Anthony Johnson’s failure to make weight at UFC 104 has renewed concerns about weight cutting in the sport and prompted pundits to make suggestions about how to rectify the situation.

One of the more respected and authoritative voices out there to tackle the weight cutting topic was MMAjunkie.com special columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin.

I respect Dr. Benjamin’s expertise and believe his recommendations come from a good place. And I am in no position to question the medical positions taken in the article. However, as someone who has worked behind the scenes in the industry in multiple roles, I do believe I can address some of the recommendations he has made from an MMA perspective.

As such, I wanted to address some of the recommendations made by Dr. Benjamin in his article that was published on Junkie this past Wednesday.

“All standard fight agreements must be signed at least 45 days prior to the scheduled event.”

This is a little idealistic. The fight game is an industry that is always in flux. The only thing that is consistent in MMA is inconsistency. Leading up to a fight, competitors are going to get cold feet and will incur injuries during training. The reality is that there will always be a need for last-minute replacements, which often creates less-than-ideal timelines for fighters to cut weight in a healthy fashion.

Major promotions like the UFC and Strikeforce could adopt such a policy and abide by it because their fight cards have depth. Losing a major fight hurts, but in most cases, both promotions have enough fights booked that the show could go on. However, smaller and mid-level promotions would have to cancel entire cards in certain situations if they were hit by a rash of injuries and could not seek out last-minute replacements.

Additionally, some smaller shows don’t even set their finalized card until three weeks out before an event.

“No fighter may enter into a fight agreement weighing greater than 10 percent over the agreed upon weight limit. For example, the agreed-upon weight is 171 pounds. Therefore, each fighter can weigh no more than 171 pounds + 10 percent (188 pounds total) to sign the fight agreement.”

In Dr. Benjamin’s defense, he clearly states that many of his recommendations are ones that can be implemented quickly or easily. However, I see some major flaws in this proposal and not sure this recommendation could ever feasibly be implemented.

First, it would cost a great deal to implement it. There is a cost to a promoter every time they work with a commission in promoting an event. Inspectors are part-time government workers that must be compensated for their services. There is a cost to hold a day-before or day-of weigh-in and by essentially creating another weigh-in procedure, you add to the costs of putting on an event. More costs in promoting event could cause a lot of smaller promotions to fold, greatly reducing the number of opportunities a fighter has to get exposure and experience.

I am making a leap in suggesting that commission officials be involved with enforcing that fighters cannot weight greater than 10 percent over the agreed upon weight limit, but who else can we trust to ensure a fighter’s weight is accurate? Sorry, but the honor system won’t cut it.

Additionally, I am not sure how this recommendation would help. If you tell a fighter he has to weigh 188 lbs. in order to sign to compete at a weight contested at 171 lbs., it creates a scenario if he is over 188 lbs., he will simply cut to 188 and balloon back to his normal weight once he re-hydrates. So now you’ve created two weigh-cutting days: the 30-day weight cut in addition to the day-before weight cut.

“On the official day of weigh-in, if a fighter is more than 1 percent overweight, the fight cannot take place. Since the promoter is the employer, the promoter will be fined by the sanctioning body.”

A promoter cannot be held accountable for a fighter not making weight. Perhaps you can hold a fighter accountable for promoting a fight in which a fighter is more than 1 percent overweight. However, how is that fair to the opponent who made weight? What if the fighter who made weight and trained for 10-12 weeks is still willing to take the fight if financial arrangements can be made?

I don’t know of many promoters that would compensate a fighter in full if their fight was canceled due to the fact that they weren’t in a position to allow a last-minute catchweight fight from occurring. Some promoters might be kind enough to give the fighter who made weight their guarantee, but no promoter is going to give a win bonus.

“On the official day of weigh-in, if a fighter is less than 1 percent overweight, he or she can be given additional time to make weight. If on the second weigh-in, the fighter remains overweight, a financial penalty can be levied and paid to the on-weight fighter, at his or her discretion.”

Give a fighter a pound, and they will take a pound. If a fighter competing at 171 lbs. knows they can cut to 173 and change the day before, re-hydrate a bit, and then cut a little more the next day, they might be tempted to intentionally try and use it as a loophole.

Additionally, such a scenario could allow a fighter to also intentionally play psychological warfare on an opponent who made weight the day before. When a fighter shows up at the weigh-in and they see their opponent, they get “into the zone.”

Once both fighters make weight and the faceoff happens, they enter into what I call “the quiet before the storm” phase. The fighter re-hydrates and eats and begins to try and put as much weight back on as possible. They offer enter into a relaxed state. However, if their opponent fails to make weight and there is uncertainty whether they will be fighting the next day, this can cause a great deal of anxiety for a fighter. Usually, the uncertainty doesn’t last all that long and the fighter goes to bed the night before the fight knowing their fate. However, I couldn’t imagine trying to sleep the night before a scheduled fight not knowing whether I would be competing the next day.

“All weigh-in dates (bout agreement day and 30-day check) will be video monitored by live computer webcam and recorded. Each camp will watch the other camp calibrate the scale and weigh in over live video webcam stream (Skype). The sanctioning body will monitor the weigh-in in a similar fashion.”

With all due respect to Dr. Benjamin, the notion of a weigh-in taking place without a commission official in person is one that I find disturbing. I’ve worked shows and have been present at weigh-ins where fighters have tried to cheat the scales with a commission official standing right before them. Yes, there are little tricks that a fighter with the help of his cornerman can use to manipulate a scale while they are standing on it. I shudder to think what type of chicanery would take place with video weigh-ins.

The reality is that while the current system that exists for weight cutting is imperfect, it’s the most logistically feasible. MMA is a real sport and not some circus sideshow. And like with any other sport, every true competitor is going to explore every way possible to get an edge on the competition. Set a guideline, and someone will always invent a way to circumvent the system and exploit it.

Some State commissions have tried to cut down on extreme weight cutting in MMA by implementing same-day weigh-ins. Personally, I hate this concept because fighters are still going to cut weight. By making them weigh-in the same day as their fight, you’ve created more hurdles for them to cut a lot of weight, but you’ve also decreased the time they have to re-hydrate. Additionally, you give a fighter who decides to “punt” (i.e. deliberately not doing everything in their power to make weight) more leverage in trying to force their opponent to accept a catchweight (because a promoter has no time to find a replacement).

The only true way to cut down on extreme weight cutting is a solution the vast majority of MMA fans don’t want to hear about: more weight classes. Boxing is a sport with weight requirements in which extreme weight cutting is not as prevalent as it is in MMA. My theory is that this is because the disparity in weight between divisions in boxing is not as great as they are in MMA. Am I saying there should be as many weight classes in MMA as there are in boxing? Most certainly not. However, with more and more athletes taking up the sport of MMA, it might not be a bad idea to explore the addition of one or two new weight classes to help bridge the gap between the 185 lbs., 205 lbs. and heavyweight divisions.

The 20 lbs. gap between middleweight and light heavyweight is huge. I am not so sure the notion of adding a cruiserweight class with a minimum weight of 186 lbs. and 200 lbs. while making a new light heavyweight class between 201 lbs. and 220 lbs. is a bad one. By adding a cruiserweight division, you not only eliminate the 20 lbs. gap between middleweight and light heavyweight, but the 65 lbs. gap between light heavyweight and heavyweight.

The other avenue to explore is stricter discipline enforced by the commission in regards to a fighter who fails to make weight. In the eyes of many, a fighter is only as good as their last fight. A strong performance after failing to make weight can makes fans and promoters overlook that winning fighter had an unfair advantage. If a fighter fails to make weight, give his or her opponent an option to accept a catchweight. However, once the fight is over, why not suspend the fighter that failed to make weight for 4-6 months? Additionally, if a fighter is a repeat offender of failing to make a specific weight, why not ban them from being licensed to fight in that division?

My opening statement to this opinion/editorial piece probably isn’t much different than what you’ve been reading elsewhere: that last night’s World Extreme Cagefighting main event between Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson was perhaps the fight of the year but at the same time, also one of the biggest miscarriages of justice as well.

The flawed judging of Cerrone vs. Henderson comes on the heels of published reports about questionable scoring in the Javier Vazquez vs. Deividas Taurosevicius featherweight preliminary bout from earlier in the night and of course, Mike Easton’s controversial decision victory over Chase Beebe at the UWC last weekend.

Judging MMA is not an exact science in comparison to point sparring in some traditional martial arts or Olympic Boxing where point values are assigned to specific moves that are executed during the course of a match. In MMA, with the 10 point must system, an impartial judge is supposed to watch a round and award the ten points to the fighter the judge perceives as the winner. The loser of the round can get anywhere between 1-9 points, depending on how well he or she fared.

In the past, I’ve read articles where pundits have claimed the 10 point must system is flawed. I’ve read these complaints but very often have not seen a solution to remedy the situation. From my perspective, the 10-point must is really the only way to score MMA. An MMA fight has too many disciplines incorporated into its style and the fights move too fast.

In an ideal world you could say a jab equals one point, a right cross equals two, a takedown equals three, a submission attempt equals four, a knockdown equals five, etc. But even if such a system were adopted, it would cause even more problems and be even more subjective than the current 10 point must. For example, there would be a huge debate as to whether a submission attempt should be equal or greater in value than a knockdown. Also, you’d still be relying on human judgment — what if a judge blinks and misses a clean jab and doesn’t award the point while the other two judges do?

As long as there is a human element, there will always be questions about judging. Even in grappling tournaments where the scoring is not subjective and point values are assigned, there are still many arguments in regard to when points should be awarded. For example, a grappler will receive points for holding a dominant position if they can achieve the poisition and keep their opponent in it for more than a few seconds. I’ve witnessed many arguments during actual grappling bouts as to whether a guard pass was held long enough to be awarded points.

So from my perspective, the ten point must should stay. It’s some of the judges and officials who have not been properly educated in the many disciplines that comprise MMA that need to go. In the past, I’ve written articles for this site as a columnist/reporter but now write this editorial as a licensed matchmaker in the states of Kansas in Pennsylvania. My objective journalism days are over but having worked on shows both big and small from behind the scenes in many states in the U.S. and all over the world, I feel I can offer some valuable insight.

I’ve pointed out the problems, so now let me point of some of the solutions.

1) Get rid of the “old boys” network – Because of the position I now serve in, I have to walk a fine line with my constructive critcism. I am dependent on the commissions in order to earn a living. At the same time, I want to see the sport of MMA improve and grow. While not getting into specifics, I can honestly tell you that I’ve been around several commissions in which some of the inspectors, judges, and referees simply were not qualified to hold the position of power they held.

How do judges, inspectors, and referees get hired, you ask? Well, they are usually appointed by an executive director of a commission. However, applications are usually not neccessary, as a commissioner will often rely on a network of associates they have worked with in the past. Such a hiring practice can either be a blessing or a curse.

A commissioner has a high-pressure job. They are employees of the state that have been appointed by a publicly elected official. The revenue performance of their department is monitored by a government oversight committee. A sports athletic department has to earn its keep and must maintain a clean program. Any sins committed by a subordinate is a reflection of the executive director. And in high-pressure situations, there is a tendency to work with people you’ve dealt with on some level in the past so that you can eliminate as many uncertain variables as possible.

What you have in many situations when it comes to the hiring of referees, medical personnel, judges, and inspectors is the “old boys network.” Friends and acquaintences are being hired because they are familiar to the person who has the weight of the world in accountability on their shoulders. Sometimes this system works if the commissioner has qualified friends. Other times this method of hiring is a complete disaster if their friends aren’t qualified.

The reality is that I’ve been approached by several people in the past who had the desire to become judges and or referees. In some cases, I felt these people could be an asset to the sport. I’ve referred them to specific athletic commissions and have received followup communication from some of these people informing me that they can’t even get their calls returned.

In some cases, an unqualified judge or referee gets their job because of who they know and they keep that position because of a long-standing friendship with the person in charge of hiring and firing personnel. Until the hiring practices of many commissions around the U.S. becomes more open, you’re going to see a continuation of ineffective or unqualified personnel being hired to serve in crucial positions. To me, that’s not fair to a fighter. I have seen too many fights recently where the contest hasn’t been a case of one-on-one, but rather two-on-one when you factor in a bad official into the mix. Introduce a poor judging crew, and sometimes a fighter finds themselves in a situation where it is 5-on-1.

2) Reach out to former MMA fighters and encourage them to become referees, judges, and inspectors - When I first started writing, I ignorantly believed that most MMA judges were former boxing judges. That wasn’t entirely incorrect, as it was only half-true. The reality is that when I speak to many judges, more often than not I find that their backgrounds are in traditional martial arts — most specifically, Karate. Many judges and referees actually have their roots in point sparring. As someone who used to be a participant in point sparring tournaments, I can tell you that comparing point sparring to full-contact MMA is like comparing apples to oranges.

But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? I mean, you can’t just hire a random fan who sends in an application and then say, “Wow, you’ve watched every UFC since 1993 and you clearly know your MMA — here’s a striped shirt, we’ll see you in the cage next Friday.” As a commissioner, you want to hire people that have some sort of track record of officiating a combat sport of some kind. But the issue I have is that going from point sparring to MMA — or boxing for that matter — is too big of a leap. What we need in this sport are judges and referees that are true MMA people.

So how to you get more “true MMA people” involved in the sport? Simple, reach out to former fighters and encourage them to go to semifars and get certified by people such as John McCarthy and Doc Hamilton. Once they are certified, the states should bring them on as volunteer employees and reach out to local MMA gyms and allow them to referee and judge smokers. Have commission officials present and evaluate their performance. If someone makes the grade, allow them to start working all-amateur shows and if they continue to make the grade, promote them to pro shows.

How many times have we seen a referee fail to recognize a fighter had been choked unconscious? Who better to understand and recognize what truly is transpiring in an MMA fight than someone who has actually competed in an MMA fight?

3) Use a national MMA registry for certification - In speaking to some of the people I’ve referred to athletic commissions that have gotten a call back, they’ve told me that they were told to attend seminars for Karate officials and to get certified as a point sparring official and then begin to work point sparring tournaments and work their way up the ladder. Not to beat a dead horse, but point sparring credentials mean very little to me when you are talking about making the transition to MMA. My advice would be to render certifications in Karate, Kung Fu, and Tae Kwon Do officiating as irrelevant when seeking application to become an MMA official.

The only certification that should be recognized is that from a qualified MMA official. A national registry of qualified MMA officials whose certifications are recognized by major athletic bodies should be created. Furthermore, the standards of MMA certification should be written out and regulated by the ABC. In some cases, someone can be certified following a two-day seminar. It should take more hours than that to receive a formal certification.

Certification standards should be explored and a standard should be written and enforced. When I was a Real Estate agent, I had to go through a six week course to get licensed and pass a series of stringent testing in the state of Pennsylvania. In MMA, where people’s lives are at stake, such stringent certification standards should be adopted as well.

4) Have a national body grade and rate officials and judges – Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it. When it comes to some of the biggest travesties committed in the sport, it is the usual suspects making the same mistakes over and over. Even the best judge or referee can have an off night. But what about repeat offenders? Why are they not held accountable for a pattern of poor performance? It’s because there is no known formal system in place to evaluate the performance of judges and referees.

In the NFL and MLB, officials and umpires are graded on a game-by-game basis. Those who have the highest grades at the end of the season are chosen to preside over post-season play. Those that grade out the poorest are replaced at the end of the season by those who are rated at the top of the class in either the NBDL or Class AAA. Why can’t a similar system be put in place for MMA?

So there you have it folks, my four suggestions on how to possibly improve the current level of MMA officiating and judging in America. Are my ideas completely feasible and realistic? Hard to say for certain, but at least it’s a start. Pointing out the problem is no longer enough, we need to start coming up with sound solutions.

As an aside, I would also like to congratulate Dave Jansen on his victory last night against Richard Crunkilton. My consulting company, Combat Sports Media, has worked with M-1 in the past and I was able to work with Dave from a public relations perpsective. He is an outstanding talent who worked hard to get his shot at the WEC. As great of a fighter he is, he’s also just as great of a person. There’s nothing better than seeing a fighter who works their tail off receive an opportunity at the big-time and then see that fighter make the most of it. Congrats Dave!

Another fighter who worked hard to get his opportunity on the big show is Indiana native Shamar Bailey. Public reports surfaced yesterday that Shamar will be taking on TUF alum John Kolosci on the Nov. 7 undercard of the Fedor vs. Rogers event to be televised on CBS. In recent months, I have gotten a chance to know Shamar a little bit. At 11-1, this opportunity has been a long time coming for him. Remember the name Shamar Bailey because he’s going to be a force in the Strikeforce welterweight division for years to come. Shamar is managed by FiveOuncesOfPain.com columnist Mike Camp of F1 Management. Mike is one of the true good guys in this sport so congratulations are in order for him as well.

During a recent interview with Greg Savage of Sherdog.com, UFC President Dana White responded to a question about the promotion’s growing number of shows and whether they have enough marquee talent to headline the shows by saying he has plenty of headliners.

While the UFC has its fair share of stars that can carry a pay-per-view such as B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Brock Lesnar, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, you can never have too many drawing cards in your deck.

One of the UFC’s biggest drawing cards over the years has been Chuck Liddell. However, with four losses in his last five fights, it is believed his ability to draw buyers to pay-per-view has diminished. However, that’s a perception that has yet to be verified, as we do not know the official amount of buys Liddell’s recent fights have drawn.

But let’s just say the “Iceman” isn’t the star he once was, the reality is that he still remains one of the most recognizable fighters in all of MMA. And now, thanks to his current stint on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Liddell’s stardom continues to grow while he skills diminish.

While White has made it clear he would prefer that Liddell retire, the UFC Hall of Famer has one more fight left on his current UFC deal. Liddell has confirmed his hiatus from MMA, but has yet to officially announce his retirement from the sport.

Will Liddell ever challenge for the UFC light heavyweight title? Unlikely. But does he still have a few strong PPV buys left in him? If the matchup is right, absolutely.

And what’s the right matchup?

None other than Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson.

During the taping of the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, rumors swirled that Slice had lost early on in the show to former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson. Initially, the rumors didn’t appear logical because many — myself included — speculated that the UFC and Spike TV would manipulate the show so that Kimbo didn’t fight until the seventh or eighth episode.

The reality is that TUF is really reality — there was no TV magic of any kind performed. Kimbo not only fought early in the season, he fought the tournament’s unofficial number one seed.

Well, maybe I spoke too soon, as there was some magic performed during last night’s show. The magic I am speaking of is none other than Dana White’s marvelous spin job regarding the ending of last night’s fight and his closing comments on Kimbo.

Sorry to use a professional wrestling reference, but White’s 180 degree full fledged flip would have been like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan turning from heel to face and siding with Hulk Hogan — a scenario that never actually transpired.

If I didn’t know any better, it would seem that White has joined Team Kimbo. And why shouldn’t he? Dana is a businessman and Kimbo is a stone cold star. I had the opportunity to work with Kimbo while involved with several CBS and Showtime productions. Kimbo probably wouldn’t recognize me if he saw me, but he left a tremendous impression on me. Despite the playing the role of the thug to perfection in the public eye, the Kimbo I was exposed to behind the scenes was a nice, kind, and gentle soul. The producers of TUF did a marvelous job of showing that side of Kimbo last night.

Kimbo might have lost but the masterful marketing job performed by the UFC and Spike TV last night ensures that he has at least one big UFC fight in him. If Roy Nelson goes on to the finals and ends up winning, there might not be much shame in Kimbo having lost to the winner of TUF’s eleventh season.

Kimbo and Chuck still have some drawing power left in them but their respective shelf-lives could be close to expiration. Both fighters may only have one marketable performance left in them. Timing is everything in life and business and opportunity is knocking on the UFC’s door.

While rumors persist that Kimbo will get at least one official fight under the UFC banner (remember, Dana says a fighter is not a UFC fighter until they make it past TUF), possibly at the TUF finale or at UFC 107, I think the smartest move out there is to automatically pass go and go straight to a PPV headlined by Liddell vs. Kimbo.

That’s right, I want to see Liddell vs. Kimbo and I want to see it in the first quarter of 2010 (Super Bowl weekend anyone?) after Liddell has completed his stint on Dancing with the Stars and after we will know for sure whether Kimbo lost to the eventual winner of TUF 11.

I am sure the MMA purists and hardcores are going to react in unison to my cry for Liddell vs. Kimbo with a collective “Thanks, but no thanks” but Liddell and Kimbo as individual both possess undeniable charisma. Project them on a collision course towards each other and the potential and kinetic energy would provide off the charts measurements.

Remember, Chuck has a loyal fanbase that will continue to follow him despite the fact he’s lost four out of his last five fights. And Kimbo has a fanbase of his own that many MMA hardcores often forget transcends the typical MMA viewer.

MMA is a sport but like any other sport, it is a business. The UFC will be able to put on a lot of great fights in the next 12-14 months, but how many blockbusters do they currently have in the pipeline? Chuck vs. Kimbo is a blockbuster, whether you want to acknowledge that fact or not. Put the two together in the Octagon and people will pay in droves to see the spectacle. It would be the type of spectacle that even the bout’s harshest critics would likely still pay to see.

In the past, the UFC mocked EliteXC for what it considered freak show fight cards built around Kimbo. But the seal has been broken and for better or for worse, the UFC is officially in the Kimbo business. And now that the seal has been broken, you might as well make as much money with him while you can.

While I wouldn’t call Chuck vs. Kimbo a freak show fight, I would call is a sideshow special attraction. But does every fight have to have top ten implications? What’s wrong with out-of-the-box promoting every now and then and having a little fun? When Matt Hughes fought Royce Gracie, was that a bout with title implications? Was it a fight in which the top ten welterweight rankings were going to be impacted, since it was at a catchweight?

The answer to both questions are an obvious no but many of you reading this column bought that PPV. I know I did. And the crazy thing was that there wasn’t a shred of doubt in my mind about who was going to win that fight. Yet I can’t remember a time in which I’ve ever been so excited to see a fight in which I was already certain of the outcome.

I see Liddell vs. Kimbo possessing many of the same attributes that Hughes vs. Gracie fight brought: a fight that was pure fun and entertainment.

A year ago, Chuck vs. Kimbo would have been a tough sell — er, wait, no, it would have been an easy sell. But now, it becomes an even easier sell. Kimbo lost last night but he didn’t completely embarass himself and on some levels, is “UFC certified.” And having lost four out of his last five, Liddell is no longer viewed as the unbeatable force he once was. Believe it or not, because Kimbo has been built up as a big hitter and because many of Chuck’s recent losses have ended via brutal KO, there is going to be a segment of the population that believes Kimbo has a puncher’s chance to beat Chuck.

And if the bout was held at a catchweight of 220 lbs., that makes selling the drama that much easier as Chuck will have to come up in weight and give up a marginal size advantage against Kimbo.

Putting Kimbo on the TUF Finale would be a good move because if you picked the right opponent, you could draw ratings that could rival Tito vs. Ken III. Put him as an undercard attraction on a December PPV, and he will definitely enhance the buys. But the best business move for the UFC is to put Liddell and Kimbo in a headlining bout on PPV and give it the full UFC promotional push complete with commercials, a press tour, countdown shows, and maybe even another run of UFC Primetime.

I’m sure this column is going to generate a lot of response — both positive and negative — but the one question I want you to ask yourself is: would you pay to see Kimbo Slice vs. Chuck Liddell?

It’s never a good idea to write when you’re sleep deprived. There’s a tendency to sometimes say things you shouldn’t say. Then again, that might make for an interesting read for everyone?

As some of you may or may not know, I am no longer an active editorial influence in regards to FiveOuncesOfPain.com. I started a new company called Combat Sports Media and our business model is to work with mixed martial arts companies in the industry as a third-party provider of services. We do public relations for M-1 and other clients; operate M-1Global.com; provide production notes and research to Showtime; work with a small but growing group of fighters to help find them exposure and sponsorship; and more.

Combat Sports Media is still the parent owner of FiveOuncesOfPain.com and thanks to CSM Chief Technical Officer David Andrest and 5 Oz. manager editor Cory Brady, we’re not only pulling all of this off but we’re moving forward on some big things for the future. Stay tuned.

So yeah, I’ve turned to the dark side. I went from being on the outside to the inside. For now, my days of being an objective journalist are over. But as a friend recently told me, “At least you’re up front about it and not one of the many MMA writers these days trying to masquerade as bastions of journalistic integrity.”

As such, this column is about trying to inform and entertain. If I miss the mark, sorry, but I’ve slepped a total of four hours in the past 36 hours.

Pursuing a full-time career in MMA is truly a roller coaster ride. It’s a metaphor that gets used a lot but I don’t think people realize just how crazy this business is. My job these days consist of putting out fires and as soon as those fires are put out, a new blaze has started. My job is stressful and chaotic… but you know what? I wouldn’t change it for the world. Stable companies in MMA are few and far between and I’ve met a lot of talented people in my time who have worked for companies and when those companies went away, they never got a second chance. Everybody wants to work in MMA but there are only so many slots available.

Every day I wake up to a new set of problems that have to be solved and that’s the life of anyone in MMA who is a fighter, manager, matchmaker, executive, regulator, etc. I’ve been involved in quite a few different endeavors and none are as stressful as what I am doing now. But while I’ve never had a job as stressful as this one, I’ve never had as much fun.

I’ve got a lot of things going on right now. Some I can discuss publicly, some I cannot. Much of my lack of sleep is due to assisting M-1 during the Affliction “Trilogy” cancellation as well as the decision to move “Breakthrough” to Kansas City; working with Cory in providing Showtime with new production notes as changes are made to the Aug. 15 show; organizing a group of three fighters to represent USA East in the M-1 Challenge this weekend in Amsterdam; and managing my wife’s fighting career.

The changes to “Breakthrough” have generated some negative feedback but nothing is ever for certain in the MMA business. M-1 had an issue with a partner in LA and then had an issue with a main event. Some promotions would have folded their tents and went home and told the fighters they were SOL. But M-1 is honoring its word to the fighters, sponsors, and TV partner by working day and night to make sure “Breakthrough” goes off. You think the company would get some credit for saving the event instead of bailing but I guess there are just a lot of UFC-loyalists who can’t get over the fact that Fedor Emelianenko signed with Strikeforce instead of the UFC.

For those who don’t intend to watch “Breakthrough” free of charge on HDNet, that’s a shame. You’re going to miss out on the U.S. debut of Mo Lawal — a man who will be a top five pound-for-pound fighter in the world within the next 16-24 months. You also won’t get to see two of the best fighters you may have never heard of: Karl “Psycho” Amoussou and Lucio Linhares.

Karl is the next Wanderlei Silva and if you don’t believe me, watch this higlight video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWSXhIgZ294. And Lucio? Man, he’s proof that it isn’t about how good you are, it’s about how visible you are. Believe me when I tell you this, Linhares is capable of beating 70% of the fighters in the UFC and that’s no joke.

Anyway, I am looking forward to “Breakthrough” and I will actually be going out to Kansas City to help with the event as soon as I get back from Amsterdam and the M-1 Challenge. I’ve met some major scumbags in this business and I’ve also met some awesome people as well. Titan Entertainment President Joe Kelly, who is also M-1 Global’s Vice President of Live Events is one of those people. It’ll be great getting to work under Joe for 11 days leading up to the event.

Ensuring “Breakthrough” is a success will be no easy task. We’re not doubt behind the eight-ball but despite what some people would like you to believe, there are a lot of talented people in M-1 who are working around the clock right now. But because M-1 isn’t the UFC, people simply want to write the company off. There’s just so much stuff out there that simply isn’t true. The thing that I don’t quite understand are the bloggers who question why M-1 doesn’t have a promoter’s license.

First, Joe Kelly, a Vice President with M-1, is a licensed promoter in the state of Kansas and has been promoting boxing and MMA shows for over 10 years. But regardless, people fail to understand the M-1 business model. M-1 is truly a global company running shows all over the world. Because of this, M-1 finds local partners to help assist in promoting events. In Brazil, we worked with an awesome Gi company called Naja; in South Korea we work with one of the most respected businessmen in the community; when we did a show in England last year, we worked with the lads from Cage Warriors; so on and so forth.

Regarding “Breakthrough” in LA, we never applied for a license because we work with Roy Engelbrecht, one of the most experienced promoters you’ll find in the U.S. Roy was the promoter of record for both Affliction shows. Did anyone ever question why Affliction never applied for a promoter’s license? Do people realize that there are major promotions in the U.S. right now that also partner with local promoters?

M-1 wasn’t turned away in Oklahoma or Nevada. When we lost LA, we explored multiple options. We never fully decided on what option we were going to go with, so why would we pay for a promoter’s license? As someone who is familiar with the licensing process, you don’t just throw large sums of money down for a license unless you know you will be putting it to use.

But enough with the negative and onto he positive. One of the cool things about “Breakthrough” is that Joe is adding local ticket sellers to the non-televised undercard. There are a couple of local Kansas City female fighters he wants on the show. And guess who has been asked to compete? My wife. New readers have no idea about my wife’s fighting background but long-time readers remember by blogs last year about her daily trials and tribulations of being a full-time fighter. A lot of people really enjoyed the candid writing I did while others just wanted me to shut up and slave away on the phones all day and break stories for their amusement.

But for those that care, my wife is not only back from ACL surgery but she’s better than before. Her and her striking coach at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United just got back from the Simbi Muay Thai training center in Phukett and my wife is ready to kill someone. For her, Aug. 28 can’t come soon enough. Because she was gone for three weeks, she will be coming to Amsterdam with me and USA East fighters John Doyle and Shamar Bailey (by the way, special thanks to Choke Out Poker for sponsoring John and Shamar). Holland is just an amazing country and I can’t wait to go and watch 30 fights in one weekend. The only downside is that by being in Amsterdam, I can’t be in San Jose to watch Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg. But you damn well better believe I’ll be watching that early Sunday morning thanks to Showtime’s premium web stream.

Another downside is that I will be working most of the time and won’t get to see much of my wife even though she’ll be on the trip. But being married to a fighter has its perks because she’s quite okay with not getting to spend much time with me on the trip. Some of the greatest kickboxers in the world call Holland home and my wife is planning on getting some good training in at the M-1 training center. M-1 has been super cool and is trying to arrange things so that my wife can train with one of her favorite fighters, Cindy Dandois.

A lot of people feel when I speak about my wife that I am going into self-promotion mode… and you know what? Those people are right. But my wife has made so many sacrifices in allowing me to pursue my dream of having a full-time career in MMA and I am going to do the same for her. It would be one thing if she was a tomato can who couldn’t fight — but my wife is a legitimate fighter who will be breaking into the big-time before you know it. Aug. 28 is just the beginning, as we have a lot of fight offers coming in. We’ve got an awesome gym behind us with BJJ United and an amazing trainer in Jared Weiner so Andria is ready for whatever is going to come her way.

So much is going on that I barely even have time to write about UFC 101. One cool thing about not being a reporter/columnist anymore is that I don’t have to always work an event. I can go back to the old days and kick back and drink a few adult beverages while watching some fights! I’m a Philly person true and true and I never thought I would live to see the day in which the UFC would promote an event in Philadelphia. But this Saturday I got to experience it with my wife and son and it was surreal seeing legalized fighting inside Philly city limits.

Despite some lackluster fights, I still had an amazing time. The UFC simply knows how to do MMA right and the last two fights made up for some of the slower-paced fights earlier in the night. What can I possibly say about Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn that hasn’t already been said? But in typical Philly fashion, one of the best fights of the night didn’t take place inside the cage, but outside of it. You might have heard some loud cheering during the Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida fight but the cheers weren’t for the fight but rather a huge brawl that seemingly went on for 5-7 minutes. I was up in a luxury suite but I still someone get dropped with a major haymaker. It was so good that I felt Dana should have awarded the guy the UFC “Knockout of the Night” bonus. But Philly is a crazy town and we sure do enjoy fighting. Whether it is boxing, pro wrestling, or MMA, Philadelphians support violence. And no, I am not particularly proud of it but this is my home.

I’ve ranted for quite some time in this piece and I am trying to find a cute to wrap this entry up and tie it into a neat bow but I’ve got another crazy day ahead of me tomorrow (lots of production note writing and need to work out with John Doyle at BJJ United before we head to Amsterdam) and it’s time to get some sleep. I might be working like a mad man but all I can say is right now, my life doesn’t suck.

It appears that welterweight Frank Lester has run out of chances to land a spot on the roster of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Sources informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com late Wednesday night that the Team Quest product received his formal release from the UFC shortly after losing via first round submission to Nick Osipczak during this past Saturday’s live finale for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Lester qualified for TUF 9 as a member of Dan Henderson’s U.S. team after recording a first round TKO against Kiel Reid. However, he was eliminated from the competition in episode six after being submitted by James Wilks, the show’s eventual welterweight winner, following an armbar at 3:06 of round 2.

He would be given a second chance to advance in the competition after UFC President Dana White ruled that Jason Pierce would not be allowed to continue in the competition. Facing Dave Faulkner from the Team UK, Lester fought well and forced a third and final round. Lester advanced to the next stage of the competition after Faulkner was too tired to compete in the “sudden victory” portion of the fight.

Lester would once again face Wilks in the semifinals. For the second fight in a row, Lester forced a fight to go to “sudden victory” but he would not be as fortunate as he was against Faulkner after getting TKO’d by Wilks due to knees.

With World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner having revealed on his official Twitter account yesterday that he’s sustained another setback in his recovery from a broken hand, Yahoo! Sports has reported that WEC officials are considering introducing an interim lightweight title.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned from sources that the WEC has engaged in preliminary talks to make a match between number one contender Donald Cerrone and up-and-coming prospect Benson Henderson with an interim 155 pound title at take.

The WEC has yet to confirm the potential matchup and an exact date has not been determined as of yet.

Cerrone, 10-1, has been patiently awaiting a rematch with Varner since losing a technical split decision on Jan. 25 at 3:10 of round 5. The tightly contested bout was shortened after an illegal foul brought a premature conclusion to the bout and sent the outcome to the hands of the judges before the round had completed.

Looking to stay active, Cerrone took a fight vs. James Krause at WEC 41 earlier this month and submitted Krause with a rear naked choke at 4:38 of round 1.

Meanwhile, Henderson improved to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the WEC following April’s first round TKO over former NCAA All-American Shane Roller at WEC 40. Henderson finished the talented prospect with punches at just 1:41 following the opening bell. The win proceeded his impressive WEC debut at WEC 38 in January that ended in victory for Henderson following a guillotine choke submission of Anthony Njokuani at 0:42 of round 2.

A UFC fighter’s ability to obtain sponsorship from clothing apparel sponsors could take on a new degree of difficulty for upcoming fight cards, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was contacted by a manager on Wednesday night who spoke on the condition of anonymity and stated that he recently received an e-mail indicating that additional clothing sponsors have been added to the UFC’s list of banned companies.

Five Ounces of Pain was able to obtain an e-mail distributed by the UFC’s legal department that now lists Dethrone, One More Round, and Rolling Stone as a list of sponsors that will not be approved for UFC 100 on July 11. Unacceptable sponsors for UFC 100 also online Poker sponsors Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Party Poker.

Clothing sponsors that are approved for UFC 100 include Cage Fighter, MMA Authentic, Familia Gladitoria and MMA Elite. The source added that several clothing sponsors have indicated that they were contacted recently by the UFC and informed that in order to have the ability to sponsor a UFC fighter during a UFC-promoted event that they would have to pay a $100,000 fee to the UFC for the right to sponsor a fighter.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted several other managers and agents who represent UFC fighters and they reaffirmed every detail brought forth by the original source.

Based on the details provided, certain clothing companies may have to pay the UFC an unofficial licensing fee to have the ability to utilize the UFC’s telecasts to market their product. All sources contacted for this article expressed a great deal of concern regarding their ability to generate income for their fighters.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com attempted to contact the UFC but messages left on voicemail as well as e-mail were not immediately returned.

One unique thing in working for M-1 and getting to travel with the M-1 Challenge is that I get to routinely watch MMA take place in a ring.

Having been a fan of PRIDE, I’ve always had an appreciation for the ring but understood why so many promotions have elected to brand around the cage, especially those with television deals.

From a marketing perspective, going with a cage as the combat sports contraption of choice makes more sense than a ring since MMA is so easily identifiable with a six-sided or eight-sided cage.

If you are channel surfing and see a ring, you might not immediately be certain whether you are watching MMA, boxing, kickboxing, or even pro wrestling. But when you see that imposing looking structure with an even amount of sides, there is no mistaking what’s on the tube.

Take television out of the equation and analyze things from a strictly grass roots perspective, the cage still sells. After all, how can you advertise “extreme cagefighting” on your poster without a cage?

There are also practical reasons for using the cage. For one, it makes for a better fight. Unless a promotion is using a big ring, there often isn’t enough of a surface for a wrestler or jiu-jitsu specialist to implement the full range of their game. In a small ring, it’s real easy to bounce into the ropes every time an opponent attempts a takedown.

But most importantly, fights are more fluid in a cage. In a ring, there are far more stoppages and pauses in order to re-adjust combantants who find themselves with their head and shoulders practically on the scorer’s table.

That being said, I believe the ring is vastly superior to the cage when you look at things exclusively from the perspective of a live attendee.

MMA was just recently legalized in the state of Pennsylvania and I actually had the time to see my first show in the state last Friday in Scranton, PA. I went up to see two up-and-coming fighters from my school, Matt Nice and Lionel “Noriega” Borreli compete (they both won, by the way).

There were a ton of people at the event (probably over 2,000) to witness a card largely comprised of amateur bouts. The fights were held inside of a indoor soccer arena that didn’t have the best sight lines for MMA but was still well-suited for the needs of the promoter and the fighters.

However, with so many people and a lack of video screens, watching the event between a series of tiny fence holes became very tiresome. So tiresome that when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United’s last fighter had competed, a group of us that had made the 2 1/2 hour trip from the Philadelphia area all bolted.

Grassroots MMA is all about friends and family. While people will spend money to see Double A and Triple A baseball, most casual MMA fans stick to the big brands on television as opposed to going out to see a local MMA show with fighters trying to work their way through the ranks. Unfortunately, unless someone has some sort of direct tie to a local fighter, they are unlikely to buy a ticket unless it’s for the UFC, Strikeforce, or Affliction.

A promoter who has a smart matchmaker can do very well by booking the right fighters with the right gym affiliations and never have to worry about trying to bring in the casual fan. However, in order for the sport to truly grow, promotions are going to have to learn how to bring in Joe Sixpack whose MMA viewing is currently limited to watching The Ultimate Fighter on Wednesday nights along with a monthly pay-per-view purchase.

In order to capture that mainstream audience, a promoter’s vision for production elements has to go beyond just dropping a cage in the middle of a room. A venue with good sight lines is a must, as are video projector screens. Watching MMA through a fence is pretty cool if you’re sitting close to the cage but it’s not always fun to watch if you’re in the cheap seats or even the not-the most expensive seats.

Unfortunately, not every promoter has an unlimited budget. Renting projectors and bringing out a crew to film the action isn’t cheap. But if that’s truly the case, there’s an easy solution in that a promoter can simply ditch the cage and spend their money on a ring. If you’re not watching an MMA show on a television or seated with the VIPs, the benefits of a cage become minimal. For example, I spent a good deal of money to see UFC 94 live this past January. My biggest complaint wasn’t the fact that Georges St. Pierre was allegedly greased up but that I basically paid to watch the event from the video screens.

While a ring doesn’t look anywhere near as opposing as a cage, it makes for a much better live experience because it’s so much easier to see the action that you paid to see. I am curious to know how other people feel. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment thread of this post.

FIRST INDEPENDENT WORLD MMA RANKINGS RELEASED

I wanted to show some love and support for the recently launched “Independent World MMA Rankings.” I have long been an advocate for a rankings system that modeled itself after the AP Coaches Poll in College Football. It is an endeavor that I worked hard to try and build while I was with WAMMA. It would be great if this new poll could take it to the next level. I am excited to see that the new poll includes (former?) WAMMA pollsters such as Jonathan Snowden, Jesse Holland, Jared Barnes, Michael David Smith, and Todd Martin. All were active participants in the WAMMA poll whose opinions I have a great deal of respect for. I also have a great deal of respect for other members on the poll (including but not limited to) such as Jordan Breen, Robert Joyner, Jim Genia, and Ivan Trembow.

LLOYD MARSHBANKS PROFILED ON MMAJUNKIE.COM

With Combat Sports Media assisting M-1 Global with its U.S.-related PR efforts, I have had the pleasure of getting to work with Lloyd Marshbanks up close. Lloyd is a great person with a tremendous ground game and an amazing back story. Kyle Nagel is one of the first people to chronicle his amazing story in the latest column for his awesome “Fight Path” series.

I highly recommend you check the article out by clicking here. Also, in response to those who have issues with “Kadillac’s” backyard fighting days, please keep in mind that those fights took place in his home state of California during a time in which MMA wasn’t legal. Additionally, Lloyd was an All-American wrestler in High School so he’s not just some random guy who got involved with MMA.

UWC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION MIKE EASTON PROMOTED TO BLACK BELT

The Lloyd Irvin family has three new black belts in its ranks as Mike Easton, J.T. Torres, and Jay Hayes were all promoted this past Wednesday in Jenkintown, PA at Jared Weiner’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu United. I was on hand to shoot some video and get some interviews for a story that we’ll hopefully have up by next week.

Easton is the current UWC bantamweight champion and someone who is capable of competing in the WEC’s 135 lbs. division right now. However, he is only improving on the regional level and when he gets the call, he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with on the national level.

I’ve seen Torres and Hayes grapple on multiple occasions at tournaments that my wife has competed in and they are two of the best competitive grapplers around right now. Perhaps I am biased but there are a lot of people who aren’t affiliated with BJJ United that will tell you the same thing.

LAWSUIT? WHAT LAWSUIT?

It’s kind of perplexing that I continue to receive questions about an alleged lawsuit apparently being brought forth by Juanito Ibarra. To the best of my knowledge, I am currently not being sued as I have never formally been served a cease or desist, a summons, or a legal notice of any kind. If someone is in contact with the attorneys for Ibarra, could you ask them to properly serve me with papers so I can issue a formal response to the lawsuit and my attorneys and I can explore a potential counter-suit to recover legal costs that I might incur?

Ultimate Warrior Challenge bantamweight champion Mike Easton is expected to make his next title defense in September in a long-anticipated showdown with former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe.

Easton revealed the news to FiveOuncesOfPain.com during an upcoming interview conducted shortly after being promoted to black belt last night by Lloyd Irvin in Jenkintown, PA at Jared Weiner’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu United. BJJ United is an affiliate school of Lloyd Irvin, as Weiner was the first person ever promoted to black belt by Irvin.

In addition to Irvin’s promotion of Easton, Weiner and Irvin also promoted top level competitive grapplers Jay Hayes and J.T. Torres.

Easton, 7-1, is considered one of the top bantamweights in the world currently not signed to a contract with the Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. His upcoming bout against Beebe at a yet-to-be announced UWC event was originally supposed to take place on Feb. 21. However, Beebe informed UWC officials just days prior to the event that he would be unable to make weight for the title fight due to an alleged knee injury sustained in training.

Beebe did not even show up to weigh-ins, leading to much unconfirmed speculation at the time that the H.I.T. Squad member was healthy and was actually trying to avoid injury in advance of his scheduled first round bout against Joe Warren during the first round of DREAM’s featherweight Grand Prix held on March 7.

While not being able to compete vs. Easton, Beebe was able to fight against Warren but was defeated after a doctor stopped their fight following the first round. Easton ended up fighting short notice replacement Justin Robbins and won the then-vacant title following a third round submission. He then made his first successful defense of the UWC bantamweight title against Josh Ferguson on April 25 at UWC 6 “Capital Punishment” following a first round submission courtesy of a guillotine choke.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a column for FiveOuncesOfPain.com. As I write this, I’ve embarked on a new chapter in my life that caused me to step away from the site I created.

The current state of the U.S. economy has had an adverse effect on a lot of people and I am one of many who have seen their ability to earn a living compromised. After losing a couple of non-MMA writing gigs coupled with the rising cost to operate 5 Oz. while our ad revenue declined, I was forced to think out of the box.

Several months ago, to little fanfare, I formed a new LLC called Combat Sports Media. It was a soft launch to a company that I started as a third party business-to-business solution for companies in the MMA industry. The soft launch wasn’t the plan but a lot of things were put on hold when I was unexpectedly offered the opportunity to serve as the interim Chief Operating Officer for the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts.

I decided to end my year and a half long affiliation with WAMMA several weeks ago and have been putting all of my attention and focus into CSM, which includes web site management, public relations, consulting, and very many other basic service solutions for MMA companies.

Soon after accepting the promotion with WAMMA, I made a decision to hand off the editorial reigns of this site to Cory Brady. Cory has done a tremendous job with the site and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that he stepped up.

By way of CSM, I remain the full owner of 5 Oz. and still oversee all business operations pertaining to the site. I don’t have anything to do with the editorial direction of the site but I’ve decided to come back as a contributor on a limited basis. But I am not returning as a reporter or an op/ed columnist; instead I have launched this new column called the “Combat Sports Insider” as someone who is involved in the industry from a public relations and marketing standpoint.

Because I am embedded in the industry and work directly with multiple MMA companies, my perspective is a little different than most. I am sure some readers will appreciate the unique perspective I can provide while others will not. If you get something out of this column, then that’s great. If not? That’s okay too.

I will report on an occasional story or two and continue to experiment with this column but Cory will remain the Managing Editor of 5 Oz. with full editorial control.

So with my preamble out of the way, let’s get started.

KIMBO SLICE JOINS THE CAST OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER – I was as shocked as anyone by UFC President Dana White’s revelation earlier this week that Kimbo Slice has been cast for the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Reaction to the news has been mixed, but a lot of people reserving judgment before rendering a decision as to whether Kimbo being added to the show is good or bad. Only time will tell but I predict that time will prove that the decision by all the principles was nothing short of genius.

Former EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw did an interview with AOL’s MMA Fanhouse reacting to the move. Shaw had been in discussions with Slice regarding the possible launch of his boxing career so naturally he was disappointed by the news. But Shaw also branded the decision as a step back for Slice. I am not so sure I agree.

The bottom line is that as of now, there is no over-the-air television network broadcasting MMA in primetime. Until CBS officially gets back into the MMA business, Spike TV is the biggest platform for a mixed martial artist based on the total number of households it reaches. From an exposure standpoint, the move makes perfect sense for Slice.

From a financial perspective, no one in the media knows for sure just how much sense it makes for Slice. But I severely doubt Slice is doing the show under terms of the standard TUF agreement. I can only assume that Slice is going to be well compensated for committing to spend up to six weeks locked away in isolation in the TUF mansion.

If Kimbo is receiving more compensation than any other fighter who has appeared on TUF, I don’t see it as an issue. Kimbo is a proven ratings draw who actually has more pro MMA experience than quite a few fighters that have been cast for the show in the past. And from Spike’s perspective, the presence of Kimbo is going to help TUF’s ratings and entice a lot of non-MMA fans to tune in just to watch Kimbo.

If Kimbo is being paid extra, then I like the move. At the end of the day, TUF is a reality television show and the primary purpose is to create compelling television. Lightning rods such as Chris Leben and Junie Browning have proven to be two of the most successful ratings draws in the show’s history. So Spike can either wait ever four years for a Browning or Leben to magically appear out of nowhere at TUF tryouts or they can go out and cast stars for the show.

With the right moves, Spike can maximize the dividends from Slice’s presence by holding him out until the final first round matchup. With 16 heavyweights cast for the show, that means that Spike could guarantee itself as many as 7-8 episodes with Slice on the show. Slice’s stay on the show could be extended even longer if he draws a favorable first round matchup. And the longer Kimbo stays, the more exposure he can generate for other fighters in the house.

Dana White also deserves a ton of credit for the move. He’s put himself in a win/win situation. If Kimbo loses in the first round and proves to be a total bust, Dana can look into the TUF cameras and say “See, I told you this guy couldn’t fight. This sport is much tougher than people realize and you have to be a world class athlete to make it in the UFC.”

However, if Kimbo steps up and has improved as a fighter during his time away from the limelight, then Dana will still benefit. If Kimbo proves to be a success and makes it into the UFC, then White and the Fertittas are going to make a lot of money with Slice.

But regardless of whether KImbo makes the cut or not, one thing is for sure: TUF’s ratings are going to skyrocket and that’s the name of the game.

One thing that the UFC and Spike will have to do is make sure they cast 1-2 antagonistic fighters on the show. In my limited dealings with Slice, I’ve known the man to be nothing less than a gentleman. He’s a soft-spoken guy who likes to mind his own business. Believe it or not, he’s someone that could easily blend into the woodwork after the first couple of episodes. He’s not going to urinate in someone’s bed or taint someone’s sushi. Kimbo’s the guy who is going to go crazy if he feels he’s been disrespected. As such, there is going to need to be one or two fighters that create situations that force Kimbo to react.

LIVE FROM KANSAS CITY – As I write this article, I am in Kansas City working for the M-1 Challenge. Right now, M-1 is the biggest client for Combat Sports Media. I am working with the company in a number of different roles, which I really enjoy. In addition to managing their entire Internet operations, I also assist with U.S.-based PR. I also have a lot of other smaller responsibilities.

In case you don’t know, the M-1 Challenge is a team-based International fight series featuring 16 teams from around the world competing in a year-long competition to determine which country is the best in MMA. We produce shows all over the world in countries such as Holland, Bulgaria, Japan, Brazil, and of course, the U.S.

There are a lot of challenge being an International fight promotion that holds shows all over the world. From an operations standpoint, Kansas City has been smooth, with one exception: the State Boxing Commission. We’re all staying on the Missouri side of K.C. but the event will be held in the Kansas side of Kansas City at Memorial Hall tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

The show, which will be taped for future airing on HDNet, has had a few lineup changes due to some concerns expressed by the Kansas Boxing Commission. They’ve been pleasant to deal with and are merely doing their job. Safety first. It turns out one of our fighters arrived and had to be removed from the card because he’s under medical suspension (and he didn’t even know it). We had another fighter from Turkey who claimed he was 4-2 but we could not produce any documentation showing that he was a professional fighter.

As such, we had to make two changes just 36 hours from the card after already having made two changes just seven days ago. But that’s the MMA business and that’s what happens when you fly fighters in from all over the world for a show.

Having two fighters drop off the card was bittersweet, because I am really excited about the fighters we added. Ryan Sturdy, the Extreme Challenge middleweight champion and a rising prospect with a 9-2-1 record, had been set to fight Abdullah Ahmady. Ryan is a fighter that a lot of people in the Midwest are excited about and he just needs a little exposure before the rest of the country realizes just how good this guy is.

But Ryan almost didn’t fight because Ahmady was not licensed. So M-1 had to act fast and a bunch of calls were made with a lot of options explored. In the end, we were able to fly out a guy who I had trained briefly with years ago at Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia.

Making the trip out and fighting Ryan in a light heavyweight bout will be John Doyle. John’s story is unique in that he began his career 6-1 and was thought to be someone who had a UFC future. But he fell on hard times and his record is now at 7-7. But John is tough and was already training for a fight, so Sturdy vs. Doyle has a chance to be the fight of the night.

John’s toughness is why I am glad he is here. He’s someone who took a fight on eight days notice vs. Rafael Feijao last year at EliteXC “Street Certified.” He’s also a guy who once fought Brendan Barrett in Atlantic City and fell through the ropes and slammed his head on the floor. Despite the spill, he was ready to jump back in the ring with a huge welt on his head and the commission had to stop him.

Another addition is one of my favorite personalities in MMA, Lloyd “Kadillac” Marshbanks. Lloyd will be returning as USA East’s heavyweight when he takes on Toni Valtonen of Finland. Lloyd is one of the nicest guys you will encounter in fighting. He’s also a damn good fighter. According to Sherdog, he’s 16-8 but urban legend says his record his actually 50-8. Lloyd has fought a lot in Mexico, where MMA is not sanctioned. And early in his career, he fought in backyard gambling BBQs (long before Kimbo Slice and YouTube). He actually got the nickname “Kadillac” because when a defeated opponent couldn’t pay up, Lloyd accepted a Cadillac that he had in his driveway as payment.

Another fighter to watch is Liron Wilson, an American fighter competing for Team Turkey against the World Team’s Michael Kitta. Liron is an outstanding athlete who was a national track star while in high schoo. He’s 4-2 and actually just fought eight days ago, submitting an opponent just two minutes in their fight. Liron was already in fighting shape and came out unscathed in his last fight and jumped at the chance to come to Kansas City.

M-1 doesn’t always get a lot of press but it should, because we have some tremendous fighters competing for us. One of our best, Lucio Linhares, will also be in action at Team Finland’s middleweight. Lucio is Brazilian but ended up moving to Finland after conducting a series of seminars there. The BJJ black belt is set to face another BJJ black belt, Valdir Araujo.

Araujo is a name to watch even though he’s just 2-0. He trains out of Team Nogueira and has won major grappling titles in both Europe and Brazil. His most recent fight took place for Reed Wallace’s Revolution Fighting Championships in Florida. Araujo fought Adler Volmer, who represented the U.S. this past summer at the Beijing Games as America’s Judo champion. Despite Volmer’s credentials, Valdir still choked him out in round one.

One other fighter to keep an eye on is Renato Migliaccio. If you haven’t heard of him, you soon will. Currently training and fighting out of Connecticut, Renato is a black belt under the late Ryan Gracie and is 5-0 since beginning his MMA career. He will look to go to 6-0 when he faces Finland’s Niko Puhaka.

There’s a lot more I could tell you but if you want more info, just go to www.M-1Global.com. And if you haven’t been watching our show on HDNet, you’re missing out on some of the best International MMA prospects in the world right now.

NEXT STOP: ST. LOUIS (and Strikeforce) – This has been a crazy week for me. After I am done writing the press release and updating the M-1Global.com website following tonight’s M-1 Challenge, I have to wake up early tomorrow and hop a plane for St. Louis and serve as a research assistant on Showtime’s production team for Strikeforce.

The travel is crazy but I love MMA and I am getting to do things right now that some people only dream of. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be getting some of these opportunities, but a part of me can’t wait to get home and see my son and my wife (whose knee is doing very well by the way and she’s going to be ready to fight sooner rather than later).

The Showtime production team is a well-oiled machine and Scott Coker and his crew are incredibly organized and efficient. I am really looking forward to the show. Obviously, Scott Smith vs. Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields are going to be great fights but I really want to see how well Brett Rogers handles a step up in competition in Andrei Arlovski. When I first heard about the matchup, I just assumed that it would be the first loss of Brett’s career. But upsets happen all the time in this business and I am starting to smell an upset. Arlovski is much more athletic than Rogers, but Brett is so much bigger and stronger. In some ways, this matchup reminds me of Arlovski vs. Tim Sylvia and we know that Sylvia won two of those fights.

There’s also going to be an intriguing undercard fight that won’t be shown on TV that I am looking forward to. Rafael Feijao will be facing Mike Kyle. I’ve never watched a Feijao fight that wasn’t exciting and Saturday shouldn’t be any different. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen him fought so I am glad he’s finally back in action.

FABER VS. BROWN II – It’s a great weekend for MMA. You have the Bellator Fighting Championships (which I can’t believe I am going to miss as one of my trainers at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu United in Jenkintown, PA, Wilson Reis, will be in action) and the M-1 Challenge on Friday. Then on Saturday, you have Strikeforce. And on Sunday, the WEC returns to VERSUS.

If I had the money, I’d fly right from St. Louis to Sacramento so that I could see the rematch between Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. Jose Aldo vs. Cub Swanson is also another fight to watch.

I am a big fan of Faber and predicted him to win the first fight vs. Brown. Well, I called that one wrong. Soon after, I really believed that Faber would win the rematch. But after watching Brown dismantle Leonard Garcia, I did a 180. Mike Brown is just too strong, too technical, too tactical, and too versatile.

I believe Brown wins the rematch and is going to really go on a roll and clean out the 145 lbs. division in the WEC, which says a lot consider the WEC has brought in a ton of great fighters into their featherweight division. In time, Brown will prove to be every bit as unbeatable at 145 as Anderson Silva is at 185. Yes, he’s that damn good.

If Faber loses, I’d really love to see him drop to 135 lbs. For a while now, Faber vs. Kid Yamamoto was considered a dream matchup. But not a lot of people in the U.S. know about Yamamoto. However, thanks to VERSUS and a lot of press over the last year, people know about Miguel Torres. Faber vs. Torres at 135 lbs. is a much bigger fight in the U.S. than Faber vs. Yamamoto. Torres vs. Faber is so big that you could probably put it on pay-per-view and draw between 80,000-100,000 buys.

UNTIL NEXT TIME – It’s great to be back writing. I hope you enjoyed some of the insight here. It’ a bit of a departure from the style of writing I’ve contributed to this site in this past but my hope is that some of you will still find some benefit from it. I am working on some really big things right now that I hope I will be able to share with you in this column.

Xavier Foupa-Pokam’s tenure in the UFC has concluded after just two fights. The talented striker known as “Professor X” was released by the promotion on Monday.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon Foupa-Pokam’s agent, Ken Pavia.

Foupa-Pokam earned a spot in the UFC’s middleweight division after compiling a 20-9 record with and a seven fight win streak. He made his Octagon debut in Montreal this past April at UFC 97, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Denis Kang.

The Paris native then stepped up on short notice just last weekend at UFC 98 to face Miletich Fighting Systems product Drew McFedries. Unfortunately, Foupa-Pokam suffered a TKO due to punches just 37 seconds into the bout.

Satoshi Ishii, a gold medalist in Judo during the 2008 Beijing Games last summer, has signed a lucrative fight contract with World Victory Road’s Sengoku promotion.

The news comes according to a report by Nightmare of Battle, a English-language blog that has garnered a credible reputation for its coverage of the Japanese MMA scene.

News of Ishii’s signing comes on the heels of previous reports that he had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, UFC President Dana White was quoted as saying that he would not stand in Ishii’s way of competing in his home country.

“The thing is this: the kid’s sitting on a lottery ticket right now,” White said during an interview with MMA Weekly this past February. “He’s being offered millions of dollars in Japan… If he comes back and tells me I want to take this lottery ticket, I’ll give it to him. He needs to decide what he wants to do with his life. Just because I have a contract with him, I’m not going to try to tell him what he should do with his life.”

There had also been recent unconfirmed rumors circulating that Ishii was being considered for a spot on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will be featuring heavyweights.

The announcement that Ishii has signed with Sengoku was reportedly made during a press conference in Tokyo. According to Nightmare of Battle, Ishii entered the press area to the theme of The Last of the Mohicans and said “thank you for coming to my wedding” to the press in attendance.

A debut date for Ishii was not announced, but his first fight could be scheduled prior to year’s end.

Strikeforce female fighter Miesha Tate recently revealed on her MySpace page that her planned fight with Kim Couture set for a ShoMMA event on May 15 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. has been called off after Couture elected to withdraw from the fight.

In response to the blog entry, FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted Strikeforce Vice President of Communications Mike Afromowitz, who confirmed that Couture, the wife of former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture, is indeed off the card.

An official reason for Couture dropping off the card is not currently available, although Tate is claiming that Couture is not fighting due to marital problems.

“So Kim ‘Sugar Free’ Couture is pulling out of the fight supposedly cuz [sic] her and Randy are getting a divorce… I’m so pissed right now… Sugar Free my ass!!,” wrote Tate.

It is uncertain whether Tate’s claims are valid, however, sources have informed Five Ounces of Pain in recent weeks that the Coutures have been living separately as of late.

In regards to Tate’s status for the May 15 show, no word is available regarding a potential replacement.

Tokyo, Japan — During his reign as PRIDE heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko was one of Japan’s most recognizable fighters. However, Wednesday’s exhibition vs. WAMMA lightweight champion Shinya Aoki during the M-1 Challenge’s Tokyo event will be the first time he has competed in the country since a first round submission victory over Hong Man Choi on New Year’s Eve 2007 during the one-off “Yarrenoka!!” event.

While many members of the Japanese media were intrigued by Fedor’s upcoming special grappling exhition vs. Aoki, one reporter asked the current WAMMA heavyweight champion what his plans were regarding his next sanctioned MMA fight.

When posed the question during a Tuesday press conference at the 21 East Hotel in Tokyo, Emelianenko quickly referred the question to his manager Vadim Finkelchtein.

While Finkelchtein was careful to indicate that nothing has been finalized, he did reveal that talks are currently taking place regarding Emelianenko fighting “an opponent ranked in the top ten” sometime in July or August. Finkelchtein also seemed rather certain that the event would take place in Japan.

Seated next to Finkelchtein on the dais was Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio, who also appeared in St. Petersburg, Russia during last weekend’s M-1 Selection event, a year-long team competition featuring fight gyms in Russia competing for the opportunity to represent their home country during the 2010 M-1 Challenge.

Emelianenko is still under contract to Affliction for one more fight, and while Atencio offered no hints regarding a third Affliction event, speculation was running rampant at the press conference that Affliction could look to partner with M-1 and DREAM in regards to a possible July or August event in Japan.

Tokyo, Japan — Former WBO Muay Thai champion Shane Del Rosario was one of the hottest heavyweight prospects in all of MMA following his second round TKO victory over the previously-unbeaten Carl Seaumanutafa during a September ShoXC event.

However, Del Rosario became sidelined after the event due to a broken hand sustained in the victory. The Team Oyama fighter spent signficiant time on the shelf and saw his weight increase to 260 pounds.

However, Del Rosario is set to return to action Wednesday night in Tokyo, Japan as a part of Team USA West as it takes on South Korea in the M-1 Challenge. Currently undefeated at 5-0, the 25-year old will be gunning for his sixth win when he takes on Doo Hee Lee at Differ Ariake.

However, Del Rosario’s tenure as a part of the M-1 Challenge could be short lived, as the former high school basketball standout revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com Tuesday that his contract was one of 42 acquired by Strikeforce during its acquisition of select assets from ProElite earlier this year.

According to Del Rosario, he is now signed with Strikeforce and indicates that he could debut for the organization as early as August.

For Del Rosario, his time away from active fighting was not easy. His broken hand prevented him from accepting an offer to compete during January’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” event and has delayed his potential transition from heavyweight to light heavyweight. When asked whether a move down to the 205 pound weight class was still under consideration, Del Rosario acknowledged the possibility but was uncertain as to when he’ll formally make the move.

A recent report on the Sports 1140 KHTK website revealed that Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem is set to defend his crown against undefeated prospect Brett Rogers.

However, when contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com, sources close to the fight stated that a bout between Overeem and Rogers for Strikeforce’s June 6 show in St. Louis has yet to be signed.

The sources did indicate that Overeem vs. Rogers has been discussed but optimistic was expressed whether the bout will be formally signed for the event. It is believed that Rogers could still compete on the card against one of two other potential opponents.

While the unnamed source would not go into detail, it is believed that one possible opponent for Rogers should he compete on the June 6 card could be Fabricio Werdum. The former PRIDE and UFC heavyweight had been discussed as a potential foe for Rogers leading up to Strikeforce’s April 11 event in San Jose but the matchup was never finalized and Rogers ended up fighting Abongo Humphrey.

Now that he has formally signed with Strikeforce, Werdum is in need of an opponent for his debut with the promotion and the 9-0 Rogers would make for an intriguing matchup.

While Strikeforce officials continue to work to find a fifth slot for its June 6 Showtime telecast, it should be noted that Rogers has not been officially signed for the card. The promotion could go in a different direction when trying to fill out the televised portion of the event.

As of now, the event is slated to be headlined by former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler taking on former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shieds, Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith at a catchweight of 179 pounds, and a welterweight matchup between Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs.

Fresh off their dramatic victories during Strikeforce’s “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., Nick Diaz and Scott Smith will both be press into action again with less than two months recovery time in order to compete during the promotion’s next big event on Saturday, June  6 in St. Louis, MO.

As far as their opponents are concerned, Diaz and Smith will be fighting each other at what is believed to be a catchweight of 179 pounds.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has confirmed the news with sources close to the camps of both fighters. The story has also been reported by The Carmichael Dave Show via his website on 1140 AM KHTK.

Diaz won his fourth consecutive bout and improved to 19-7 following his dominant second round TKO over Shamrock, Strikeforce’s one-time middleweight champion. Once a title contender in EliteXC’s 160 pound lightweight division, Diaz is now fighting at a heavier weight in light of the promotion ceasing its operations and his move to Strikeforce.

A native of Stockton, Calif., Diaz is the older brother of UFC lightweight Nate Diaz. Diaz himself also formerly competed in the UFC, compiling an impressive recored of 6-4 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Drew Fickett, Robbie Lawler, and Josh Neer.

The Cesar Gracie black belt made major headlines with his win over Shamrock, it was Smith who possibly earned unofficial “Fight of the Night” honors thanks to his dramatic comeback victory on Aprill 11 against former IFL standout Benji “Razor” Radach.

The former Steel Mill worker seemed on the verge of certain defeat until he turned the tide with a power shot that landed flush in the face of Radach and knocked him out at 3:24 of round 3. In addition to almost certainly being on the verge of losing via decision, it appeared at several points that Radach was on the verge of finishing Smith.

But true to form, Smith proved next to impossible to finish and continued to fight back. The win improved Smith’s record to 15-5 and served as his second consecutive victory since joining the Strikeforce prompotion. His first win under the Strikeforce banner took place on Nov. 21, 2008 during the promotion’s “Destruction” event. Facing former UFC veteran Terry Martin, Smith knocked out the one-time professional boxer with a punch just 24 seconds into their contest.

Diaz vs. Smith joins a strong lineup of fights scheduled for June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, with former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler set to headline against former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields. Two other reported bouts include a welterweight matchup between Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs and a light heavyweight matchup between Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Jared Hamman.

After losing in controversial fashion to Shane Nelson at UFC 96 this past March, Aaron Riley is now set to receive his long-awaited rematch this coming August at UFC 101 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

MMAWeekly.com was the first to report the news, which confirmed the rematch with a source close to Nelson’s camp.

Referee Rick Fike declared Nelson the winner via TKO just 44 seconds into the bout soon after Nelson dropped Riley with a punch. Nelson went in for the finish while Riley began to defend himself and Fike inexplicably called a premature stop to the fight.

Nelson’s victory over Riley improved his record to 12-3. The B.J. Penn-trained fighter is a Hawaiian native and prior to the UFC had spent most of his career competing on the Islands. While fighting for promotions just as X-1 and Rumble on the Rock, Nelson posted notable victories over Kaleo Kwan and Harris Sarmiento.

Coming off the heels of a six-fight win streak, Nelson was cast for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter last January and made it to the final field of 16 after winning a qualifying bout against Charles Diaz. However, he was eliminated following  a loss in the every next round when he was submitted by eventual lightweight show winner Efrain Escudero. He then rebounded during the show’s live season finale on Dec. 13 after recording a split decision victory over George Roop.

Riley made his UFC return at UFC 91 in November and won a unanimous decision against Jorge Gurgel. Currently 27-11-1 overall with a lifetime record of 1-3 inside the Octagon, the 12-year veteran is currently on this third tour of duty with the UFC and has also competed for PRIDE and BodogFIGHT.

UFC 101 is currently scheduled to be headlined by Nelson’s trainer, B.J. Penn, defending the UFC lightweight title against number one contender Kenny Florian.

Strikeforce could be in the market for a new matchmaker as FiveOuncesOfPain.com has been informed that Javier Mendez has left the promotion.

Five Ounces of Pain learned of Mendez’s departure late Tuesday night and was able to confirm the development with Mendez himself via text message.

Mendez had been doubling as one of the sport’s most prominent trainers at the American Kickboxing Academy while working for Strikeforce. While speaking with Five Ounces of Pain, he expressed his belief that he was spreading himself too thin.

“I was neglecting my fighters and my love is training them,” Mendez stated via text. “I couldn’t do both. I had to do one or the other.”

There was is no immediate word regarding Strikeforce’s plans towards naming a replacement.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com Associate Editor Cory Brady contributed to this report.

With Josh Koscheck on the shelf due to a foot injury and unable to compete as scheduled at UFC 98 on May 23, UFC officials were forced to seek out a replacement to fight Chris Wilson.

According to a report by MMAjunkie.com, that replacement will be none other than former WEC welterweight title challenger Brock Larson.

Larson, 25-2, began his third tour of duty under the UFC banner by recording a submission victory over Jesse Sanders just 2:01 into last week’s bout at UFC Fight Night 18.

A product of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, Larson is 2-1 while competing in the Octagon. His UFC debut took place at UFC Fight Night 2 in 2005 and ended in defeat following a unanimous decision loss to Jon Fitch. He then made a triumphant return a year later at UFC Fight Night 7, defeating Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision.

Following his win over Nakamura, Larson then moved over to the Zuffa-owned WEC, where he compiled a career 4-1 record with notable wins over Erik Apple, John Alessio and Carlo Prater. Larson’s only loss in the promotion took place against then-WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit at WEC 29.

Larson will be facing an opponent in Wilson who is just 1-2 since debuting with the UFC at UFC 82 last March. A veteran of the IFL and the BodogFIGHT promotions, Wilson has a 14-5 overall record but has sustained losses to Fitch at UFC 82 and against John Howard at UFC 94 in January since being signed by the UFC.

A former member of Matt Lindland’s Team Quest who is known for his strong striking skills, Wilson’s first UFC victory took place at UFC 87 last August when he defeated American Top Team’s Steve Bruno via unanimous decision. Outside of the UFC, Wilson holds notable victories over former IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron, current UFC welterweight Rory Markham, Pat Healy, and Ray Steinbeiss.

UFC 98 is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be headlined by Rashad Evans defending his UFC light heavyweight title vs. Lyoto Machida. In addition to Evans vs. Machida and Larson vs. Wilson, the televised portion of the card is also set to feature Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra, Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar, and Yushin Okami vs. Dan Miller.

Non-televised preliminary bouts are expected to feature James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries, YoshiyukiYoshida vs. Brandon Wolff, Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover, Andre Gusmao vs. Houston Alexander, Tim Hague vs. Pat Barry, and Dave Kaplan vs. George Roop.