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.)

Did Dollaway tap?

C.B. Dollaway defeated Mike Massenzio at UFC 92 by TKO, but was stunned on his feet and found himself in a guillotine choke early in the fight that some thought he tapped out to. The video is inconclusive and so was Dollaway when asked about the alleged tap.

"I don't really remember that part of the fight," said the Arizona Combat Sports trained fighter. "Apparently I got hit with a big shot. I remember taking him down and I kind of came to when I was in the guillotine. I just popped my head out. I don't remember tapping."

In the end, it doesn't really matter much. There wasn't enough of a tap for the referee to notice and stop the fight. Meanwhile, Dollaway was able to gain mount and drop down enough blows for the fight to be stopped, earning him the TKO win.

Mall Cop/MMA Fan Kevin James Breaks Down UFC 92

ESPN's MMA Live Episode 34: UFC 92 Recap

Rashad Forgets "Nipple tweak" at UFC 92

Every time you see a Greg Jackson trained fighter enter the Octagon, you can expect to see them tweak their nipples before entering combat. It's become a tradition, and since it's inception, it has yielded strong results for Jackson's fighters in the UFC.

Heading into UFC 92, Rashad Evans prepared for the biggest fight of his career taking on Forrest Griffin for the UFC light heavyweight title. But as Bruce Buffer introduced the fighters, Evans forgot to perform the ritual.

According to a superstitious teammate, that's why Evans lost the first two rounds against Griffin. "I didn't do the nipple tweak," said the UFC light heavyweight titleholder. "Jardine pointed it out. He said, 'Know what? I think that's maybe why you started off slow, man. You didn't get the nipple tweak in.'

"That's exactly what I get," added Evans. "I realized after the fight started that I didn't do the nipple tweak. I was like, man, what's going on? I lost my mojo."

VIDEO: Wanderlei Silva Talks Loss to Rampage

Wanderlei Silva spoke with RawVegas.tv following his loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 92.

FOX News Fight Game at UFC 92

FOX News Fight Game's Mike Straka talks with Dana White, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Kim Couture, and more about UFC 92 at the event.

Dana White's UFC 92 Video Blog - Episode 5

In the final edition of Dana White's UFC 92 video blog, he goes backstage for the fights that took place on Saturday night. The event featured two title changes...Rashad Evans winning the light heavyweight title and Frank Mir taking home the heavyweight crown.

Forrest Griffin Suffers Broken Hand In Loss

MMAWeekly.com was on the scene at UFC 92 and following the light heavyweight title fight on Saturday night, now former champion Forrest Griffin left the arena to head to the hospital and get treated for a broken hand.

It is unknown at this time at what point in the fight Griffin suffered the broken hand, but he had mentioned in his post fight comments that he was heading to the hospital.

It was assumed at the time the trip was for a possible concussion with the TKO suffered to end the fight.

Griffin looked very good in his first title defense, but fell victim to a vicious ground and pound attack from new champion, Rashad Evans, who won his first UFC title while keeping his record perfect in the process.

Dana White's UFC 92 Blog - Episode 4

Dana White's UFC 92 Blog - Episode 3

The third installment of Dana White's UFC 92 blog from Dec. 24 and 25. In this episode Dana takes viewers through a workout in the gym, Christmas morning at the White household, and the UFC Christmas dinner provided for the fighters and their camps and family that were away from home during the holiday.

UFC 92 Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans Video Preview

ESPN's MMA Live Episode 33: UFC 92 Preview

ESPN's MMA Live previews Saturday night's UFC 92 featuring Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir, and Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson.

White's Message To Dean Lister: Let Your Hands Go

UFC middleweight Dean Lister has always been known as a ground ace, but his performances in MMA have often been less than exciting. Despite an impressive outing against Jeremy Horn at the season seven finale of "The Ultimate Fighter," Lister has largely dropped off the radar screen of potential contenders in the 185 lb. division.

In an business environment where fighters are more frequently getting cut from the organization after one bad performance, UFC president Dana White had this to say about Lister, who faces Yushin Okami this Saturday at UFC 92.

"He needs to get in there and let his (expletive) go," White told reporters after a press conference for the event. "He needs to go in there and actually try and finish a fight. Dean's a talented guy, he's been fighting in mixed martial arts for a long time, and he needs to go in there and show it."

It's inevitable that Okami and Lister will hit the mat come Saturday, and Okami's wrestling prowess would seem tailor made for Lister's submission ability. The danger with both fighters is an excess of respect. The way White paints it, a stalemate could be bad for their careers.

Dana White's UFC 92 Blog - Episode 2

The second installment of Dana White's UFC 92 blog. In this episode Dana meets with several of the UFC 92 fighters, takes viewers to the UFC 92 press conference as he meets with the media, tours his office showing some of the gifts he's received from various people, and more.

Is Rashad Willing to Slug It Out With Forrest?

Everyone knows Rashad Evans for his obvious strength in wrestling, as displayed in most of his fights, but most prominently against Tito Ortiz. Coming off of his stunning knockout of Chuck Liddell, will the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 2 chance slugging it out with UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 on Saturday night?

He sure might.

"When you have a major wrestling background, you learn to use it as a defense. So you know you're not going to get taken down by somebody and you can take a little bit more chances on your feet and slug it out," said Evans.

"The hard part is just getting yourself to be comfortable enough to stand up and throw the blows. Sometimes you throw a couple of shots and someone catches you with one and the next thing you know is you want to wrap them up. You've just got to ignore that instinct and you've just got to just fight through it."

So in the first championship battle between Ultimate Fighter winners, will we see an epic battle similar to the Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin fight that launched The Ultimate Fighter franchise?

Who knows? But we'll find out Saturday night at UFC 92.

UFC vs Pride Rules: Rampage Says, "A Fight Is A Fight."

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson takes on "The Axe Murderer," Wanderlei Silva, at UFC 92 Saturday night in Las Vegas. It will be their third fight but their first under Unified Rules. Their two previous bouts took place under Pride rules with ten-minute first rounds, yellow cards, stomps, soccer kicks, knees to the head on the ground, no elbows, and took place in a square ring.

This time around, they will compete for three, five-minute rounds, inside the world famous Octagon with no knees to the head on the ground, no stomps, no soccer kicks, but they are allowed to use elbows.

Seems like a big difference, but Jackson doesn't think so. "A fight is a fight," says the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder.

"Wanderlei is a warrior... Wanderlei fought in the UFC before he fought in Pride," he pointed out. "I don't think it makes a difference. A fight is a fight. I'll fight Wanderlei in a phone booth if I had to.

"It don't matter what the rules are or what the advantages is. A fight is a fight," Jackson added. "I do like the Pride rules, and I do like some of the UFC rules. I wish that, if there was a perfect world for me, I wish we could mix them up and have both rules. That would be cool."

At the end of the day, Rampage commented, "I'm just thinking about staying within the rules and having a good fight."

Cage Rage Champ Talks Cage Rage and EliteXC Demise

Mostapha Al Turk, who makes his UFC debut against Cheick Kongo at UFC 92, spoke with MMAWeekly.com about the demise of ProElite and subsequently, Cage Rage.

"It's always sad to see any organization sort of come to their knees. But hey, you know, there's not one person or one organization that's bigger than the sport itself. And where as one door closes, another one opens for anybody," said the former Cage Rage British heavyweight titleholder. "I'm disappointed to see that happen for Cage Rage and EliteXC, but hey, life carries on.

"Cage Rage, they're a great bunch of guys. A very professional organization. I've got nothing bad to say about the guys that ran Cage Rage and the time I've had at Cage Rage, nothing bad what so ever really. It's all been positive," added Al Turk.

"It was the main show in the U.K., so it had a massive fan base. It was huge in the U.K."

Dana White's UFC 92 Blog - Episode 1

The first installment of Dana White's UFC 92 blog. In this episode Dana gives fans an inside view for the "Video Game Awards" on Spike TV.

Ultimate Fighter Predicts the Ultimate UFC Championship

For the first time in UFC history, two winners of The Ultimate Fighter reality series on Spike TV will square off for a UFC championship. Forrest Griffin won the inaugural season of the show and defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to capture the UFC light heavyweight title, while Rashad Evans won season two of the show. Now they will face each other on Dec. 27 at UFC 92 in Las Vegas.

Ryan Bader won the light heavyweight division of the most recent edition of The Ultimate Fighter, the show's eighth season. On a recent episode of MMAWeekly Radio, The Ultimate Fighter gave his thoughts on the UFC 92 title bout, the first ever "All Ultimate Fighter" championship if you will.

"It's hard to say. I think if Rashad uses his wrestling, he could definitely, probably win a decision," said Bader. "If he tries to stand the whole time, I think Forrest is just going to stay on the outside and pick him apart a little bit and also win a decision.

"Rashad is coming off his knockout of Chuck (Liddell) and he's pretty confident in his hands. I think Forrest is going to nitpick at him the whole time, but if Rashad goes back and takes him down at least once a round, I think he can definitely win," Bader continued. "So it's going to be hard, but I'm going to say, I'm actually going to say Rashad is going to take the belt.

"It's a scary thing when a wrestler has boxing."

Now there's an overly committed pick that makes you want to go out and bet the house.