Here are the full results from yesterday’s Strikeforce card at the Playboy Mansion:

- Main Event: Gilbert Melendez def. Tetsuji Kato via unanimous decision

- Joe Riggs def. Eugene Jackson via first round TKO (strikes) at 3:36

- Josh Thomson def. Adam Lynn via first round TKO (strikes) at 4:45

- Billy Evangelista def. Clint Coronel via split decision

- Jorge Masvidal def. Matt Lee via TKO (strikes) at 1:33 of round 1

- Bobby Southworth def. Bill Mahood via TKO (verbal submission due to injury) at 1:15 of round 1

- Falaniko Vitale def. Ron Fields via TKO (tapout due to strikes) at 3:02 of round 1

- Daniel Puder def. Richard Dalton via unanimous decision

- Dewey Cooper def. Adam Smith via unanimous decision

- Daniel McWilliams def. Eddie Millis via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:05 of round 1

- Luke Stewart def. Sam Liera via TKO (strikes) at 3:40 of round 1

- Anthony Figureoa def. Miguel Linares via knockout at 2:09 of round 1

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reported on the newsletter’s website that a rumored main event between Dan Henderson vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 78 is not happening and that the UFC is still aiming for a bout between Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans on the card:

Regarding rumors going around of a Tito Ortiz vs. Dan Henderson fight on 11/17 in Newark, NJ, there is nothing to it. It was something discussed, but not all that seriously. Right now the expected main event for the show is Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans, but Ortiz is playing hardball when it comes to signing.

Probably the biggest news coming out of tonight’s Strikeforce event at the Playboy Mansion is the news that UFC outcast, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, has just signed a contract with Strikeforce. He announced it during the main event of tonight’s card.

As for the fights themselves, they were pretty mediocre. Gilbert Melendez pretty much dominated Tetsuji Kato from the get go, peppering him with his superior boxing game. At one point, he knocked Kato flat on his ass and it appeared that the fight might be stopped. Kato recovered, however, and was able to weather the storm.

Melendez appeared to have hurt his right hand early in the second round and threw it very sparingly throughout the rest of the fight. It didn’t seem to matter much to Melendez, as he continued to win the fight with just his jab and a couple of takedowns. Melendez won a unanimous decision and said he’d love to fight Josh Thomson, who fought earlier in the night.

Melendez v. Thomson is something I think we’d all love to see. Those guys are both top-notch lightweights.

Regarding Josh Thomson, he won rather easily. The story coming out of the night regarding Josh Thomson was Frank Shamrock’s comments about Thomson as he was coming into the cage. Shamrock said something along the lines of “Josh is the first openly gay MMA fighter.” Shamrock shows, once again, that he’s a classless kinda guy. Something tells me he’s still salty over the whole “Frank Glamrock Is My Bitch!” tee shirt that Thomson wore into the cage one night.

Later on, Cung Le would go on to say: “Um. Josh Thomson has a girlfriend. I’ve met her.”

Two former UFC fighters, Joe Riggs and Eugene Jackson fought on the card, with Riggs coming out on top. The fight was really never in question as Riggs dominated the entire fight, eventually pounding Jackson out about halfway into the second round. Riggs belongs back in the UFC. Everyone says he’s a beast in the gym, but he needs to put it together when fight time comes. Even though the competition tonight was nowhere near top caliber, Riggs took care of business.

In other action on the card, WWE Tough Enough winner, Daniel Puder won a three round decision. His fight was a snoozer for sure. The entire first round he tried to pull off a standing guillotine. I’m not kidding. 5 full minutes of straining to pull off a standing guillotine. He was trying so hard that his legs were shaking. Incredible waste of energy. I personally have no interest in seeing Puder fight again.

Overall, this show was a D+. Production was weak, you couldn’t even tell they were at the Playboy Mansion. Light the place up a little, give us a little atmosphere. Terrible commentating from Shamrock. Sometimes the camera angles would just be zoomed in on one of the padded poles in the cage and would completely miss action inside the cage. The fights overall were pretty lackluster, but it was good to see Riggs, Thomson, and especially Melendez get back into the cage.

Inside the Cage Radio rolls on with a UFC 76 recap with Dann Stupp (the MMA Junkie himself) and a visit from “The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros.

Click PLAY below for this weeks Inside the Cage Radio !

Check out more episodes of Inside the Cage Radio by clicking the RADIO header at the top of the website.

What: UFC 79
When: Dec. 29, ‘07
Where: Las Vegas, NV; Mandalay Bay
Watch: PPV starts at 10pm EST

Here’s the latest on the UFC 79 card:

• Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes (for the UFC Welterweight Title)
• Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Ryoto Machida
• Nate Mohr vs. Manny Gamburyan
• Doug Evans vs. Mark Bocek
• Dean Lister vs. Jordan Radev
• Melvin Guillard vs. Rich Clementi
• Roan Carneiro vs. Tony DeSouza

We’ll keep updating as fights get signed…

Check out more UFC 79 content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

Here is a clip of Andrei Arlovski on Jerry Springer as a guest bouncer. Some bouncy lady out of the audience asks to take off his shirt, and Andrei obliges. The show featured some really obese people with their shirts off too. Gross.

(poor quality video)

This has been making its rounds on the hardcore sites, therefore it also belongs on 5 Oz of Pain. UFC WiRED is making its debut on Oct 6th. It’s hosted by Joe Rogan and looks to be a mix of ALL Access with fights like on they air on Unleashed. It’s a good move for the UFC, bringing their brand in front of the casual fan.

Here is a listing of what station you can watch UFC WiRED

What: UFC 77
When: Oct. 20, ‘07
Where: Cincinnati, OH; U.S. Bank Arena
Watch: PPV starts at 10pm EST

Here’s the latest on the UFC 77 card:

• Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin (for the UFC Middleweight Title)
• Brandon Vera vs. Tim Sylvia
• Jason MacDonald vs. Yushin Okami
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Eric Schafer
• Forrest Petz vs. Josh Burkman
• Jorge Gurgel vs. Alvin Robinson
• Alan Belcher vs. Kalib Starnes
• Jason Black vs. Matt Grice
• Ryan Jensen vs. Demian Maia

Check out more UFC 77 content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with overnight UFC sensation, Houston Alexander yesterday. Just talking to Houston, you get the feeling that he feels blessed just to be in the situation that he’s in right now with the UFC. Well, that and he’s very anxious to show you his ground game. He had some very interesting things to say and I hope you all enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed doing it.

Thanks to Houston for taking the time out of his day to sit down and give us his thoughts on a number of topics, including who he might be looking to fight next, his ground game, his thoughts on the online MMA community and much more. Enjoy.

Adam Morgan: You’re a UFC fighter, a radio DJ, a hip hop lecturer and enthusiast, and a single dad of six children. What’s it like balancing all that?

It’s almost military. Everything has to be precise, everything has to be organized and everything has to be time driven, so it’s almost like the military.

Adam Morgan: So what is a normal day for Houston Alexander? Do you get up, take the kids to school, or what’s a normal day for Houston?

A normal day for me is waking up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning to go work out first. Go to work out, get a good hour or two hours of training in and that’s the first workout of the day. Then I come back home and take the children to school and then I work out again after I drop them off. In between the kids, I get to work out.

Adam Morgan: So it’s basically just taking care of the kids, training, and then you have the radio show on Sundays?

Yeah, I got the radio program through NRG Media (POWER 106.9 in Omaha, NE) from 7-10 and the show is called Sunday Nite Raw and I play independent music from all over the world, hip hop, and R&B. I also do promotions for the station and I also work with seven other different radio stations throughout the week. They’ve been working with me as far as the time goes, but I enjoy doing radio, so I don’t think I’m going to stop doing that.

Adam Morgan: So you’re saying even if you’re a full time fighter, training full time, radio will always be a part of your life?

Yeah, because I enjoy playing the music and I enjoy playing the music that no one’s heard. I enjoy helping artists out who are, you know, trying to get on and get that help.

Adam Morgan: Now a lot’s been said about your Culture Shock School Tour where you lecture the students about hip hop culture. Is there one underlying theme about hip hop that you stress in those segments?

It’s funny that you ask that because there is one underlying theme that we stress. It’s that hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. Period. It’s a culture and a lot of people see rap music being set up as the only element in the culture, so we let the kids know that the hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. It’s not about the gold chains or the trucks or the 22 inch rims or the 30 inch rims or however they’re doing it nowadays. The hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. It’s not about the commercialized stuff they’re seeing now.

Editor’s note: WATCH some Culture Shock Tour video HERE

Adam Morgan: Right, so it’s not all about the benjamins, it’s about the culture itself.

It is about the culture itself. And if anyone knows anything about the culture, they’ll know that Justin Timberlake is not hip hop. Only MTV wants to categorize him in that situation.

Adam Morgan: Now you’re a graffiti artist as well?

Oh yeah, been a graf artist since I was 12 years old.

Adam Morgan: Do you still do graffiti regularly?

Houston Alexander: Yes, I’m still doing walls and as a matter of fact, about two months ago I did a project for Red Bull. So yeah, I’m still doing walls and I can proudly say that.

Adam Morgan: You’ve got your mixed martial arts career, your radio deal, and your Culture Shock School Tour. These are sort of your jobs on the side and I know you said you’d continue to do radio even if you are a full time fighter, so is it enough to just be getting paid to fight or what’s your take of the fighter pay scale in the UFC?

Houston Alexander: I let my manager handle all that. Right now I’m happy with what I’m getting paid. I have no complaints about what I’m getting paid and I know that being in the UFC and being a rookie, so to speak, I’m going to have to earn my way up just like anyone else, so I’m willing to do that. I’m willing to work and that’s something that a lot of people don’t like doing in some cases. But I like to work, I like to train, and I like to get it done because I like to see the results in the ring. So I have no problem earning my way.

Adam Morgan: Alright Houston, you know I have to ask this, it’s the standard interview question for fighters. Do you have any idea who or when you might be fighting next?

Houston Alexander: And I’m going to give you the standard answer that I’ve been giving everyone else. The UFC can decide whatever they want to decide on that. For me it’s been every three months. I’m thinking over the next month and a half they’ll let me know who it will be.

Adam Morgan: I saw a little interview with Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle with you. He mentioned Michael Bisping as someone you might like to fight?

Houston Alexander: I wouldn’t mind fighting Bisping. He seems like a pretty good competitor and he seems pretty fired up about fighting so I wouldn’t mind fighting him. But I wouldn’t mind fighting anyone that’s any type of top caliber. I want to test my skills and see where I stand in the 205 lb. division also, so I wouldn’t mind fighting anyone, but I think that he stands out the most to me. He’s very outspoken like I am.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some people thought this would be an off week for MMA, but it’s really not. There will be plenty of good viewing available this weekend between the TV and Internet streaming.

Here’s what’s on tap:

- Masters of the Cage XVI tonight at 9 p.m. ET via Internet PPV at WatchThisFight.com. The card is $14.95 and apparently offers a money back guarantee. Scheduled to fight are all four members of Team Takedown, Jake Rosholt, Eric Bradley, Johny Hendricks, and Shane Roller. Another former college wrestling standout, Paul Bradley is on the card as well as IFL veteran Wayne Cole.

- “Inside MMA” on HDNet tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET with hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten. John McCarthy, Kimbo Slice, and Chris Bruno are scheduled to appear as guests.

- “Human Weapon” on the History Channel tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET. Mixed martial arts will be featured this week with appearances by Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, and Cung Le, among others.

- EliteXC “Uprising” replay tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET during Showtime’s free weekend preview. That’s right, if you get basic cable then you can watch the replay for free. You’ll get a chance to see Robbie Lawler vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Gina Carano’s big win, and exciting fights between Nick Diaz vs. Mike Aina and Joey Villasenor vs. Riki Fukuda.

- Strikeforce from the Playboy Mansion at 12 midnight tomorrow during a free Internet stream on Yahoo! You can go to their Boxing/MMA section for more info but Gilbert Melendez will defend the Strikeforce lightweight title vs. Tetsuji Kato, Bobby Southworth defends the Strikeforce light heavyweight title vs. Bill Mahood, Joe Riggs makes his Strikeforce debut vs. Eugene Jackson, Josh Thomson vs. Adam Lynn, and Daniel Puder will be in action as well.

First off, FiveOuncesOfPain.com soft-launched the debut of its new rankings area earlier this week. You can check them out by clicking the “rankings” tab at the top of the homepage or by clicking here. Special thanks to Matt for getting that section all set up. Right now I’m the only one who voted in the ratings but the plan is to get Matt, Adam, and Ben involved next month as well.

Also, the votes are in for Yahoo!’s top 10 pound-for-pound September poll. You can check that out by clicking here.

Just like last month, I’m making my ballot available to the public so they can see who I voted for and why:

1. Randy Couture - He’s been active and has been dominant in his last two wins. Plus, in head-to-head situations I feel he’d beat most people on this list. I was surprised I was the only one on the poll who voted Randy number one.

2. Fedor Emelianenko - I vote on three polls now (Yahoo!, FIGHT!, and “Inside MMA” on HDNet) and the easy thing to do is to just jot down Fedor as number one. But I really put thought into my rankings and had to ask myself, is Fedor still number one considering his inactivity as of late? The answer is no.

3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson - When your last two wins are over Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson it’s hard to question a guy.

4. Georges St. Pierre - As I mentioned last month, my criteria is based on fighting frequency, quality of wins, and pure fighting ability. The loss to Serra still weighs in my mind but GSP earned my respect back by dominating Josh Koscheck in August. And there aren’t many fighters in the world with more pure talent than St. Pierre.

5. B.J. Penn - Is a win over Jens Pulver all that impressive at this point? Perhaps not but Penn took care of business and the pure fighting criteria used for GSP is also a factor in this vote.

6. Anderson Silva - He’s just so dominant within his own division that it’s hard to rank him any lower. He’s fought well against top quality opponents.

7. Paulo Filho - Undefeated and has looked dominant most of the way. I’d love to see him against other top middleweights such as Silva, Henderson, Matt Lindland and Denis Kang.

8. Dan Henderson - He lost to Rampage but fought well.

9. Kid Yamamoto - He wasn’t on my top ten last month because of inactivity. Well, after fighting and winning for K-1 HERO’s earlier this month there was no way I could keep him off.

10. Gesias “JZ Calvan” Calvancanti - He rocketed up my rankings. Two dominating wins in one night will do that for a fighter. He also looked strong at USA Dynamite!! Nam Phan was giving up size but he’s still a good fighter and JZ cut right through him.

My interview with Gilbert Melendez is now available at CBSSports.com. Melendez will be fighting for the first time in ‘07 this Saturday at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. He’ll defend the Strikeforce lightweight title against Tetsuji Kato.

I asked Gilbert several questions about his contract status and about the UFC. Right now, he’s bound to Strikeforce in the U.S. but it looks like he can fight outside the promotion in other countries. I asked him about K-1 HERO’s and the first thing he brought up was wanting a chance to fight JZ “Gesias Calvancanti” Calvan:

Q: You mentioned possibly fighting outside of the U.S. and in Japan, would K-1 HERO’s be a possibility?

GM: Definitely, man. After seeing JZ (Gesias Calvancanti) win that (153-pound) tournament I kind of want a piece of him, to tell you the truth. But that’s only because I respect him. I wouldn’t mind going out there, and I’m sure it would be a lot easier if I went out there to fight him in Japan, so it would definitely be something I’d like to do. But of course, I want to be respectful to Strikeforce and work around their schedule and make sure we’re on the same page if that does happen.

Click here to read the entire interview.

The Rock was recently interviewed on ESPN 2 and stated he has “a ton of love and respect for” the UFC and MMA in general. Whether you like pro wrestling or think its lame, you have to respect how the Rock transitioned from Vince McMahon’s lackey to Hollywood action hero. Below are his thoughts on the popularity of mixed martial arts:

Well, to be blunt, MMA is blowing wrestling and boxing out of the water right now, right?

Well, I think that there is still great boxing out there, and there are fights coming up that I look forward to seeing. But mixed martial arts is just phenomenal. It is so hot, and it’s clear to me why it’s so popular. I have a ton of love and respect for those guys. I’ve become friends with a bunch of those guys and they have my support. I think mixed martial arts requires an amazing athleticism, and those guys must put together a strategy and a game plan every single time they go out and fight because it’s not one-dimensional, it’s not so predictable. On any given day, the greatest can go down. I think it’s really exciting to see the success that MMA is having right now. Everything that that sport provides and all the attention that people are diverting to that entity right now is well-deserved, and it’s — well, it’s a big deal and I’m excited about it.

Who are your favorite UFC guys?

Randy Couture is a guy who I have the privilege of knowing. Randy’s story is just an amazing, incredible story. Did you see his last fight? I mean, his work ethic and his talent is just fantastic. I’m friends with Chuck [Liddell], I love Chuck. And Georges St.-Pierre. And what’s so cool is to see guys like that who are knockout artists and they are really actually very, very humble. Georges St.-Pierre is one of those guys who is just so humble. I love seeing that. I think that is so cool, and it’s guys like those who are making that sport what it is. They are great faces and representatives of their sport, and you have to appreciate that. I certainly do.

Check out the full article here (however there’s nothing else in it about MMA)

I interviewed Gilbert Melendez in anticipation of his Strikeforce lightweight title fight vs. Tatsuji Kato this Saturday at the Playboy Mansion for CBSSports.com. That interview should be available soon.

I was able to ask Gilbert about Nick Diaz, who was hospitalized last week in Las Vegas due to staph infection. Diaz began feeling symptoms right before his fight on Sept. 15 for EliteXC against Mike Aina and really began feeling the effects just before his brother’s, Nate Diaz, fight at UFN 11 on Sept. 19.

According to Gilbert, Nick is out of the hospital and is recovering back home in Stockton, Calif. He was released from the hospital earlier this week.

Check out more Nick Diaz content on 5 Oz of Pain.

Say what you will about the newly formed Team Takedown, if nothing else they’re ambitious. The fighter management company is signing NCAA wrestling champions to MMA contracts before they’ve ever had a fight, hoping to groom them into champions down the line.

One of their prospects – two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks, from Oklahoma State – is about to get his first test this Friday. Though he’s been wrestling almost since he could walk, Hendricks has only been training in MMA for three months. Fortunately for him, those three months were spent at Randy Couture’s Las Vegas gym – just one of the perks of signing with Team Takedown.

“It’s great,” said Hendricks. “I wake up every day, train hard for three hours, and then I go home and rest. Later I come back and train again, and I don’t have to worry about anything besides training and getting better…Everything’s been like sunshine.”

It’s an advantage that most up-and-coming MMA fighters don’t get. In a world where even some experienced fighters have to work full-time jobs just to get by, Team Takedown’s model is a new way of building MMA stars.

But the big question is, will their substantial investment in these young fighters pay off?

At the moment, they don’t seem to be in a big hurry to turn a profit. Hendricks is starting his MMA career in Oklahoma City’s “Masters of the Cage” organization, facing off against jiu-jitsu fighter Victor Ratcliff (2-0). Despite his wrestling experience, he says he is well aware that the big time is still a long way off.

“I need more fight time before I can get in there with guys at the level of the UFC or IFL or Bodog,” said Hendricks. “I need that time to figure out what kind of fighter I am, what I need to work on. Right now I don’t know what kind of fighter I am.”

Hendricks’ move marks a larger trend in MMA. After the recent success of wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Matt Hamill, more NCAA champions have to be considering a move to professional fighting instead of vying for one of the precious few spots on an Olympic squad.

But just because a few wrestlers have made the transition, doesn’t mean it will necessarily work for others. In Hendricks’ case, he’s fighting not only to further his own career, but he has the expectations of his management team – created by businessmen Ted and Doug Ehrhardt, along with Tim McBride – to shoulder as well, though he claims he isn’t feeling that pressure just yet.

“I put enough pressure on myself. Anything I do I want to win, want to be the best at. The way I look at it is basically like a scholarship. I want to do well for them, but I always want to do well. I’m just focusing on doing what I need to do to get my hand raised.”

What he needs to do obviously involves learning the other facets of MMA that his wrestling background might not have prepared him for.

“I train a lot of jiu-jitsu. That’s been my main focus. I’ve been working tons of jiu-jitsu. I haven’t even taken a shot for a long time. I’ve just been focusing on my striking and jiu-jitsu.

“I’m focusing really hard on my ground-and-pound skills, working on transferring from position to position, and working on hitting people from wherever I’m at. Wherever the fight goes I want to be ready, but I know I’m probably going to do what I do best and that’s wrestling.”

Friday’s bout could mark the first phase of a major sea-change in MMA. If Team Takedown proves successful in their bid to turn wrestlers into fighters, there’s no telling who might follow their lead.

Before anyone can call them geniuses, though, their fighters have to prove the validity of their vision in the ring. Hendricks will get his chance in Oklahoma City, along with teammates Jake Rosholt, Shane Roller, and Eric Bradley. Whether or not they help change the sport of MMA, these wrestlers turned fighters are worth keeping an eye on.

Note: For those interested, Friday’s bouts can be seen on the web via pay-per-view at watchthisfight.com.

Ben Fowlkes is the editor of the IFL’s official website and is a special contributor to CBSSports.com. Ben also maintains his own blog, The Fighting Life.

Our pal, Steve Cofield, aka Mr. Sunshine, had Chuck Liddell’s trainer, John Hackleman, as a guest on his show. Hackleman said he believed Keith Jardine won the fight vs. Liddell at UFC 76 and gave his reasons as to why he felt Liddell lost. He said that he doesn’t believe in any way that Liddell is done. In fact, he said they are trying to Shogun in December. Hackleman said this before the news broke (or right around the same time) that it was reported he’ll have surgery. He also mentioned Wanderlei”if the UFC would put it on.”

Oh, and he also called me a moron! Actually, a complete utterly stupid moron. As you may or may not know, I was critical of Hackleman and Liddell on Steve’s show right after UFC 76. Normally I’d shoot back with some witty comeback but I respect Hackleman, as well as Liddell. Hackleman has been in this game for a long time and has trained champions. I think in this isolated instance (the strategy employed during the fight) is legitimate criticism. If they don’t like the messenger, that’s fine. But I don’t think Hackleman did a good job defending against the message.

He said I need to get in the cage with Jardine and see if I can defend the kicks any better. First off, Jardine is above my weight class (oh yeah, and about ten times my skill level). Even if I checked them my leg would still be jacked. But at least I’d do the basic things necessary to at least defend the kicks. Chuck didn’t. The whole “I’d like to see him get in the cage” argument is weak because I’ve actually been in the cage. I sucked royally, but I’ve been in it and will be in it again (and the next time I am you’ll see a different fighter). I’ll never come close to fighting at a pro level but I’d like to think I have a little more knowledge about actual MMA fighting than the average pundit out there.

And, and by the way, don’t think for a second I wouldn’t hesitate to spar (or fight in a sanctioned match) with a top-level pro like Jardine. He’d destroy me but I’d accept the physical punishment in exchange for the first-hand knowledge. I’d like to know precisely how hard Jardine kicks and then after extensive medical treatment try and articulate my experience to everyone in writing. If any major pro camp afforded me the opportunity to come and train with their fighters for a day or two so I could get an education in what they do I’d pay my own expenses to go out and do it.

You can click here to hear the entire interview. Hackleman acknowledged that there were some things he could have done differently in getting Chuck prepared for Jardine but he tried to downplay the leg kicks. He said Chuck worked with a K-1 fighter to train defending the kicks but that the kicks weren’t an issue.

When Steve mentioned that even Dana White questioned Chuck’s hunger, Hackleman said it was okay. Yet when someone in the media who writes on the Internet questions Chuck they are automatically labeled a moron? That’s the same mentality I’m used to dealing in other major sports where the manager or coach is second guessed. In their minds, it doesn’t matter if you’re making a valid point or not, if you’re not one of “them” then it’s impossible for you to know anything about the sport.

I’ll stop being overly-sensitive. In hindsight, my criticism was over the top and I should have softened it. I’ve got to take my medicine and it would be irrational for me to expect Hackleman to respond favorably to my comments considering how they were phrased. The context wasn’t respectful towards Liddell and Hackleman and I apologize for that, but I standby the content. How can a smart guy like Hackleman legitimately say kicks weren’t a factor and that Liddell checked most of them? I guess he and I have a different definition of checking a kick.

- Cofield also interviewed Dorian Price, who lost to Matt Arroyo on last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter. Click here for that audio.

- Casey Trowbridge of Combat Hooligans recently conducted an interview with Daniel Puder in anticipation of his match this Saturday for Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion. Puder said he “doesn’t think Angle has the balls” to fight him. You can hear the show by clicking here. Casey also interviewed Puder a previous time, where he apparently said he hated fighting for BodogFIGHT. You can listen to that one by clicking here.

- Also, Matt Cava and I will be doing another edition of Inside the Cage Radio this weekend. We’ve already secured Dann Stupp from MMAjunkie.com to help recap UFC 76 and we’re working on a few other guests.

- You can still listen to last week’s outstanding edition of Inside the Cage with our special guests Kenny Florian, Ricco Rodriguez, and Joey Riggs. Just click the “play now” button below:

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, Kazuhiro Nakamura tested positive for marijuana following his loss at UFC 76 to Lyoto Machida. He’s been fined and suspended three months by the California State Athletic Commission. Man, could this whole Pride thing get any worse?

The marijuana positive still doesn’t explain the umbrella. I know that was his deal in Pride but it seemed even more out of place in the UFC. Does CSAC test for LSD?

Seriously though, I still think it’s rather silly that some commissions test for marijuana. I don’t smoke it (only because I’m already a paranoid person to begin with and I also hate cottonmouth) but even someone like me who has no use for it believes it should be legal.

Also, it doesn’t look like the results are back yet for the performance enhancers. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Other notes:

- Brazilian website Gazeta De Povo is reporting that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had ligament damage in his knee leading up to his UFC 76 bout with Forrest Griffin and that it limited his ability to train. According to the report, Shogun will be undergoing surgery this Friday. He doesn’t expect to resume training until late-January or early-February.

So let me see, Forrest Griffin says he won’t be ready for Dec. 29; Rampage has a hand injury that could prevent him from fighting again in ‘07; and now Shogun is on the shelf? What does that leave as far as big light heavyweight fights for UFC 79? You could go Chuck Liddell vs. Houston Alexander and Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva? Or, you could go Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine II and Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell! I’m being serious, I think all these injuries could force the UFC to make a Silva vs. Liddell match for UFC 79.

- UFCDaily.com is reporting that Heath Herring plans to return to UFC action after some time off by early-2008.

- MMAJunkie.com broke the news on Wednesday that Ryan Jensen will be replacing an injured Marvin Eastman against Demian Maia at UFC 77 in Cincinnati on Oct. 20. It’s an Adam Morgan dream match from what I hear and the reason why he’s buying tickets to the show.

Earlier this week MMAFighting.com made some post-UFC 76 video of Randy Couture available to us. Well, there’s even more video we can now post here legally, thanks to ESPN:

Here’s post-fight video of Jon Fitch, who doesn’t agree that his win over Diego Sanchez being a split decision. Diego also is on at the end and he accepts the loss:

Here’s video of Forrest Griffin talking about his win over Shogan via rear naked choke (btw, Forrest’s face looks jacked!):

Next is video of Chuck Liddell and Keith Jardine talking about their fight:

Show opens with Serra screaming his head off as Joe Scarola taps from a triangle choke from last week’s fight. They show both locker rooms. Obviously Team Serra is dejected while Team Hughes is elated. So elated that Hughes is breaking out his best Borat impression.

The movie Borat is officially not funny anymore when Matt Hughes is doing the whole “high five” gig after Mac’s victory. Borat has officially jumped the shark. If you’re still using the “high five” schtick, Matt Hughes has officially made it uncool and now is the day to stop.

After Hughes and his fighters are done yukking it up after Mac Danzig’s win, they go through a pretty intense training session. Danzig participates in this training session literally 5-10 minutes after his fight. What a badass.

Back at the house, Joe Scarola is wanting to go home. It’s his first loss, he doesn’t want to be there, and at this point, I kind of feel bad for him. He knows he didn’t get caught in that triangle choke, he found a way out, just like Serra said. Serra stops by, gives Scarola a good ol’ New York style “get ya head outta yer ass” speech and Joe’s on board. At this point I give him credit for toughing it out. That will change later.

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I don’t know about you, but my plans for Saturday evening just changed. Yahoo! has announced that it will be streaming Saturday’s (9/29) fight card from the Playboy Mansion that’s being promoted by the San Jose-based fight promotion Strikeforce.

The stream will be free and will begin at midnight ET.  Check the Yahoo! MMA page for updates

Well, my wife might have prevented me from seeing the show in person but she’s not going to prevent me from watching it on my computer.

And if you’re a friend of mine reading this while in LA because you’ll be attending the show live, I’d just like you to know that I hate you.