CLICK HERE for more UFC 86-related content from 5 Oz of Pain!

For a guy that claims to loathe the tournament system, Dana White and the UFC put on an awesome facsimile of one last Wednesday during UFC Fight Night 13. Of the 12 fights scheduled, lightweight bouts rolled two-thirds deep and included arguably five of the top 10 fighters in the stacked division. The man second in line for a title shot, Kenny Florian, headlined yet another Fight Night, making it two of the last three. The UFC, almost begging to validate his place in line in the court of public opinion, finally got its wish and may have settled a lot more of the picture in the process.

Rankings are a difficult and much-contested black art, especially after the top five in most UFC weight divisions. Personal opinions (of the fans and of the men in charge), the pitfalls of MMAth and the incessant yammering from the business aspect of fighting are constant hurdles in sorting out the names on paper. It also doesn’t help that the man who holds the keys, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, is as accessible and easy to read as a treatise on Indian tax law written in Sanskrit.

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A lightweight bout between Joe Stevenson and Gleison Tibau is set for UFC 86 on July 5, in Las Vegas, according to Sherdog.com, which is citing sources close to the negotiations.

The UFC has not officially announced the bout and the camps for Stevenson and Tibau have yet to formally comment.

Stevenson last competed at UFC 80 this past January, where he lost a match for the UFC vacant lightweight title to B.J. Penn via a second round submission. Prior to the loss, Stevenson had won four consecutive fights in the UFC with wins over Yves Edwards, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Melvin Guillard, and Kurt Pellegrino.

Stevenson entered the UFC after winning the welterweight division for the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality television show on Spike TV.

Tibau, 15-5, is a product of the highly-touted American Top Team camp in Florida. He had been on a four fight winning streak in the UFC until losing a unanimous decision to Tyson Griffin at UFC 81 in February.

UFC 86 is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight title defense by champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Forrest Griffin.

The final trivia question in the “Get to Know Joe” contest is…

What sport would Joe’s parents NOT let him play (even though they said ‘yes’ to fighting MMA)?

Find the answer on www.joestevenson.com then HURRY back HERE to be the first person to post ALL SEVEN correct answers to the “Get to Know Joe” questions we’ve been asking all week.

Click here for all seven trivia questions and try to win the Joe Stevenson t-shirt bundle.

Today’s “Get to Know Joe” question is…

Who gave Joe Daddy the only KO loss of his career?

Find the answer on www.joestevenson.com

The final “Get to Know Joe” trivia question will be revealed tomorrow midday. Be the first to post all seven correct answers to win a 4 pack of Joe Stevenson signature series t-shirts.

Click here for the first five trivia questions and full “Get to Know Joe” contest details.

Today’s “Get to Know Joe” question is…

What are the name’s of Joe’s 3 sons?

Find the answer on www.joestevenson.com

Click here for the first four trivia questions and full “Get to Know Joe” contest details.

Today’s “Get to Know Joe” question is…

What meal service, also used by Bon Jovi, cooked up special meals for Joe in preparation for his trip to England?

Find the answer on www.joestevenson.com

Click here for the first three trivia questions and full contest details.

Today’s “Get to Know Joe” question is…

Joe snapped a pic of which UFC fighter playing Guitar Hero?

Find the answer on www.joestevenson.com

Click here for the first two trivia questions and full contest details.

After doing my interview with him last week and watching this interview, it’s really coming into focus just how polished Joe Stevenson is when it comes to doing interviews.

Click here to win free Joe Stevenson gear from FiveOuncesOfPian.com!

On Jan 19th, Joe Stevenson is fighting BJ Penn for the UFC Lightweight Title. To hype this bout, FiveOuncesofPain.com wants you to “Get to Know Joe”. For this trivia style contest, we have prepared seven questions about Joe Stevenson and you’ll need to search Joe Daddy’s website to find the answers.

Each day, 5 Oz of Pain will reveal the question of the day; the answers can all be found at www.joestevenson.com. Keep track of your answers and after the final question is revealed on Sat 1/19, be the first person to post all seven correct answers.

What will you win for all your hard work? The Joe Daddy himself has provided Five Ounces of Pain with your prize - win a t-shirt bundle from Stevenson’s new line.

To Enter: Check this post each day for the “Get to Know Joe” question of the day. On Sat. 1/19, we’ll reveal the seventh and final question.
How to Win: Be the FIRST PERSON to post all seven correct answers in the Comment String of THIS CONTEST POST.
Timing: Contest ends Saturday Jan 19th, immediately after the seventh “Get to Know Joe” question is revealed.
Judging: 5 Oz of Pain will announce winner on Monday 1/21/08

Question 1: Of his 30 wins since age 16, how many victories have been tapouts?
Question 2: Who does Joe consider one of the “best grappling instructors in the world”?
Question 3: Joe snapped a pic of which UFC fighter playing Guitar Hero?
Question 4: What meal service, also used by Bon Jovi, cooked up special meals for Joe in preparation for his trip to England?
Question 5: What are the name’s of Joe’s 3 sons?
Question 6: Who gave Joe Daddy the only KO loss of his career?
Question 7: What sport would Joe’s parents NOT let him play (even though they said ‘yes’ to fighting MMA)?

On January 19 in New Castle, England, Joe Stevenson is set to square off against B.J. Penn for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 80. Stevenson was in the midst of the final stages of training for the fight vs. Penn when we caught up with him for an interview.

For Stevenson, this is an incredibly busy time, as in addition to training, he has been making himself available to the media for interviews. In fact, Stevenson revealed the other day on his website, Joe Stevenson.com, that he did five interviews in one day on top of his regular training schedule. So it was little surprise when he agreed to speak with FiveOuncesOfPain.com that he would need to do the interview 6 a.m. PT, which wasn’t a problem for us, considering we’re on the east coast.

Here’s a transcript of our early morning conversation with Stevenson.

Sam Caplan: You’re in the process of wrapping up your training right now. When do you leave for the UK?

Joe Stevenson: I plan to leave when the UFC and all the other guys are going, and I think everyone is leaving Sunday or Monday.

Sam Caplan: It’s been said you started competing in pro MMA fights at the age of 16, is that true?

Joe Stevenson: That is completely true.

Sam Caplan: What age did you start training?

Joe Stevenson: I started wrestling when I was eleven and I started jiu-jitsu when I was 13.

Sam Caplan: The story I’ve heard is that you received your parents consent and fought on reservations. Is that correct?

Joe Stevenson: That is correct.

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This video is courtesy of our good friends at RawVegas.tv.

RawVegas has commenced its preparations for UFC 80 on Jan. 19 with the launch of their “Road to 80″ series featuring Joe Stevenson.

The below video gives you a good look at to who the man is behind the fighter.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, who will be fighting B.J. Penn at UFC 80, apparently hates the idea of Floyd Mayweather making the crossover to mixed martial arts.

From Yahoo! Sports:

“He represents himself in a different manner and it’s not the way I think is correct for our athletes,” Stevenson said. “You don’t brag about how much money you make. That’s totally disrespectful. I’ve seen him in clubs and I’ve seen the way he treats people and I can tell you, that’s not the kind of a guy we want representing this sport.”

Joe Stevenson isn’t pulling any punches. As a matter of fact, he sounds pretty confident that he would beat Floyd if given the opportunity:

“Boxing and MMA are different sports. He’s a great boxer. He’s the best. I was rooting for Ricky Hatton and I have to give Floyd credit for doing what he did. But he’d be in an entirely different sport. And yeah, his strikes would be intimidating, but I’d take him down. He’d have to be able to defend a takedown and that sounds a lot easier than it is.”

And finally, Stevenson represents his argument as to why MMA doesn’t need Floyd Mayweather:

“I don’t think we need that kind of attention,” Stevenson said. “We have a great sport and a lot of people are beginning to realize that, more every day. We don’t have to bring in the best boxers just to get people to pay attention to us, because they’re realizing what a great sport we have already.”

Exactly. Like Notorious B.I.G. once said: Mo’ money, mo’ problems. MMA doesn’t need Floyd Mayweather. In fact, he’s the last thing the sport needs. He brings exactly the kind of “me first” attitude that the sport has yet to be tainted by, save for the Randy Couture situation.

And what happens, if say, Floyd does happen to fight in a mixed martial arts bout? He’s going to command a huge payday. Guys who have been busting their asses for years to break into the elite levels of mixed martial arts are getting by on enough to feed their families while still maintaining a day job. Is it fair that a guy with little training and no experience should command a huge payday when he hasn’t paid his dues in the sport? No.

Mayweather has proven himself in the boxing ring, nothing more. He doesn’t deserve the platform that he’ll receive if he does end up crossing over. We’ve seen what the guy does when he’s on a platform. It’s “me first.” Mo’ money. Mo’ problems.

According to UFC.com, the UFC withdrew recognition of Sean Sherk as the promotion’s lightweight champion after the California State Athletic Commission voted on Dec. 4 to reduce his suspension for testing positive for steroids from 12 months to six as opposed to overturning it completely.

With Sherk stripped of the title, the UFC has announced that B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson will fight each other for the vacant belt on Jan. 19 in New Castle England at UFC 80.

Despite no longer possessing the championship, Sherk still remains in the title mix and is expected to fight the winner of the Penn vs. Stevenson bout.

“I have nothing but respect for Sean Sherk and I believe he’s been honest throughout this whole process,” UFC President Dana White is quoted as saying by UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi. “But BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson will be fighting for the lightweight title at UFC 80 on January 19th and Sean Sherk will fight the winner for the title.”

By Ben Fowlkes

My brain hurts. It’s tired of trying to sort this mess out, and it’s getting nowhere. But it’s not my brain’s fault. At least, not this time.

If you’re on the UFC’s mailing list, as I am, you received an email alerting you that B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson will be fighting for the “interim” lightweight title at UFC 80 in January. And if you also compulsively follow MMA news, as I do, you know that Dana White has said he will not strip lightweight champion Sean Sherk of his title because of the way the California State Athletic Commission has bungled his appeal of a positive steroid case.

But if Sherk isn’t being stripped, why is there an interim title at all?

This feels like one of those situations that only gets more confusing as you try to sort it out. I almost understand the reasoning. White seems to feel that Sherk is innocent when it comes to steroid use. From what I’ve heard, the levels of nandrolene detected in Sherk’s system were so low that it’s not unbelievable to think this might be a false positive.

So, okay, I get it. White feels that the CSAC, which has a reputation as the most difficult commission for MMA organizations to deal with, by far, is screwing this thing up. They postponed Sherk’s appeal hearing because they didn’t read all the material submitted by his lawyer, which makes them seem more like the Mayberry Athletic Commission than the California one. White was angered by this, as was Sherk, and understandably so.

That’s why White announced that Sherk (who White says he considers a friend) will not be stripped of his title. Okay. That makes a certain kind of sense. It seems like he might be blowing off the CSAC, and maybe somebody should.

But now I have to ask again. Why is there an interim title?

I understand that Sherk is stilll under suspension pending his appeal, but if the UFC’s position is that Sherk is going to hold onto that belt unless the CSAC can produce photos of a needle going into “The Muscle Shark’s” arm, there shouldn’t be any interim title. It’s meaningless. The winner of the interim title has essentially just earned number one contender status, only he’s got a belt to show for it.

I’m not going to pretend I don’t know why the UFC is doing this. They don’t want the belt to be out of circulation while they wait for this appeal, because a title fight always makes for an instant main event on a pay-per-view card. They already have a heavyweight title with no one to defend it after Randy Couture’s “resignation”, and they’ve kept their welterweight title in reality TV land lo these many months.

But they can’t have it both ways. They can’t refuse to strip the title-holder and also have two other guys fight for his title. That essentially creates two champions in one weight class, which defeats the purpose of having a champion at all.

Do you see now what I’ve been going through? Maybe it’s my fault for even trying to understand this, or for assuming that it’s supposed to make sense. As it is I feel like I’m standing in the mall and looking at one of those magic eye pictures that has an image of a sailboat somewhere in it, only I can’t see it and I just keep staring while old people and children pass by me with pity in their eyes.

Much like those magic eye pictures, this situation will leave me with nothing but a headache and a nagging sense of failure. I just know it. And at the end of the day, we’ll still have two guys walking around claiming to be the UFC lightweight champion.

Ben Fowlkes is the writer of the blog The Fighting Life and the editor of IFL.tv, the official website of the International Fight League.

I first came across this story on UFCMania.com, which is that Mike Chiapetta from NBCSports.com is reporting that Joe Stevenson suffered a broken jaw during his decision victory over Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 74 this past Saturday. According to Chiapetta, Stevenson suffered the injury in the first round.

There’s been a lot of speculation that Stevenson earned himself a match with B.J. Penn at UFC 78 in Newark, NJ on November 17 with the win. However, the UFC has yet to announce any plans for such a match. If they are considering putting it together, there’s no word on how Stevenson’s broken jaw would affect the matchup.

If a match between Stevenson and Penn is booked, it could be for the UFC lightweight title. The UFC has no plans to strip Sean Sherk of the title until his appeal hearing takes place before the California State Athletic Commission in October but UFC president Dana White has said that he’ll be stripped of the title if the suspension is upheld.

If Stevenson is healthy, one workaround to the situation would be to book the match between the two and add the title stipulation to it later if Sherk’s suspension is upheld. For the record, CSAC has never overturned a suspension so Sherk’s odds of retaining the title past October are unlikely, unless he files for another continuance.

As of now, UFC 78 is without a main event match. It remains to be seen if Stevenson vs. Penn would be received as a main event by the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia audience. It’s been a long time since there’s been a UFC event in the Northeastern corridor and fans in the area might be expecting more than a potential main event between the two.

There really doesn’t seem to be a lot of obvious candidates to headline the card. Andrei Arlovski has just one fight left under his UFC contract and it is believed that the UFC is delaying the scheduling of the last match of his contract because other promotions will have strong interest in him.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is not booked for a fight but outside of Arlovski, all the top heavyweights are booked for the near future.

There’s always the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. It had been thought that the two would fight at UFC 77 on October 20 in Cincinnati but a bout agreement has yet to be signed. Ortiz is waiting until his back feels better before committing to a match but he has also made it known that he’d like the match to happen in Vegas.

As of now, the next UFC pay-per-view in Vegas is not scheduled until Dec. 29. Ortiz might be fighting a losing battle in trying to get booked for that show because it’s believed that Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes will be one of the headline matches with the long-awaited match between Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell possibly being the other, assuming Liddell defeats Keith Jardine at UFC 76 on September 22 in Anaheim, Calif. Having Liddell, Hughes, Silva, and Ortiz all on the same card might be a little too expensive plus it would take away from the strength of cards held right before or just after the December event.

Ortiz’s public comments about fighting in Vegas are very interesting. Under his current contract he gets a bonus for the amount of PPVs sold for any card he’s on. Is he trying to make a slick business move and trying to get on a card that could potentially set record PPV buys for a UFC show?

The third edition of “Inside the Cage Radio” will be posted later today. At one point during the show, the schedule for the televised matches at UFC 74 was brought up. I have some issues with the decisions behind what matches will be televised and which matches may only end up being seen by the live audience in Vegas.

I’m looking forward to seeing both Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga and Josh Koscheck vs. Georges St. Pierre. Both have the potential to be great matches and I obviously have no issue with their inclusion on the main card. I also have high expectations for Kurt Pellegrino vs. Joe Stevenson. It’s a fight that could be contested primarily on the ground so there’s a chance some in the ground might grow restless but both are proficient ground fighters and I think the technique that will be on display should be top notch.

My issues though are with both the Kendall Grove vs. Patrick Cote and Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane matchups. The respective matches were made to set up Grove and Huerta with wins. I understand the UFC has high expectations for both and wants to get them additional exposure in front of what will likely be a large PPV audience tuning in to see Randy Couture.

Who knows how the matches will turn out. Cote could step up inside the Octagon for once and shock the world. Crane could also follow in the footsteps of Leonard Garcia and Doug Evans and give Huerta a run for his money for a few minutes. But the fact that the UFC is putting not one, but two showcase matches on the card is rather irksome, especially since one of the matches currently not slated to be shown live is Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida.

Guida put on a hell of a performance against Tyson Griffin at UFC 72 and was robbed of a decision win. How does the UFC reward him? He gets an opening match assignment against Aurelio, a fighter who many expect to play a big role at the top of the UFC’s lightweight division.

A lot of hardcore fans are excited about Aurelio’s arrival and are disappointed they might not get to see it. Some might say that novice fans have no idea who he is, and thanks to putting him on the preliminary card, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Guida vs. Aurelio has the potential to be a great match but the television audience will only get a chance to see it if 1-2 main card matches wind up ending early. Personally, I’d rather see Frank Mir vs. Antoni Hardonk and David Heath vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, although I realize I am probably in the minority there so I won’t press the issue. However, I think the decision not to feature Guida vs. Aurelio on the PPV telecast is a major oversight. I’m just glad I’ve been given the chance to cover the show in Vegas so that I’ll have an opportunity to see it live.