Report: Rampage Joins A-Team, Evans Fight in Jeopardy?

If he had any, Dana White would probably be pulling his hair out.

A little over a week after the UFC president railed at former light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson's desire to play B.A. Baracus in an upcoming remake of "The A Team," a report from The Sun states that Jackson has indeed landed the role, nixing an MTV report that called the UK tabloid "lying liars" and said Jackson was not cast as the latter day Mr. T.

Adding gasoline to the fire is the report's claim that Jackson has passed on a fight with Rashad Evans at 107 in his hometown of Memphis because filming won't give him time for a proper training camp. The rival coaches of TUF 10 were supposed to squash their bad blood at the Dec. 12 event.

Jervis Cole, Evans' manager, had no comment about the rumored change.

The change scratches half the Southern card's star power, with a lightweight match-up between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez now the front runner to headline. A heavyweight match-up between Frank Mir and Cheik Kongo has also been rumored for the main card.

MMA Live Takes a Look Back at UFC 102

ESPN.com's MMA Live takes a look back at UFC 102.

Fedor Meets Fans in Manhattan, Announces Next Fight

Fedor Emelianenko recently met with fans in Manhattan, announcing his upcoming Strikeforce bout against Brett Rogers.

Frank Mir Tires of Nog's "Excuses," Discusses UFC 102

Frank Mir discusses Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's "excuses," the Nog vs. Randy Couture UFC 102 fight, Joe Rogan, and more with ESPN 1100's Steve Cofield.

Win a Trip to Randy Couture's Xtreme Couture Training Camp

PRESS RELEASE:

Cash4Gold, the world’s #1 gold buyer from the general public, today congratulated mixed martial arts champion Randy “The Natural” Couture on his new six-fight deal with the UFC. The company also announced that it is prouder than ever to be sponsoring Couture and his Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation following his hard-fought battle with Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 102 on Saturday in Portland.

Cash4Gold announced on August 28 a sponsorship of Couture and his Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation. The company is also backing a promotion that will send a lucky winner to Couture’s Xtreme Couture MMA Training Camp in Las Vegas.

“Randy Couture is a living legend with the heart of a lion,” said Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson. “Put simply, we could not be prouder of our affiliation with Couture and his Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.”

MMA fans who visit www.cash4gold.com/couture or call 1-800-798-1139 and send in their unwanted gold will be automatically entered to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Couture’s training camp.

The contest winner will travel to Las Vegas - airfare and luxury hotel accommodations provided by Cash4Gold - for Xtreme Couture MMA Training Camp. During the three day camp, Xtreme Couture will provide instruction focused on Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai and wrestling as they apply to MMA, as well as a session focusing on mental discipline and an autograph signing and photo session with Randy “The Natural” Couture.

(Disclosure: Cash4Gold is an MMAWeekly.com paid advertiser.)

Fights for the Troops in Iraq to be Filmed for Documentary

PRESS RELEASE:

Owned Entertainment Inc. announced today that president James Hergott, Reporter Aaron Tru and Prime 1 Productions Filmographer Rick Lee are heading to Mosul, Iraq as part of the first ever MMA (mixed martial arts) fights being held in Iraq for the troops September 5th titled “A Fight Night For Heroes”. Hergott, Tru and Lee will document the trip and event including the behind the scenes access. Confirmed media covering the eight-day trip includes Fox Sports, Fox News imbed reporter Matt Sanchez, Donovan Craig and Paul Thatcher of FIGHT Magazine and possibly Time Magazine.

Owned entertainment will also be filming the fights and the Owned Entertainment treo will be assisted with an additional film crew from the Armed Forces Entertainment (www.armedforcesentertainment.com). Hergott comments; “We are really looking forward to the opportunity to document this historic occasion. Owned Entertainment supports the troops and their endeavors. This will truly be a once in a lifetime experience and we would like to thank Monica Sanford with DD Productions and the Armed Forces Entertainment for this opportunity.”

Owned Entertainment’s will be filming a feature length documentary to be distributed theatrically as well as web content for sponsors Rage Marketing, CageFaceTV, Cageface.com and Painful glory (www.painfulglory.com). Owned’s participation is also being sponsored by MMA Expo and aerospace distribution company MPM products. Additional sponsors for the trip should contact James Hergott at james@ownedentertainment.com.

Lyoto and Shogun Buddy Up Flying From Brazil to L.A.

Fighters often times talk about how well they know their opponents. That usually stems from sitting cageside at their fights and/or watching mountains of video footage of their past fights. But Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua have taken it to a whole new level for their UFC 104 showdown.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought the main eventers and also Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell, who are meeting in a heavyweight bout, to Los Angeles on Tuesday to hold a press conference for media and fans to hype up the event.

Low and behold, with both flying in from Brazil, it was funny to find out that not only were Machida and Shogun on the same plane, but they actually sat next to one another the entire flight.

But in typical Brazilian fashion "it's no problem, my friend."

"To tell you the truth, Lyoto is a nice guy and we have been kind of friends for a while. We know each other for a while," said Shogun, who actually found a little humor in the situation.

"Even though we are friends, I got very surprised to see him on the plane and, actually, sitting next to me, side-by-side, on the whole flight from Brazil to here. It was a funny situation."

In this day and age of mixed martial artists arriving as highly regarded mainstream athletes, Shogun handled the situation with professionalism, having no problem sitting for several hours next to the man that he hopes to punch repeatedly in the face come Oct. 24 at The Staples Center.

"I think this doesn't interfere because we are both professionals and we're training hard. We all want the same goal, so we're gonna do our best."

WEC 42 Attendance Numbers Are In

Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on Tuesday released the official attendance and live gate numbers for WEC 42 on Aug. 9 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

According to the NSAC's tally, a total of 1,640 people paid for their tickets inside the newly revamped event hall, while 442 people received "comp" tickets and 870 tickets went unsold.

All in, the event produced $175,835 in revenue for the lightweight wing of Zuffa, LLC.

The promotion's new bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles, may not need surgery after all to repair his damaged left hand, which he knocked out longtime champ Miguel Torres with in the first round of their meeting. He is currently suspended by the NSAC until February, though he may be cleared earlier if docs okay him.

UFC Invites Fans to UFC 104 Press Conference in L.A. on Tuesday

PRESS RELEASE:

The UFC hits Los Angeles on Tuesday with a full slate of events to get fans ready for October 24th's UFC 104 event at STAPLES Center. First, at 8am PT, fans can tune in to hear UFC President Dana White on KROQ's Kevin & Bean show. Then, at 9:20am PT, White will be joined by UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on KTLA's morning show. And finally, it's the big event of the day at noon, as Machida, Rua, Cain Velasquez, and Ben Rothwell meet the media for the UFC 104 press conference. This event, which will be held at Nokia Plaza on 800 W. Olympic Blvd, is open to the public.

Soares: Handshake Deal Brings Lil' Nog to UFC

Ed Soares was as proud as can be in the post-fight press conference at UFC 102. With client and friend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira a few feet away giving interviews about his victory over Randy Couture at Saturday's event in Portland, Ore., it was a good night for the manager.

Next to Rodrigo was twin brother Rogerio, a pint smaller than former Pride and UFC heavyweight champion. Rodrigo promised "Lil' Nog" was UFC bound in the pre-fight buildup, and while Soares said the deal wasn't done, it was all but certain to see the light heavyweight Nogueira in the cage by year's end.

"He's gonna be with the UFC," said Soares. "I don’t know when he’s going to fight. I believe he’s going to fight by the end of the year. They haven't announced anything, but Nogueira said it in the press conference.

"The deal's not completely finalized, but Dana and I shook on it already, so the deal's done, we're just working out the details."

The characteristically tight-lipped Soares did not mention any potential opponents for Rogerio. There are, however, a multitude of tough match-ups waiting. All that's left is the details.

Randy Couture's UFC 102 Video Blog (8/27/09)

The latest installment of Randy Couture's UFC 102 video blog from Portland, Oregon.

Nate Marquardt UFC 102 Fighter Blog

Hang out with Nate Marquardt as he prepares for his middleweight bout against Demian Maia in UFC 102.

It's Follow Friday & UFC 102 - Follow @MMAWeeklycom on Twitter!

For the initiated, it is Follow Friday on Twitter, so be sure to add @MMAWeeklycom to those you follow on Twitter.

For those in the dark, get on Twitter and start following @MMAWeeklycom for all the latest new, insider tidbits, and other juicy gems.

Randy Couture's UFC 102 Video Blog (8/25 & 8/26)

Randy Couture is doing a video blog all week, leading up to his UFC 102 bout against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Check out the latest installment...

White Rails at Rampage's A-Team Dream

To put it mildly, UFC president Dana White is not a fan of his fighters doing movies. That is, if the movies get in the way of the UFC calendar.

"I hate it with a (expletive) passion," he said. "You're a fighter. You're not a movie star. It's so (expletive) funny because fighters want to be movie stars and movie stars want to act like they're fighters. It's like, get a grip. You're a (expletive) fighter and you're a movie star."

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson made headlines Wednesday when a report in UK tabloid The Sun said the former light heavyweight champion was set to take on the role of "B.A. Baracus" in an upcoming movie remake of television series "The A-Team."

A subsequent report from MTV.com Thursday morning disputed the report, citing Jackson's managers, who said Jackson had not booked the role.

White had not heard the latest reports when he spoke to reporters at the UFC 102 pre-fight press conference in Portland, Ore., Thursday afternoon, but he didn't like the idea of Jackson's silver screen dreams, mildly put.

"Rampage wants to be a movie star," continued White. "I hope it’s not true (about Jackson getting the role). He's up for it, and he talked to me, he wants to do this thing, and he's like, 'listen, man, this is really important to me...there's some sentimental value here for me, me and my Dad grew up watching The A-Team together and we loved it.'

"Well, guess what, brother? I said, 'guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now. He's thinking about beating your (expletive) ass. He's not sitting around thinking about him and his mom used to watch the (expletive) 'Love Boat' together, and he wants to get the role of 'Isaac the Bartender'...you know what I mean? Get a (expletive) grip, dude. You're going to make a lot of money. You ain't gonna make a lot of money playing B.A. Baracus on the A-Team. Jesus Christ. (Expletive) drives me (expletive) nuts."

White said sometime actor and five-time UFC champ Randy Couture was an exception.

"Randy did it right," said White. "Randy shot a movie and it didn’t interfere with his training or anything."

Heath Herring recently told MMA Insider that he was putting off fighting until 2010 to pursue several film projects. Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le is currently MIA with several studio projects in the can and more in the pipeline. Chuck Liddell is about to dance with the stars.

According to White, a fighter who fulfills his contract obligations is free to act. That, or a retired fighter. But act on the eve of a fight? Not cool.

"(Rashad) hates (Rampage)," White said. "He hates Rampage more than he hates anyone on the planet and he’s thinking about killing him."

White sat back in his chair with a sigh.

"You guys wouldn't want to be me if you're if your life depended on it."

MMA Live Breaks Down UFC 102

MMA Live takes a long hard look at this weekend's UFC 102 emanating from Portland, Ore., and featuring Randy Couture versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Mayhem Miller Back With Season 2 of Bully Beatdown on MTV

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Randy Couture's UFC 102 Video Blog (8/25/09)

The second edition of Randy Couture's official UFC 102 video blog. Weighing in at 221.8 and trying to keep weight on during his training.

Revisiting Fedor, Couture Says It Would Have to Happen in the Octagon

Randy Couture is heading into a main event fight at UFC 102 this weekend, facing the very tough Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Fedor Emelianenko snuffed the UFC and took his toys with him over to Strikeforce.

Yet Couture is still plagued by the Sisyphean questions about the two meeting in the ring.

Couture was asked the question again at a recent UFC 102 media call, and you could hear the weariness of the question in his answer.

"I've already been down that road (leaving the UFC to fight Fedor) and I spent more than 13 months trying to find a way to fight him somewhere else because it didn't look like it would happen in the UFC," Couture retorted.

"I think that the best thing that could happen for me right now is for him to come to the UFC. I think sooner or later he's gonna have to come to the UFC, hopefully I'm still around and in the shape I'm in now to be able to fight him.

"If the fight's gonna happen, I think it's gonna happen in the UFC."

It obviously sounds as if the 46-year-old former UFC champion intends to finish out his career with the promotion, but the tone of his voice didn't hold out much hope that Fedor would find his way to the Octagon before Couture leaves his shoes on the mat one final time.

Ryan Couture vs Jimmy Spacuzza at Tuff-N-Uff

Randy Couture's son, Ryan, heads up the recent Tuff-N-Uff event at the Orleans in Las Vegas, fighting against Jimmy Spicuzza.