Filling the card’s co-headlining spot is a bout between Cain Velasquez (9-1) and Antonio Silva (16-3). Both men are coming off losing performances but possess elite skill-sets as evident in past victories over the likes of Nogueira, Andrei Arlovski, Fedor Emelianenko, and Brock Lesnar.

As always, Five Ounces of Pain will be watching the show from start to finish and reporting real time results back to readers as they unfold from the arena. Things fire up on Facebook at 6:45 PM EST, then head over to FX at 8:00 PM EST and finally PPV at 10:00 PM EST.

Read below for a full rundown of outcomes:

Mike Brown def. Daniel Pineda via Unanimous Decision
Glover Teixeira def. Kyle Kingsbury via Submission Round 1 (Arm-Triangle Choke)
Paul Sass def. Jacob Volkmann via Submission Round 1 (Armbar-Triangle Choke)
Dan Hardy def. Duane Ludwig via Knockout Round 1 (Strikes)
C.B. Dollaway def. Jason Miller via Unanimous Decision
Jamie Varner def. Edson Barboza via TKO Round 1 (Strikes)
Darren Elkins def. Diego Brandao via Unanimous Decision
Stefan Struve def. Lavar Johnson via Submission Round 1 (Round 1)
Stipe Miocic def. Shane del Rosario via TKO Round 2 (Strikes)
Roy Nelson def. Dave Herman via Knockout Round 1 (Strikes)
Cain Velasquez def. Antonio Silva via TKO Round 1 (Strikes)
Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir

News of the match-up was first rumored after a Twitter exchange between Huerta-Baroni and has since been confirmed by MMAWeekly.

Huerta has only entered the ring a single time since his 2010 stint in Bellator, losing by way of TKO to War Machine this past November. The former lightweight stand-out holds an overall record of 21-6 even though he’s fallen in three straight and has racked up past wins over Matt Wiman, Leonard Garcia, and Clay Guida.

Baroni has also struggled as of late, dropping four of his last five fights with a decision win over Nick Nolte the only exception. However, the “New York Bad Ass” could add a win to his 14-14 mark a few weeks prior to his meeting with Huerta, as Baroni is scheduled for action at a June 2 show.

ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors is set for June 23 in Kuala Lumpur with other featured bouts including Masakzau Imanari-Leandro Issa and Renato Sobral-Tatsuya Mizuno.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/TITANFC

When it comes to their clash Johnson understands Struve is a threat on the ground due to his lanky limbs, though he’s not necessarily concerned about being forced to tap.

“I don’t have much respect for my ground game, but I came out here to fight,” Johnson joked in an interview with Fuel TV after the weigh-ins. “If it goes to the ground I think I’m good enough to get back up and keep it standing. I don’t think Stefan really wants to take it to the ground (anyways). He has a lot of confidence in his stand-up and I think he wants to come out and test his tools, see what’s going on, and put on a good show.”

While Struve’s stand-up has also earned him a number of victories Johnson has no reservations about engaging with him even if the 24-year old Dutchman’s arms were recently re-measured at 84.5 inches, tying him with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for the longest reach in the UFC.

“My reach is not too far off,” responded Johnson to the challenge, mentioning his reach was in the 82-inch range. “And I think I use my reach a little bit better. I think I’ll be able to get in and put a couple of scratches on him at least.”

Struve-Johnson kick the PPV off at 10:00 PM EST as the first of five heavyweight tilts.

Watch the complete interview below including Struve’s responses:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Also, on an unrelated note, contestants Chris Tickle and Daron Cruickshank nearly came to blows in the house when the former threw a water bottle at the latter’s groin while he was trying to sleep. Cruickshank responded by getting up, rushing Tickle, and dishing out a number of punches/kicks. In a surprising show of maturity, Tickle laughed the incident off and said he wasn’t looking to get tossed out of the house with only a week to go. The two of them have been matched up to fight at the Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale.

Joining them on the card will be the bulk of the other contestants though Mike Rio and Andy Ogle were not booked for health-related reasons. An emotional Ogle approached UFC President Dana White after the announcement, pleading for a shot on the company’s September show in England and receiving it.

In terms of the semifinals, Al Iaquinta put together a convincing albeit not aesthetically pleasing performance against Vinc Pichel to come away with a decision, while Michael Chiesa gutted out a late submission attempt in the opening round of his fight with James Vick before scoring a takedown in the second, advancing into mount, and landing enough shots from above to merit a TKO stoppage.

“I feel great. It has been quite a journey. A lot of ups and downs but I feel like I’ve earned my spot in the finale and I’m very excited to seize the moment,” said Chiesa after the win. Throughout the season the bearded brawler dealt with the death of his father who passed away shortly after Chiesa qualified for the TUF 15 house.

Chiesa-Iaquinta will settle their score next Friday night at the finale alongside a bout between welterweight contenders Jake Ellenberger-Martin Kampmann.

TUF 15 Season Summary:

Cruz’s Team: Justin Lawrence, Sam Sicilia, Myles Jury, Mike Rio, James Vick, Vinc Pichel, Chris Tickle, Jeremy Larsen

Faber’s Team: Al Iaquinta, Cristiano Marcello, Daron Cruickshank, Joe Proctor, Michael Chiesa, John Cofer, Andy Ogle, Chris Saunders

Team Records: Faber 9, Cruz 5

Advancing to Final: Michael Chiesa, Al Iaquinta

Eliminated: Daron Cruickshank, Cristiano Marcello, Myles Jury, Jeremy Larsen, Chris Tickle, John Cofer, Sam Sicilia, Mike Rio, Justin Lawrence, Joe Proctor, Chris Saunders, Andy Ogle, Vinc Pichel, James Vick

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Konrad came out strong, taking the overmatched Prindle down and submitting him with a quick Kimra to push his record thus far in MMA to 9-0 since transitioning from a career on the mat as an accomplished amateur wrestler. The win also snapped Prindle’s streak of seven straight since losing his professional debut four years ago including five finishes in comparison to Konrad’s five decisions.

Nogueira looked strong as well, avoiding the takedown attempts of Nakamura to damage him in the second and third round where he ultimately finished the job with a beautifully timed combination.

In other tournament action, though Hawn and Weedman’s bout didn’t feature a stoppage it was entertaining all the same. In the end Hawn came away with a decision win after doing the bulk of the damage early with strikes and outlasting a third-round resurgence by Weedman.

The organization also announced featherweight champ Pat Curran will defend his belt against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on August 24 with Bryan Baker-Karl Amoussou sorting out the promotion’s next welterweight contender on the same show.

Read below for a full list of Bellator 70 outcomes followed by highlights from the show:

Kevin Tiller def. Jeremiah Riggs via Verbal Submission Round 3 (Kimura)
Derek Arcement def. Blake Dufour via Unanimous Decision
Jonas Billstein def. Mike Seal via Technical Submission Round 1 (Rear-Naked Choke)
A.J. Matthews def. Charlie Rader via Knockout Round 2 (Head Kick)
Rich Clementi def. Derek Campos via Submission Round 1 (Guillotine Choke)
Luis Nogueira def. Hiroshi Nakamura via TKO Round 3 (Strikes)
Cole Konrad def. Eric Prindle via Submission Round 1 (Kimura)
Rick Hawn def. Brent Weedman via Unanimous Decision

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

The gym plays home to a number of pugilistic peers calling the UFC home including one of the key players in Miller’s newfound mindset – Mark Munoz.

“Probably the most important part of this training camp has been Mark Munoz, the nicest guy in MMA. Also, one of the toughest men on Earth at 185 pounds. Mark’s been very helpful in this camp because he’s a former wrestling teammate of Dollaway and also KO’d him in thirty seconds,” said Miller in a Fighter Diary produced by the UFC. “Me and Mark and face-punch friends. Sometimes when we spar we basically fight. It’s hard to find a guy I can spar with that intensity.”

Turning to his bout with Dollaway, Miller made it clear he sees the big picture. Win and he’ll live to fight inside the Octagon another day; lose and he’ll be likely be looking for employment elsewhere.

“I say it’s the most important fight of my life but that’s some cliché bullsh*t I think every fighter says every time they fight. The only difference is this time it’s true,” admitted Miller.

Miller-Dollaway can be seen as part of the FX-bound preliminary card with other match-ups including Jamie Varner-Edson Barboza and Dan Hardy-Duane Ludwig.

You can watch the full Fighter Diary below where Miller also outlines the benefit of having Krzysztof Soszynski handling his diet:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Interestingly enough, Branch also came in heavy at 189.25 pounds though Johnson still agreed to pay him a percentage of his purse to agree to a catch-weight fight.

The situation is similar to that this past January when Johnson hit the scale at 197 pounds before a bout with Vitor Belfort, drawing UFC President Dana White’s wrath and influencing the organization’s decision to release him after losing the fight. The 10-4 Johnson’s problems with making weight have been well-documented with two other instances under the UFC’s banner prior to the Belfort debacle.

Weight issues aside, Johnson-Branch will battle it out this evening on HDNet with the Titan FC broadcast starting at 10:00 PM EST.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Fans may remember Ferreira from last week’s episode of UFC Primetime when he asked Dos Santos if he could go with him to Las Vegas for the fight. At the time “Cigano” indulged the child’s interest by saying it was a possibility, though in reality it seemed unlikely anything would come from the exchange other than a nice moment in front of the cameras.

However, as it turns out Dos Santos did in fact fly Ferreira to Vegas along with his mother and teenage brother to take part in the process while simultaneously fulfilling the wish of an impoverished child and showing him good things happen to good people who dedicate themselves to positive endeavors.

“He didn’t have a passport, his mother didn’t have a passport but I was a little guy once and people helped me. If we could make the little guy’s dream come true, if we were able somehow, why wouldn’t we,” asked Dos Santos rhetorically in a UFC video documenting the process. “At this point in my career, I can be a motivation and role model for these little guys from home. The kids see that all the fighters from the gym have good cars; they can see that hard work does lead to something good in life.”

Based on some comments it appears Ferreira has certainly enjoyed the experience thus far with his assessment of the situation likely warming even the coldest heart.

“It’s just so exciting being here in Las Vegas. Even to get to sit on an airplane was like a dream. I could see all things out of the window, big buildings and we were really high above them, flying like a dream. Our room here is so nice and everyone is being so nice to me, but I’m here to help Cigano defend his title,” explained Ferreira after referring to his hotel room being as large as his house in Salvador, Brazil. “‘Cigano’ is the strongest man in the world. He can defeat anybody even though he is nice. He will beat Frank Mir on Saturday. I’ve seen him in the gym and he will win with a left hook followed by a big right uppercut. This will be in the first round.”

Dos Santos will enter the Octagon as champion with status as the #1 heavyweight in the sport. Whether he exits it with the same two distinctions in tow remains to be seen. Still, it is clear that in the eyes of one lucky boy the label placed on the 27-year old title-holder will not change regardless of what happens once the cage door closes – that of hero.

Check out a video of Ferreira’s journey with some initial build from the episode of UFC Primetime:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Rather than succumb to the pressure of avoiding back-to-back stumbles or question his own ability, the 29-year old Velasquez has used the defeat as a positive due in large part to his realistic approach to competition.

“I wasn’t thinking that I was going to go through my entire career undefeated. You kind of expect to lose sometimes. It’s the kind of thing that just happens,” explained Velasquez in an interview with the UFC’s website, saying the difference between winning/losing is little more than, “If you were better on that day.”

“In wrestling, I’ve lost matches before and stuff like that, so it’s always a thing where you kind of learn from it,” he continued on the topic of how he’s dealt with his knockout loss to champion Junior dos Santos. “You just watch film but you don’t really keep it with you and always think about it. It’s the kind of thing where you just learn from it right away and then move on.”

As far as what Velasquez is expecting this weekend, other than a victory, the 9-1 competitor appears to be ready for anything given Silva’s rare combination of size, strength, and polished technique.

“‘Bigfoot’ is just a big guy. He has a lot of power, and he does everything well,” admitted Velasquez. “He’s good on the ground, he’s good on his feet with his punches, kicks, and knees, and he has good cardio, so he’s a guy that’s really well rounded everywhere.”

Fans can catch their fight as part of the UFC 146 PPV when things fire up at 10:00 PM EST.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Nelson has racked up sixteen wins in his career including those over Stefan Struve, Brendan Schaub, and Mirko Filipovic while earning a reputation for toughness along the way, only being finished once and offering current UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos his toughest fight to date inside the Octagon.

This Saturday night Nelson will take on Dave Herman at UFC 146, approaching the 21-3 talent with the same attention he gives every opponent. While his strategy to beat Herman may not involve the word “squa-doosh”, it will involve another key aspect of a certain animated film featuring an ursine ass-kicker with a midsection similar to Nelson’s – kung fu!

“Kung fu is the root for, I’d say, 95% of all martial arts,” said Nelson in a preview for his upcoming bout with Herman. “I practice every day.”

Nelson has been training in kung fu since his teens, applying the techniques he learns at the Lohan School of Shaolin in his MMA career.

“Basically you’re just working on body positioning and body movement where you’re actually feeling their energy, and then try to manipulate that to your advantage,” explained Nelson, referring to a drill known as “sticky hands”.

“Working on the wooden dummy, you can work on striking. And you can also work on different grappling like grabbing the leg or pushing the hips away,” he continued, turning to another drill before referencing an exercise meant to sharpen one’s mental state rather than physical prowess.

“Meditation can help make your more mentally strong, especially during a fight. It slows everything down so you can kind of control the chaos.”

Check out the full preview below with other segments featuring Herman utilizing a unique trampoline/ball-game to up his conditioning as well as a look at the bout between Cain Velasquez-Antonio Silva:

(Nelson-Herman stuff starts at about the 4:00 mark)

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/DREAMWORKS

Chael Sonnen Named Jim Rome’s “King of Smack” (MMAPayout.com)

“Mayhem” Miller Says He’s Looking Past C.B. Dollaway (Fightline.com)

UFC Plans to Implement Testing for PED Use (5thRound.com)

Bob Sapp Says He Doesn’t Throw Fights, He Quits Before He gets Hurt (TheFightNerd.com)

A Look at the UFC Schedule in June (FightOpinion.com)

UFC Headed to Indianapolis for Fuel Event (MMAConvert.com)

A Talk with Bellator Tournament Finalist Brent Weedman (MMAMania.com)

Roy Nelson Talks UFC 146 (Heavy.com)

The Best Submissions of the Last Five Years (BleacherReport.com)

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/TAPOUT

According to an official announcement, the Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale will host Justin Lawrence-John Cofer, Chris Saunders-Myles Jury, Daron Cruickshank-Chris Tickle, and Cristiano Marcello-Sam Sicilia. While the names may not mean a lot to folks who haven’t tuned in over the past few months the opposite is true for fans who have been watching given the pairings’ potential for entertainment.

Highlighting the group are Lawrence (a Team Blackhouse member in his early 20s with sensational striking), Saunders (a quarterfinalist with a ton of raw potential), and Marcello (a former Chute Boxe stand-out and BJJ brute). Tickle, Jury, and Sicilia also established themselves over the season with flashes of brilliance including quick knockouts in the tournament’s opening round from Tickle/Sicilia.

The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale is headlined by welterweights Jake Ellenberger-Martin Kampmann clashing to determine another potential contender in the 170-pound division. TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins will also see action at the show, taking on Brazilian phenom Charles Oliveira.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Mitch Ciccarelli Contributed to this Post

This weekend’s lineup for UFC 146 might feature a full slate of heavyweights on the PPV portion of the card but the show in general is stacked including some excellent undercard action on FX. One of the most-anticipated preliminary pairings is undoubtedly Duane Ludwig’s dance with Dan Hardy (23-10). Each has a reputation for favoring fights on their feet and finishing their foes, though each is also in need of a win after suffering submission stumbles in their previous efforts.

For Hardy the loss was his fourth straight, and while Ludwig (21-12) will certainly be looking to hand the Brit a fifth he won’t necessarily be happy about it beyond the satisfaction of a win in general.

“I’m a big fan of Dan Hardy’s and I support the UFC’s decision to keep him around,” said Ludwig on Rebellion MMA Radio. “With Hardy you are guaranteed to see a good exciting fight. In his first two losses in the UFC, he got out-wrestled by Georges St-Pierre and caught by Carlos Condit which can happen to anybody. His last fight was a Fight of the Night and he got caught so he’s always in exciting fights.”

With the stakes so high for Hardy there’s a possibility “The Outlaw” may attempt to work his ground-game against Ludwig who himself is a kickboxer by trade. If things do indeed unfold in such a manner Ludwig will be ready for it, approaching things in an open-minded way.

“On paper this matchup has great potential but we’ll see what happens. I know he’s been working a lot on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu quite a bit as well but I don’t really care what his gameplan is. I don’t know how much he’s going to want to stand up with me but we’ll see when the bell rings,” Ludwig explained on the possibility of Hardy playing it safe. “I just need to stay sharp and not get greedy.”

The first batch of UFC 146 prelims start at approximately 7:15 PM EST Saturday night. FX then takes over at 8:00 PM EST with four fights including Hardy-Ludwig, Jamie Varner-Edson Barboza, and C.B. Dollaway-Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

Fans can catch Rebellion MMA Radio every Sunday night at 6:30 PM EST. Check back regularly for upcoming guests.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

All of the bouts have been confirmed by UFC officials. Interestingly enough, all six men are coming off losses making success at the show even more important than it might normally be.

Phan holds an overall record of 17-10 and is perhaps best known for his pair of entertaining efforts against Leonard Garcia, while Miller (18-6) is a fellow Ultimate Fighter alumnus with fifteen finishes in his eighteen total wins.

The 14-3 Grispi has been out of action since June 2011 to deal with family issues and was considered to be a top divisional contender until suffering back-to-back losses in his last two outings. Comparably, Garza (11-3) has also dropped two in a row after notching consecutive bonus-winning victories.

A TUF finalist, Gamburyan (11-7) has come up short in his last three scraps including decisions to Tyson Griffin and most recently Diego Nunes. Meanwhile, Omigawa (13-11-1) built a reputation for himself in Japan as a tough draw for any adversary and even owns wins over top 145ers Marlon Sando and Hatsu Hioki.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Lesnar only fought for the UFC seven times but arguably did as much in his abbreviated career as most do with twice his in-ring appearances. Based on those accomplishments, as well as the mainstream interest he merited, even Hall of Famer Randy Couture has jumped on the Lesnar bandwagon where future enshrinement is concerned.

“I think anybody who has gone in there, won the title…whether it’s been four fights or six fights or whatever, he still made a huge impact on our sport,” said Couture on this week’s episode of UFC Tonight when asked about the possibility of Lesnar in the Hall of Fame. “I think it’s justified.”

“No one will probably ever, EVER have that kind of impact in that short amount of time,” host Kenny Florian added.

The former heavyweight champion retired after some health-related issues leading up to a loss to Alistair Overeem in late December. He has since re-joined WWE.

Watch Couture talk about Lesnar below, who beat him for the title in 2008, as well as a few other topics in the episode’s “Ask the Analyst” segment:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

However, it appears neither will be the case, as Barnett will in fact fight one more time for Strikeforce before addressing his future beyond the promotion.

According to a report from USA Today citing Zuffa officials, Strikeforce has opted to keep Barnett around for a single scrap similarly to Cormier’s handling. Considering Barnett and Cormier are the final two heavyweights signed to Strikeforce the news also indicates talent will be brought in from outside the organization.

Barnett’s loss to Cormier snapped an eight-fight winning streak for the 34-year old. The 31-6 veteran is considered to be Top 5 talent and holds past victories over a number of notable competitors including Sergei Kharitonov, Jeff Monson, Randy Couture, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Currently Barnett is out for an undetermined period of time up to six months after breaking his hand in the opening round of action against Cormier.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

While nothing official has been announced, news of the change was first reported by Fighters Only Magazine.

Though Dos Anjos is only a week removed from his previous pairing he escaped the match-up with little damage, picking apart Kamal Shalorus early before sinking in a fight-ending Rear-Naked Choke at 1:40 in the first frame. The 27-year old improved his overall record to 16-6 with the performance including ten stoppages and other wins inside the Octagon against Terry Etim and George Sotiropoulos.

The 15-6 Njokuani is also coming off a successful showing under the UFC banner, outpointing John Makdessi at UFC 145.

UFC on Fuel 4 is headlined by middleweight contender Mark Munoz looking to take out undefeated prospect Chris Weidman with the card also featuring bouts such as Jon Fitch-Aaron Simpson and James Te Huna-Brandon Vera.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

As part of this week’s agreement Sonnen will be subject to increased testing leading up to the July 7 headliner, as well as a screening the day after the fight, in order to assure he is not exceeding the mandated ratio.

The 35-year old also agreed to the NAC’s request for him to serve as an adviser in future instances relating to TRT.

Sonnen’s name first came up in connection with testosterone after his bout with Silva in August 2010 when he tested positive for elevated levels and received a yearlong suspension as a result.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Additionally, when Diaz’s mandatory shelving runs out he will have to test cleanly before receiving approval for a license to fight in the State (assuming he even wants to return to the ring).

Diaz was found to have marijuana metabolites in his system before a bout with Carlos Condit. The native Californian has a prescription to smoke medicinal pot and has never hidden his marijuana use, stating he ceased using the drug eight days prior to his match-up with Condit as he’d done before his other contests.

Interestingly, during the proceedings NAC executive Keith Kizer stated the sample Diaz submitted in his fight with B.J. Penn this past October came back as “diluted/abnormal” and even his February test had been hard to obtain with Diaz initially refusing until being told his salary would be withheld without the procedure.

Presently the former Strikeforce welterweight champ is retired and has not changed course in his decision to quit MMA other than stating he would consider a comeback if cleared by the NAC. While his return seems more unlikely than ever at this point one thing is certain – Diaz will not be fighting in the United States, if anywhere, until February 2013 at the earliest.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Thomson took champion Gilbert Melendez to the limit on Saturday night in their co-headlining clash at the Strikeforce Grand Prix Final and nearly came away with the belt thanks to a spirited performance highlighted by his success while standing and near finish of “El Nino” in the fourth frame. Though Melendez ultimately won a decision some would label as controversial, Thomson seemed content with the result when asked about it after the fight and had no harsh words to offer up on the scoring or his rival’s victory.

“Everyone keeps telling me I got robbed but I don’t really think on that. I just think it was a good performance by both fighters. We gave the crowd what they wanted to see and it seems like everyone was happy. I mean I’m not happy I lost but it was a great fight,” said Thomson in an interview with Showtime, adding he was also pleased to have turned in an entertaining effort on the heels of his self-labeled “sh*tty” showing in an outpointing of K.J. Noons a few months back.

“It just goes back to the old adage that you can’t leave it in the judges’ hands,” continued the 19-5 Thomson. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left it. I should’ve done it myself. I should’ve finished him in the fourth, to be honest, with the Rear-Naked. Had the opportunity and just couldn’t get it done.”

With Melendez unlikely to accept another match-up against Thomson in favor of focusing on new opponents it’s hard to say who the American Kickboxing Academy staple will step in the cage with next. What is certain, however, is the likelihood of Thomson doing his damndest to keep it exciting even if he comes up short in the end.

Check out the full interview with Thomson below:

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE