Reports that a EliteXC middleweight title defense by incumbent Robbie Lawler on Nov. 8 against Joey Villasenor could soon be finalized may be a tad premature.

While speaking with EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw on Monday, Shaw was unwilling to rule out the possibility of a Lawler vs. Villasenor fight being added to the card at some point but expressed that he felt the report should be treated as a rumor at this stage.

We contacted Lawler’s manager, Monte Cox, for comment on Monday, but our request was not immediately returned.

A Lawler vs. Villasenor fight appears uncertain at this point but one fighter who appears to be a lock for the Nov. 8 show is Nick Diaz.

Shaw has stated in separate interviews that with Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Beni Radach officially being added to the promotion’s Oct. 4 CBS show in Ft. Lauderdale it means that any possibility of K.J. Noons defending his lightweight title vs. Diaz is out the window. However, EliteXC still has plans for Diaz and Shaw indicated that he’s expected to be a part of the promotion’s Nov. 8 show, which will be televised on SHOWTIME.

Sources have also informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com that EliteXC would like to add Eddie Alvarez to the show. The plan would be to feature Alvarez and Diaz in separate fights and build to a possible fight between the two, which could be for a vacated EliteXC lightweight title if Noons and his camp do not answer the call to face a fighter the promotion has deemed as a number one challenger.

MMA Junkie is reporting that middleweight Joey Villasenor is set to make his return to the EliteXC cage on Sept. 20 at a to be determined location against a to be determined opponent. Villasenor thinks the card could possibly in front of his home crowd and against a fighter, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, who he’s lost to once before:

“It sounds like it’s going to be in my hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico,” Villasenor said. “We’re just waiting on confirmation of who it’s going to be (against).”

“They keep on bringing up Ninja’s name,” Villasenor said. “They’re bringing up other names, but Ninja is the one that is sticking out right now.”

A rematch against Rua would allow Villasenor the opportunity to avenge his only loss in the EliteXC organizaiton. The last time these two fought was in June of last year with Rua coming out on top with a second round TKO. Most recently Villasenor defeated Phil Baroni via TKO in round one and Rua toppled Tony Bonello in devastating fashion on the same card in May.

A win for either fighter would set up a possible rematch with current EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler. Lawler defeated Rua in September of last year to win the EliteXC middleweight championship. Villasenor dropped a fight against Lawler at PRIDE 32 in Las Vegas in 2006. Both men have a score to settle with the current champion and this fight could be billed as a #1 contender matchup in EliteXC’s middleweight division.

After fighting twice on primetime network television over the span of seven weeks, EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler expressed during the post-fight press conference for “Unfinished Business” this past Saturday that he was planning on taking some time off.

Despite promoting shows on Aug. 15, Sept. 20, Sept. 26, and Oct. 4, it appears that EliteXC is in complete agreement that Lawler needs a break. EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that Lawler will be on hiatus in order to allow his body time to recover from competing in back-to-back fights in such close proximity, as well as to allow the nasty gash sustained to the top of his scalp to heal.

Who he’ll face upon his return is anyone’s guess at this point. Former UFC light heavyweight champion and former Strikeforce middleweight title holder Frank Shamrock has expressed a keen interest in fighting Lawler in the coming months. While Shamrock has stated in the past that he’s only looking to fight big names, it appears as if Lawler could fit the profile of his ideal opponent after being featured in two bouts on primetime network TV.

Whether or not a Lawler vs. Shamrock encounter will occur before year’s end remains to be seen, as Shamrock not only owes two fights to EliteXC, but one more to Strikeforce as well. With Cung Le not expected to fight again until 2009, Shamrock may be called into action before Lawler is ready to return.

Lawler could also be looking at a rematch at one of two opponents. Both Joey Villasenor and Murilo “Ninja” Rua have won high-profile fights as of late. With several big shows coming up and a lack of star power in the middleweight division, it wouldn’t be surprising to see EliteXC try to match the two up again. Villasenor and Rua fought for the then-vacant EliteXC middleweight title during the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni show last June with Rua becoming the first-ever title holder at 185 lbs. following a second round TKO.

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Last night was the second installment of EliteXC on CBS and it proved to be a good showing for the EliteXC brand. Every fight was exciting, every fight had a finish, they crowned two new champions, and one champion defended his title for the first time. Who knows how the show will be received by the general public because it had little to no hype behind it, but for my money (or lack thereof), it was a very exciting show. Let’s take a deeper look…

Robbie Lawler sealed the deal this time around.

Lawler looked to be the better fighter in the first outing and I had the fight scored in favor of him until the stoppage the first time, but he sealed the deal last knight with a knee right to Smith’s ribs that sent the challenger to the floor and eventually led to a stoppage. The first time around, it’s hard to tell who would have won. But last night it was clear that Lawler was not going to let things get out of hand, especially after he was cut. As we look toward the future, it’s hard to say who Lawler will fight next in the middlweight division. After Murilo Rua’s devastation of Tony Bonello back in May, I have to think that Rua may be in line to take another crack at Lawler and try to win back the EliteXC title that was once his.

Jake Shields is extremely underrated.

Nick Thompson is one of the best welterweights in the entire world and Jake Shields made him look like a punk last night. I mean, Shields finished Thompson with a one arm guillotine from the mount. One arm, people. His other arm was posted on the mat. That’s extremely impressive against a fighter the caliber of Nick Thompson. I have Shields ranked as the #3 welterweight in the world in my rankings that I submit to WAMMA every month and last night he validated that high of a spot in the rankings. He may very well be the best fighter on EliteXC’s entire roster. When you make great competition look like child’s play, you’re not working with a level playing field. Shields doesn’t get a whole lot of play because he’s not in the one organization that really matters, the UFC, but he is without a doubt one of the top three or five welterweights in the world. It’s time to start giving the man his credit.

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ProElite.com has made the first fight between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith available for your viewing pleasure. The fight ended in controversy as Smith was poked in the eye and deemed unable to continue by the doctors at ringside. Up until that point, however, it was nothing short of a fantastic slugfest. The two will go at it again this weekend in a rematch for the EliteXC middlweight title.

According the The Fight Network, contracts have been offered to both fighters for the fight:

Heavyweight contenders Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum are slated to square off at UFC 85 on Saturday, June 7 at the O2 Arena in London, The Fight Network has learned. No agreements have been signed, but the bout has been presented to both men, according to a source within one of their camps.

So much for Werdum getting that title shot that Dana White was talking about. I really like this matchmaking though, as both guys are good muay thai and BJJ practitioners so it should be fairly interesting. For Vera it’s a chance to redeem himself after his poor showing against Tim Sylvia at UFC 77.

The real question is who fights Nogueira for the interim title now? Is the UFC really still holding out hope that Randy Couture is going to come back and fight Nogueira? Let’s hope not. You have to think that if Cheick Kongo wins against Heath Herring at UFC 82 then he may very well be the next person in line for the title. Boy, does the UFC need heavyweight talent or what? Yikes. Kongo vs. Nogeuira for the title is not a very appetizing thought.

That’s the word according to MMA Junkie:

With his come-from-behind victory over Gabriel Gonzaga at Saturday’s UFC 80 event, Fabricio Werdum — who owns a mere 1-1 record in the UFC — has been granted a heavyweight title shot. He’ll take on the winner of an interim title fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia that headlines next month’s UFC 81 event.

UFC’s Dana White confirmed Werdum’s upcoming shot at the belt during UFC 80, according to our partners at Yahoo! Sports.

Really? Already? It’s likely that the UFC is giving Fabricio Werdum a title shot because there’s no one else to really give a title shot to. One would think that the logical choice would be the winner of the Herring/Kongo fight at UFC 82, but that fight isn’t until March. The heavyweight title will be decided in February and Werdum will be available to fight before either Herring or Kongo. It’s hard to believe that the winner of that fight wouldn’t be the number one contender and would likely get a shot at the winner of Sylvia/Nogueira vs. Werdum.

According to GracieMag.com, this could be the case:

The Carioca Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga finally shall have a chance to avenge his knockout loss to Fabricio Werdum in Jungle Fight 1, in September, 2003. Marco Alvan, leader of Team Link confirmed today exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com that the battle between the black belts will take place in January, at UFC 80, in Newcastle, England.

As mentioned above, these two have fought in the past with Werdum knocking Gonzaga out early in the third round. It’s a pretty damn good fight, and if you wanna watch it, look no further than the MMA World League website. You can create a username and watch the fights for free on their channel. Also, Lyoto Machida vs. Stephan Bonnar is another interesting fight that can be viewed on the site.

Anyways, the only problem I have with Werdum making his return to the Octagon is he was just as boring as Andrei Arlovski was in their fight and he came out on the losing end of things. Why does he get a fight and Arlovski does not? I guess the obvious answer is Arlovski’s current contract situation, but giving Werdum a fight before Arlovski is just a slap in the face to “The Pitbull.”

I’m on the road right now so I apologize for the lack of updates. Then again, from what I can gather, there isn’t much to update.

I am in LA right now on business (there are going to be some major changes to 5 Oz. in the near future and that’s all I can say) and was able to catch the final two matches of UFN 11 (yes, the hotel I’m at had Spike TV!!!). Martin and Leben were trading bombs and I really thought it was just a matter of time until Martin put him away. But Leben’s chin is really good and the announcers were correct in pointing out that he was in the best shape he’s been in for quite some time. The ending caught me off guard a bit.

As for Kenny Florian, what can you say about the guy? He’s really built himself into a tremendous fighter. I think he deserves another shot at the lightweight title assuming B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson fight for it at UFC 78 (assuming Sherk loses his appeal and is stripped). Florian should get winner.

One other thing I wanted to add, and I know it’s random, but we’re always asking about “What happened to this fighter?” or “What’s going on with this fighter?” One guy that has completey disappeared from the radar that nobody is talking about is Fabricio Werdum.

If I remember, the UFC sort of touted his signing. But after his snoozer of a match with Andrei Arlovski we haven’t heard a thing from him. Is he injured? Did he get his contract cut? Is he taking some time off?

If anyone knows of his whereabouts, please let me know in the comments area.

BTW, all systems are go for another edition of “Inside the Cage Radio” this weekend. Be ready!

The nightmare is over; Brandon Vera is returning to the UFC and everything is right with the MMA world once again. Well, maybe not completely right until Fedor signs with a major fight promotion and we finally get to see Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva, but Vera’s return to the active fighting scene is a great thing nonetheless.

In case you missed it, the UFC officially announced yesterday that Vera could be fighting again as soon as October. The announcement did not contain any definitive information about what date Vera will be fighting on and who it will be against.

With no mention of an opponent, the wheels began spinning in my head with thoughts of who I’d like Vera to fight in his first match back and also who I think is the most logical opponent for him based on logistics.

I wanted to share my comments with everyone but I want to first state that the analysis listed below is PURE CONJECTURE and is based on no factual evidence or inside information. I’m simply trying to have some fun by speculation so please don’t claim FiveOuncesOfPain.com is reporting anything.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me break down the list of potential candidates for Vera to possibly fight:

• Tim Sylvia - A match between Sylvia and Vera at UFC 77 has been rumored by several sites the past few weeks. I think a match with Sylvia makes a lot of sense because it presents a great storyline considering the two were in line to face each other at UFC 68 this past March. We all know what happened and Randy Couture is now the UFC heavyweight champ and Vera and Sylvia aren’t. If Vera comes out and drops the hammer on Big Tim, then you have the whole plot line that “The Truth” would be the heavyweight champ right now if it weren’t for problems with his manager. Stylistically, I’m lukewarm on the match but from a marketing perspective Sylvia is the best opponent for Vera. However, chances are we won’t see it as Vera’s first fight back because Sylvia is recovering from back surgery and a staph infection. I don’t see how he could be ready in time to fight in October.

• The winner of the Mirko Cro Cop vs. Cheick Kongo match at UFC 75 - Normally I would just bypass any mention of Kongo and just reference Cro Cop but after his loss to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, I’m not taking anything for granted. Cro Cop vs. Vera would be a strong co-main event on any UFC card and a match between the two before year’s end is not out of the realm of possibilities. However, I don’t see it happening as Vera’s first fight. UFC 75 isn’t until September 8 and UFC 77 is in October. Cro Cop has made quick turnarounds before while in Pride but I just don’t see him coming back so soon to fight an opponent the caliber of Vera. If Cro Cop defeats Kongo and Vera wins his first match back then perhaps we’d get to see the two face each other on the UFC’s card scheduled for December 29 with the winner becoming the number one contender for the heavyweight title?

• Tito Ortiz or Chuck Liddell - We can’t overlook the possibility of Vera dropping down to light heavyweight. While the UFC’s press release talked about Vera returning to the scene as a heavyweight and made no mention of a possible move to light heavyweight we have to take into consideration that the UFC’s heavyweight division is not only better but bigger than it was when Vera last fought this past November. I think we’ll see Vera drop down in weight at some point but I just don’t see it happening anytime soon. While Ortiz has not officially signed to fight Rashad Evans, it’s expected to happen meaning that all the top light heavyweights in the UFC are booked. That is, unless Wanderlei Silva has officially signed. Hmmm… Nah.

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - I’d love to see it and Nogueira currently is not scheduled for another fight so Big ‘Nog vs. Vera has a legitimate chance of happening in October. From a future planning perspective, I’m not so sure it makes sense. Both fighters haven’t reached their full marketing potential and a loss by either fighter would be a major setback. A match with a lose/win proposition is really a lose/lose for the UFC when there are win/win possibilities out there. Doesn’t that make perfect sense?

• Winner or loser of Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Randy Couture match at UFC 74 - Stylistically a matchup between either Gonzaga or Couture would be great but I don’t think we’ll see Vera vs. either guy for the same reasons why I don’t think we’ll see him face Nogueira in October. Matches with Vera against either of the three are all possible in the future but the timing just isn’t right. Vera needs a win before fighting for the title and coming back in October to fight Vera might be too ambitious for the loser.

• Fabricio Werdum - A lot of people are bitching about Karo Parisyan and Andrei Arlovski (and rightfully so) not having matches lined up but why isn’t anyone championing Werdum’s cause? Is it just me or does it feel like the UFC is punishing both Arlvoski and Werdum for having a crappy match at UFC 70? If the UFC views Werdum as nothing more than a gate keeper at this point and they want to give Vera a layup then maybe this matchup might work? Then again, Werdum is a very dangerous opponent and if he upset Vera then I don’t think the UFC would feel like they could make something good out of a bad situation. If they are going to put Vera in with a dangerous opponent then they should do so against someone who carries more marketing potential.

• Wes Sims - I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. How Joe Lauzon of me?

• Andrei Arlovski - The old Pitbull vs. Vera would be one helluva match that could result in a double knockout. But the old Arlovski has been replaced by some new guy who is trying to be some fancy fighter who fights not to lose as opposed to fighting to win. If there’s anything that can bring back the old Arlovski then perhaps it’s Vera, a man who fights like he was shot out of a cannon. If Arlovski tried to fight a defensive fight against Vera then he’d have to run in circles because Vera would likely push the pace for the entire duration of the fight. If Arlovski doesn’t want to engage then Vera would likely be more than happy to bring the fight to him. Stylistically, this match has a lot of potential and the marketing potential in the short-term and long-term is also strong. Vera vs. Arlovski could sell some tickets and pay-per-views and the winner of the fight would be in a strong position to challenge for the heavyweight title in their next bout.

After a thorough review of the contenders, when you look at all the angles (potential match quality, box office appeal, and future planning) I don’t think there’s a better matchup for Vera than a bout against Arlovski at UFC 77 in October with the winner being granted a shot at the heavyweight title.

Lots of news to cover this morning and little time. I think it makes sense for another edition of the “MMA Notebook”:

* UFCjunkie.com has broken news about a lot of new UFC fights in recent days. It looks like Jeremy Stephens has preserved his job in the UFC and will be taking on Nate Mohr at UFC 76 on September 22 in Anaheim, Calif.

* Junkie is also reporting that Jorge Gurgel is likely to be facing Doug Evans at UFC 77 in Cincinnati this coming October. Many of Gurgel’s schools are based in the Ohio area, so it will be a home game for him of sorts. All those rumors about him fighting Frankie Edgar are obviously false. They didn’t make sense to begin with. Why would you force one of those guys to not be able to fight in front of a home crowd? It’s not like the UFC has a shortage of lightweight fighters to match up with them.

* Tito Ortiz is back from Iraq and recently did an interview with UFCMania.com. Apparently Tito has been successful thus far in bypassing the chain of command in the UFC and is talking directly to Lorenzo Fertitta about business matters:

“I’m dealing with Lorenzo Fertitta now and he’s awesome to deal with, a great businessman, not like that loser they have as President. What a horrible guy. He’s gonna send the company down the drain because sooner or later the fighters are gonna realize they don’t have to be bullied anymore. They should just get rid of Dana.”

The fact that Tito and Dana White won’t be going to war against each other during contract renegotiations greatly improves the chances of Ortiz re-signing with the UFC. The fact that the UFC is willing to accommodate him in this matter shows they want him back… or, at least not fighting for the competition.

* MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Fabricio Werdum has officially joined the Chute Boxe camp in Curitiba, Brazil.

* In an interview with MMAWeekly.com, Greg Jackson has confirmed that Diego Sanchez has left his camp and is moving to California. According to the interview, Sanchez is moving further West to reconnect with his son. Sanchez will be working with Rob Garcia in California as he preps for his next fight at UFC 76 against Jon Fitch.

* The archive of my debate with Jordan Breen on his show yesterday is now available on Sherdog.com. The topic was the “Ten Biggest Underachievers in MMA” article that appeared on CBS Sportsline a few weeks back. Some people thought Jordan won and some people thought I won. Listen for yourself and decide.

* If you want to hear more of me on the radio, check out the debut edition of Inside the Cage Radio. Co-host Matt Cava and I interview IFL co-founded and commissioner Kurt Otto and BodogFIGHT analyst Paul Lazenby. Matt and I also discuss the best MMA-related TV show; Sherk and Franca; Liddell vs. Jardine and whether it’s a legit matchup; and much more! We’re cutting our second show tomorrow and Kurt Pellegrino is slated to join us. We’ll be talking about a number of things with him, including his upcoming match in a few weeks at UFC 74 against Joe Stevenson.