MMAJunkie.com has confirmed Loiseau’s release from multiple sources who are close to the fighter.

Loiseau was brought back to the UFC after a two and a half year hiatus in which he fought for EliteXC and some Canadian organizations. His first fight back was against Team Quest fighter Ed Herman and took place in Loiseau’s backyard in Montreal last month at UFC 97. Unfortunately for Loiseau he was unable to figure out Herman and lost a disappointing unanimous decision. The loss dropped his UFC record to 4-4 overall. He fought Rich Franklin for the middleweight title at UFC 58 in March of 2006 and lost a brutal five round war from which he never seemingly recovered.

He had one more fight in the UFC against Mike Swick at UFC 63 in September of2006 and lost via unanimous decision. He was then cut and fought once under the EliteXC banner losing to Joey Villasenor in February of 2007. He then went on to win four of his next five bouts and was offered his spot back with the UFC.

The website CagePlay.com was the first to report the possibility of the matchup and FiveOuncesOfPain.com has spoken with sources close to both fighters who confirmed the fight is indeed in the works. However, both sources were quick to add that nothing has been finalized.

If the fight becomes official, the bout would mark Loiseau’s first in the Octagon since a unanimous decision loss to Mike Swick at UFC 63 in September of 2006. Released by the UFC soon after the defeat, Loiseau has gone 4-2 outside of the promotion. His most recent victory took place this past September at XMMA 5, where he recorded a TKO over Solomon Hutcherson, a veteran from the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, at 1:56 of round 5.

Overall, Loiseau is 18-8 in his MMA career with a lifetime UFC record of 4-3 with notable wins over the late Evan Tanner, Mark Weir, Charles McCarthy and Gideon Ray. However, he might be best known for his unanimous decision loss against then-middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC 58 in March of 2006.

Herman, 14-7, is the middleweight runner-up from the third season of TUF having lost to Kendall Grove via unanimous decision in the finals.

A member of Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, Herman is coming off consecutive defeats inside the Octagon, first submitting to Demian Maia at UFC 83 and then losing a split decision to Alan Belcher at UFC Fight Night 15. With a lifetime record of 3-4 in the UFC, his wins in the promotion have come against Scott Smith, Chris Price, and Joe Doerksen.

Loiseau, a native of Montreal, Quebec, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 17-8-0. Since his release from the UFC and EliteXC, Loiseau has gone 3-1 with victories over Freddie Espiricueta, Todd Gouwenberg, and Andrew Buckland.

Hutcherson, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 10-4. Hutcherson appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter 3″ and fought on the TUF 3 Finale losing to Luigi Fioravanti. Since leaving the UFC, Hutcherson has gone 4-0 stopping Anthony Trotter, Nabil Khatib, George Allen, and Marcus Hicks.

As we reported earlier, XMMA 5: “It’s Crow Time” is scheduled for September 13th and will feature notable names such as Steve Claveau, Aaron Riley, Gustavo Machado, and Guillaume de Lorenzi.

Loiseau, a native of Montreal, Quebec, is a part owner in the fledging promotion alongside good friend and fellow fighter Steve “The Snake” Claveau. Loiseau and Claveau went into business together in September 2007 and have since reeled off four successful events. XMMA is molding itself as one of the country’s top promotions alongside MFC and TKO Championship Fighting.

Loiseau has extremely deep roots in Quebec which include fourteen appearances where he amassed an impressive record of 11-3 with victories over notable names such as Shawn Tompkins, Joe Doerksen, and Tony Fryklund.

Since his release from EliteXC, Loiseau has voiced his hopes to get his career back on track and rejoin the middleweight ranks of the UFC. “The Crow” is currently riding a two-fight winning streak and a victory September 13th could be the win that catapults him back to the big show. If Loiseau does in fact earn his way back to the UFC the ideal situation would be to feature him on the UFC card rumored for November or December in Montreal.

As of right now, Loiseau is training at Tristar Vale Tudo with Georges St. Pierre, Jonathan Goulet, and Ivan Menjivar while also indulging in training camps which world class coaches and fighters including Greg Jackson, Phil Nurse, Denis Kang, Keith Jardine, Roger Huerta, Nathan Marquardt, and Rashad Evans.

XMMA 5: “It’s Crow Time” will also feature BJJ expert Gustavo “Ximu” Machado and rising star Guillaume de Lorenzi.

If you were looking for a no-frills, meat and potatoes MMA show then I don’t see how you could have an issue with last night’s telecast of ShoXC.

I was thoroughly impressed with last night’s show from top to bottom. Pro Elite did a great job of booking new talent and making strong matchups for them so that they could show their skills. I don’t think there was a bad match on the card.

I thought that the announcing was top notch. It was the first time that Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros had ever worked together but you wouldn’t know it by listening to them. It sounded like they were old friends that had been broadcasting shows together for years. For my money, they are the best announce team out there even after only doing one show. I’m looking forward to them working together more in the future.

I also couldn’t help but notice that Gary Shaw didn’t come into the cage after any of the matches. Not even after the main event, which featured two EliteXC fighters. I applaud him for taking a step back and letting the fighters have their moment.

Here are my thoughts, match-by-match…

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Lee Gibson - Solid match. It seemed to pick up steam as time went on. The two wanted to feel each other out (Corbbrey more so than Gibson) and perhaps that’s because these guys have been flying under the radar and there simply isn’t much footage out there. Corbbrey is a cerebral  fighter and it appeared that he didn’t like facing a guy he didn’t know much about. It also looked like he was getting frustrated when he couldn’t find a glaring weakness to exploit.

I like Corbbrey’s athleticism and his hand speed. It also looked like he was tough to hit from an extended distance. His boxing was top notch and he was quick enough to use a lot of head fakes and shoulder movement without setting himself to be caught with a kick or a knee. Not everyone can incorporate basic fundamental boxing into their MMA game like that.

Gibson just seemed like a dude that was tough as nails. It was obvious to me early in the fight that Corbbrey wasn’t going to be able to finish him.

I’d love to see both of them brought back for future shows.

Jefferson Silva vs. Aaron Rosa - Wow, did I really call Silva a prospect? It was a good stoppage, as he took some nasty elbows. But even before he ate those elbows it seemed as though Rosa broke his will. Those grimaces when he was getting hit in bottom position were ridiculous. You really can’t show that type of pain to an opponent or a referee.

Rosa was the most impressive fighter of the night, in my eyes. I wasn’t sure about his perfect record because he hasn’t fought any top guys. But he’s a rugged guy who enjoys fighting and at only 24 years of age, I think he has a bright future. EliteXC should sign him to a deal if they haven’t already.

Scott Jorgenson vs. Chris David – David fought with a lot of heart but Jorgenson was just too much for him. Next to Rosa, Jorgenson was the second most impressive fighter. I don’t know what EliteXC has planned for the 135 lbs. division, but whatever plans they have, Jorgenson will obviously need to be a big part of it. He also seems pretty marketable.

Jaime Jara vs. Jeremiah Metcalf - Jara’s standup wasn’t pretty but it was effective. He deserves a lot of credit for taking the fight on such short notice  and cutting weight. He deserves even more credit for agreeing to defend his 185 lbs. title while fighting at 175 lbs.  Middleweight means you fight at 185 lbs. and if I was in his shoes, maybe I would have taken the fight but I would had at least said that if they want the title to be on the line, then Metcalf needs to make my weight in order to compete for my title.  But Jara is 37-years old and I’m sure he realized the value of being about to get exposure as a champion.

It’s really hard to form any kind of solid opinion of Metcalf because the fight didn’t last long. I know he’s a very tactical fighter, so perhaps the fact that he didn’t have time to scout his opponent hurt him. Hopefully we’ll get to see Metcalf vs. Aaron Wetherspoon rescheduled for the next ShoXC in August.

K.J. Noons vs. Edson Berto - I’m not buying all the talk that Berto’s conditioning was off. There’s no way his father would let him get away with that. I think he got hurt in the first round and continued fighting when maybe he shouldn’t have. I think he definitely suffered a concussion early on. Not only was he winded but it looked like he was just out of it in the second and third rounds. He had a hard time focusing on Noons.  He’s just a much better fighter than what he showed.

I got the prediction for the fight wrong (I went 2 out of 5. Man, I suck. I want to stop doing predictions) but I knew Noons was no joke. I had been taking some flak for touting the guy but you saw just how crisp and fluid his boxing and Muay Thai is.

His ground game from a defensive perspective was good, but he needs to learn how to be able to go on the offensive. I think he’s way off base thinking he can train both boxing and MMA and still reach his full potential. Maybe when he’s mastered everything, I might agree with him. However, boxing reinforces a lot of fundamental bad habits when it comes to MMA standup.

I can understand an MMA guy who comes from a ground background trying to train boxing to improve his hand speed, footwork, defensive skills, learn to work angles, and just get used to taking punches. But Noons already has a lot of the standup basics down.

I guess Shaw doesn’t mind it because he’s a boxing and MMA promoter and the moon lighting could pay dividends from a marketing perspective. But do you think Dana White would let a young fighter try and pursue two full-time fighting careers? He doesn’t even want Kurt Angle to wrestle.

Alright, I’m out because I need to head up to North Jersey to see more young MMA fighters who could be breaking big soon. Matt Makowski from Philly MMA and Wilson Reis from Philly MMA/BJJ United are both making their pro debuts for Ed Hsu’s Combat in the Cage/Extreme Challenge show. I’ve trained with both briefly (and I mean I sparred with Matt for a round once last summer and took one of Wilson’s BJJ classes) in the past so I’m looking forward to it.

BTW, I’m going to be going to East Rutherford this Thursday to cover the IFL semifinals for CBS Sportsline. If you’re reading this and will be attending and want to meet up, drop me a line at SCaplan8@comcast.net.

ShoXC is patterned after Showtime’s boxing series ShoBox, which has been a springboard for the career of many young boxers. Showtime is hoping that ShoXC will have the same impact on mixed martial arts.

If nothing else, the show has great timing in the sense that it feels like it’s been months since we’ve had live MMA to watch. While the card doesn’t boast any huge names, there are fighters on the card with a lot of potential. On paper, I also think the matchmakers have done a good job as far as styles are concerned.

The show will also feature the debut of Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros as an announce team. The team garnered strong fan support on an individual basis during their broadcast stints with Pride. However, they had never been on the air at the same time until this show.

Here’s my breakdown of what to watch for:

K.J. Noons vs. Edson Berto – This fight could prove to be a sleeper in the mold of Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher. You have two lighter weight guys with strong striking backgrounds.

In the case of Berto, he also has a strong ground game and is notorious for tapping guys with his heel hook. Berto is a true mixed martial artist and it boggles my mind why more people don’t talk about him. If he was in UFC, people would be drooling.

As for Noons, he’s a hell of a boxer who had a buzz surrounding him heading into his fight against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett during EliteXC’s debut show on February 10. Bennett caught Noons and dropped him cold and Noons hasn’t fought in an MMA bout since (he competed in a pro boxing match, and won). This is his chance to regain some of the momentum he lost after losing to Bennett.

If Noons gives up boxing and focuses solely on MMA, he could be a star because his boxing is unreal. We didn’t get a chance to see it vs. Bennett but hopefully we’ll get to see it Friday.

My prediction is that Berto will win in the second round via submission.

Jeremiah Metcalf vs. Jaime Jara - This match was originally supposed to be a rematch between Metcalf and Aaron Wetherspoon in a bout that would unify the Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage welterweight titles. However, Wetherspoon is injured and pulled out of the fight yesterday.

Stepping in for Wetherspoon will be Jara, a 37-year old tough as nails fighter who took the fight on next to no notice. Jara is the Gladiator Challenge middleweight champion and has also held the GC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles in the past. He has to cut to fight at 185 lbs. and now is faced with the task of cutting to an agreed upon match weight of 175 lbs. That dude’s life must have sucked the last few days.

Jara is a good wrestler who has worked hard to improve his boxing. He’s fought Rashad Evans (lost), Carter Williams (won), and Anthony Ruiz (holds three wins over him) so he won’t be feeling any pressure fighting for Showtime.

There’s been some talk that the match could be title vs. title but I don’t see how the state of California would allow a 170 lbs. title be on the line against a fighter weighing in at 175 lbs. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Metcalf is a 26-year old freestyle fighter who trains with Gene Fields out of Team Voodoo. He’s a very well-rounded fighter who has good Greco-Roman wrestling skills. He’s going to be giving up a lot of size to Jara so who knows if he’ll be able to utilize those wrestling skills.

Metcalf has great cardio so his best bet may be to keep the fight standing and try to wear Jara down since he’s coming into the fight on short notice.

I’m going to pick Metcalf by unanimous decision. If Jara had more time to prepare, the outcome would be different.

Aaron Rosa vs. Jefferson Silva – Watch out for Jefferson Silva! He has a K-1 background and trains with Mario Sperry out of Brazilian Top Team. He’s a rangy Muay Thai striker with some Jiu-Jitsu training that has star potential written all over him. The only thing that is holding him back is his conditioning.

That could be a problem for Silva because Rosa has been a sparring partner for Tito Ortiz for Ortiz’s last two fights. His conditioning is excellent and he has a lot of heart.

Rosa likes to stand up but he’s got some ground skills. If Silva has top position and gets sloppy, Rosa will be a threat to triangle him.

These two will stand and trade early and if Silva doesn’t take Rosa out early, we easily could see an upset. In spite of that possibility, I’m still picking Silva to win the fight and come out of the show with a lot of people talking about him.

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Lee Gibson – Besides Silva, Corbbrey is the other fighter on this card that people need to watch out for. I’m really impressed with him as he’s a smart guy who is extremely competitive.

Corbbrey is a professional boxer who has competed in professionally in Muay Thai as well. Don’t stereotype him though because he’s not just a striker. He also competes in grappling tournaments and has won events such as NAGA and ISCF. He trained Jiu-Jitsu with Lloyd Irvin and now works on his ground game with UFC fighter Din Thomas.

Gibson is a tough dude who is a former Army Ranger and served 16 months in Iraq as a private security contractor. He splits his time between Kansas City and Las Vegas. He works in KC as a fireman and trains MMA in Vegas with Tony Fryklund.

Gibson just recently fought for Richard Steele’s Steele Cage Promotions on July 7, defeating Talon Hoffman via TKO at 2:25 in the second round. He’s a solid fighter and Corbbrey will have to bring his A-game in order to win.

Finishing Gibson won’t be easy, which is why I am picking Corbbrey to win via unanimous decision.

Chris David vs. Scott Jorgenson - David is trained by UFC fighter David Terrell out of the Nor Cal Fighting Alliance. He has a record of 8-5-1 and is a perfect 3-0 when fighting for the Gladiator Challenge promotion.

David has been training in martial arts since the third grade and wrestled during high school. When he first got involved with MMA he was almost exclusively a wrestler, however, he’s made strides in recent years in all other aspects of MMA.

It’s good that his stand up has improved because that’s where he needs to keep the fight in order to win. Jorgenson has much better wrestling credentials, having been a three-time All-Pac 10 selection as a freestyle wrestler while at Boise State.

I expect Jorgenson to win the fight in the first round via ground and pound.