Marcus Galvao's night at the WEC event in Corpus Christi, TX ended, but it was much scarier following the fight as the Brazilian was visibly shaken after the knockout and taken out of the cage on a stretcher.

It appeared in the cage that Galvao's body was seizing from the effects of the knockout, but following the event MMA Insider was able to ascertain that the fighter was okay and released from the hospital.

Galvao was taken to a local medical facility where he was given a CAT scan as a precaution following the KO, but all results came back negative and he was released before the post fight press conference had even ended.

After a frightful time in the cage, it's good news that Galvao was able to leave on his own and suffer no serious damage from the knockout.

Johny Hendricks is Not Just a Wrestler

ESPN 1100's Steve Cofield interviewed Johny Hendricks at Xtreme Couture to discuss his preparations for WEC 39.