The news comes courtesy of a recent report from Chris Palmquist at mixedmartialarts.com.

Rich Franklin, Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick, and Stefan Struve were among the winners to fall under suspension.

A full list of the medical suspensions following UFC 99 are listed below:

Rich Franklin: Needs to have x-ray of left foot and cleared by doctor or suspension will last through December 5, 2009. Minimum suspension until July 14, 2009, no contact allowed until July 5, 2009.

Cain Velasquez: Suspended until July 14, 2009. No contact until July 5, 2009.

Cheick Kongo: Suspended until July 29, 2009 . No contact until July 14, 2009.

Mustapha Al-Turk: Needs to have left eye checked and cleared by Ophthalmologist or suspension will last through December 5, 2009. Minimum suspension until July 29, 2009 , no contact allowed until July 14, 2009.

Mike Swick: Needs to have x-ray of right hand and cleared by doctor or December 5, 2009. Minimum suspension until July 14,2009, no contact allowed until July 5, 2009.

Marcus Davis: Needs to have x-ray of nose and face and cleared by doctor or December 5, 2009. Minimum suspension until August 13, 2009, no contact allowed until July 29, 2009 .

Terry Etim: Needs to have x-ray of nose and cleared by doctor or December 5, 2009.
Minimum suspension until August 13, 2009, no contact allowed until July 29, 2009 .

Dale Hartt: Needs to x-ray and MRI of left shoulder and CT Scan of right orbit and cleared by doctor or December 5, 2009. Minimum suspension until August 13, 2009, no contact allowed until July 29, 2009 .

Paul Taylor: Suspended until July 14,2009. No contact allowed until July 5, 2009.

Stefan Struve: Suspended until August 13, 2009. No contact allowed until July 29, 2009 .

Rick Story: Suspended until July 14,2009. No contact allowed until July 5, 2009.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from Kevin Iole over at Yahoo! Sports.

Just one month ago UFC President White did something almost completely unprecedented in the promotions history when he made a verbal agreement with Filipovic for a one fight deal at UFC 99. Cro Cop texted White expressing his desire to return to the UFC and initially declined on numerous opponents before finally settling on Al Turk.

It is being reported that White had also negotiated on two additional fights during a follow up two hour telephone conversation between himself and Filipovic. Those two fights will not be coming to fruition and it now seems extremely questionable if the Croatian striker would ever be welcomed back to the organization with open arms again.

“He [expletived] me,” White was quoted as saying. “The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.

“He didn’t keep his word. He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

Filipovic returned to the win column after two consecutive defeats in the Octagon in his bout with Al Turk but wasn’t impressive doing so. He stumbled Al Turk with punches and eventually gouged him in the eye before the bouts inevitable conclusion.

As of this writing, who and when Cro Cop will be fighting at DREAM is a big question mark.

UFC 99 took place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on Saturday evening.

Franklin ans Silva got right to business in the main event of the evening and didn’t let up until the sound of the final bell. Both men landed hard shots and both were stumbled at different moments of their electrifying contest that grabbed “Fight of the Night” honors.

Swick’s second round two fisted demolition of Ben Saunders earned him a “Quick” 60 G’s while Etim went home with the hefty bonus for his nasty D’arce choke over Justin Bucholz. The Etim vs. Bucholz bout took place on the undercard and there were no submissions on the main card.

The bout was one of the most exciting main events in recent UFC history.

Silva and Franklin traded hard punches and kicks over three electrifying rounds that saw both men rocked on multiple occasions. When it was all said and done Franklin was awarded with the unanimous decision in a bout that could have easily gone either way.

Cain Velasquez survived being rocked badly by Cheik Kongo punches in several moments of their heavyweight match up but managed to utilize his superior wrestling to keep Kongo on the canvas for the bulk of the bout. Velasquez was ultimately awarded the unanimous decision victory.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic showed glimpses of the the human highlight reel that was so feared just a few years ago as he battered Mustapha Al Turk with punches for the first round TKO victory.

Mike Swick ended up bumrushing Ben Saunders with a flurry of hard punches for the second round TKO victory following an uneventful first round.

Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy fought like they had a grudge as the two pummeled each other all over the Octagon for three rounds before Hardy was ultimately named the winner by split decision.

A full list of results from UFC 99 are listed below:

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision

Cain Velasquez def. Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Mustapha Al-Turk via TKO – Round 2

Mike Swick def. Ben Saunders via TKO – Round 2

Spencer Fisher def. Caol Uno via unanimous decision

Dan Hardy def. Marcus Davis via split decision

Terry Etim def. Justin Buchholz via submission – Round 2

Denis Siver def. Dale Hartt via submission – Round 1

Paul Taylor def. Peter Sobotta by unanimous decision

Paul Kelly def. Roli Delgado via unanimous decision

Stefan Struve def. Denis Stojnic via submission – Round 2

John Hathaway def. Rick Story via unanimous decision

UFC 99 takes place in Cologne, Germany so the actual start time for the undercard will be roughly 1:00 pm ET and the main card will begin at 3:00 pm ET.

There will be a slew of intriguing and exciting match ups on this card including a 195 pound showdown between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin, a heavyweight slobberknocker between Cain Velasquez and Cheick Kongo, and much more.

JOHN HATHAWAY VS. RICK STORY

Hathaway scrambles back to his feet from a couple of Story takedowns in the first before winding up on his back one last time where he searches for a kimura to finish out the first round.

The second sees both men exchanging on the feet for a bit before Hathaway secures the takedown and punishes Story with ground and pound. Story goes for a guillotine choke from the bottom and Hathaway is reversed while trying to escape. The round ends with Story punishing Hathaway from the top.

Story ends up in the top position in the third only to fight off a triangle attempt. After escaping the triangle Story is nearly caught in an armbar.

Winner: John Hathaway- Unanimous Decision

DENIS STOJNIC VS. STEFAN STRUVE

Stojnic punishes Struve from the top for the bulk of the first round while Struve searches for unsuccessful submission attempts from his back. Struve is badly battered at the end of the first five minutes.

Stojnic once again secures a takedown early in the second round but gives his back to Struve. Stefan secures a body triangle while he looks for the rear-naked choke. Stojnic rises to his feet but is brought back to the mat where he taps out giving Struve the dramatic come from behind victory by strangulation. Struves face is a bloody mess.

Winner: Stefan Struve – Submission Round Two – Rear-Naked Choke

ROLI DELGADO VS. PAUL KELLY

Delgado comes out in the first gunning for Kelly’s head with big punches before they clinch up. Kelly reverses the Jiu-Jitsu black belt when he tries to jump onto his back. Delgado controls Kelly with a tight rubber guard from the bottom to bring a close to the first round.

After punishing Delgado with a series of punches Kelly goes for the guillotine. He holds the choke for a while before Delgado escapes. Delgado takes Kelly’s back but Kelly reverses the position and ends up blasting Delgado with punches from the top for the duration of the round.

Kelly controls the pace of the fight for the duration of the third round en route to the unanimous decision victory.

Winner: Paul Kelly – Unanimous Decision

PETER SOBOTTA VS. PAUL TAYLOR

Taylor uses his experience in the Octagon to outpoint UFC newcomer Peter Sobotta after three hard fought rounds. While coming up short in his first appearance in the UFC, Sobotta surprised many by making the fight extremely competitive and pushing the bout to the scorecards against the notoriously tenacious Taylor.

Winner: Paul Taylor – Unanimous Decision

DALE HARTT VS. DENIS SIVER

Winner: Denis Siver – Submission Round One – Rear-Naked Choke

JUSTIN BUCCHOLZ VS. TERRY ETIM

Winner: Terry Etim – Submission Round Two – D’arce Choke

MARCUS DAVIS VS. DAN HARDY

After some sizing up between the two Davis trips Hardy to the canvas where he gets the mount and proceeds to rain down hard punches. Hardy get back to the guard and eventually gets back to his feet. Davis clinches him up from the back and lands some hard punches in tight. Hardy explodes with a hard punch and elbow to conclude the round.

Hardy dictates the pace of the bout for the opening moments of the second before Davis lands a few good punches in an exchange.  A huge knee from Hardy puts Davis flat on his back. Hardy tries to close the show with hammerfists but Davis is good.  Davis locks on a tight armbar but Hardy is out. Another armbar attempt, but nothing. The two exchange on the feet before Davis closes out the round with a takedown.

Davis jumps into Hardy’s guard after the UK fighter stumbles early in the third. Davis attempts a series of leg and foot locks on Hardy to no avail.  Hardy scores a takedown and lands a big elbow that opens a large cut on  Davis’ nose. Davis looks beat up. Time is called to check on him and he is deemed fit to continue. They restart on the floor but get back to the feet where a big punch from Hardy closes out the scheduled fifteen minute contest.

Winner: Dan Hardy – Split Decision

SPENCER FISHER VS. CAOL UNO

The two size each other up for the first minute of the bout before Fisher stuffs an Uno takedown attempt. After some brief moments on the ground they return to the feet where they stay in the clinch battling for position. The crowd starts to let them hear it. They separate and Fisher lands a good leg kick and punch before stuffing another Uno takedown attempt. The crowd is not happy at the end of round one and they let them know it. The second and third rounds are a rinse and repeat of the first in a very lackluster bout.

Winner: Spencer Fisher – Unanimous Decision

BEN SAUNDERS VS. MIKE SWICK

Mike Swick scores a takedown and not much happens. “F****** s***” says Swick ” You going to hold me all night?”. Saunders answers him by saying “Well get off me and let’s stand back up b****”.  Not much happening on the ground prompts a stand up. After a brief exchange the two clinch up to close out the round.

Round two starts out in the clinch again before Swick secures a takedown and moves to the mount. Saunders uses his hips to get back to guard. Little action on the canvas forces another stand up. After a minute of feeling each other out Swick lands a big right hand to the temple of Saunders that drops him. Swick swarms him with punches for the TKO.

Winner: Mike Swick – TKO Round Two

MUSTAPHA AL TURK VS. MIRKO “CRO CROP” FILIPOVIC

Al Turk lands a big punch to kick things off. He rushes Cro Cop but Mirko easily pushes him aside. Cro Cop turns on his butt kicking switch and starts lighting Mustapha up with punches after a brief feeling out process. Cro Cop batters Al Turk on the ground and makes his opponent stand back up where he beats him down to the ground for the TKO.

The instant replay reveals that Cro Cop accidentally shoved his finger into Al Turk’s eye just prior to the stoppage but Mustapha was already on his way out at that point.

Winner: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic – TKO Round One

CHEICK KONGO VS. CAIN VELASQUEZ

Velasquez is rocked by two hard right hands in the early moments of the first round but manages to secure a single leg takedown out of desperation. They both switch positions on the ground before Velasquez takes the mount before transitioning to the back of Kongo. Kongo escapes a rear-naked choke attempt and scrambles back to his feet only to be slammed to the canvas by Velasquez. Again Velasquez gets the mount and begins to drop punches and again Kongo escapes. Back to the feet Velasquez lifts Kongo up in the air and slams him to the ground one more time for good measure before Kongo gets to his feet at the rounds conclusion.

The second round starts out much like the first. Kongo rocks Cain and Velasquez secures a takedown shortly afterwords. The fight stays on the mat for the rest of the round as Velasquez brutalizes Kongo with knees to the body and hard punches and elbows to the face. The round concludes with Velasquez in full mount while blood gushes from the nose of a bruised and battered Kongo.

The third starts out like the other two as Kongo nails Velasquez directly on the chin with another big bomb but Velasquez is still standing.  Kongo tries for a takedown of his own but it only results in Velasquez swinging around to take his back. Velasquez pounds Kongo with hard hammerfists before inevitably taking him to the canvas where he absolutely mugs Kongo for the duration of the contest.

Winner: Cain Velasquez – Unanimous Decision

RICH FRANKLIN VS. WANDERLEI SILVA

Franklin and Silva feel each other out for the first minute and a half of the first round before Franklin connects with a hard lead left to which Silva counters with hard punches with both hands. Silva catches a Franklin kick and drags him to the canvas. Silva lands some hard punches on the ground before Franklin gets back to his feet  where Silva attempts a guillotine choke to no avail. Franklin is bleeding  from his right eye. Franklin end up in the mount from the submission escape but Silva returns to his feet where the two trade shots to bring the round to an end.

They exchange hard punches and kicks during the start of the second.  Franklin looks to be taking over from the outside just before Silva connects with a big right hand that leaves Franklin on queer street. Silva swarms Franklin with punches but Franklin comes back with a hard shot of his own at the conclusion of the round.

The two pick up where they left of and begin to pummel each other in the middle of the Octagon with hard punches and bruising  kicks.  Silva lands a hard right hand and starts to pursue the retreating Franklin. Silva throws his arms to the air and the crowd reacts but he ends up pulling the stunt just one too many times as Franklin time it to take Silva to the canvas. Silva gets back to his feet only to have Rich take his back while standing. The fight ends with Franklin punching Silva in the face while the former PRIDE champion throws hard reverse elbows. Amazing fight.

Winner: Rich Franklin – Unanimous Decision

Denis Stojnic shoved Stefan Struve during the staredown just before Paul Kelly and Roli Delgado got into their own pushing contest. Both minor melees were quickly broken up.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will be competing at 233 pounds for his return to the UFC against the 236 pound Mustapha al Turk.

Cain Velasquez will be the bigger man in his heavyweight showdown against Cheick Kongo, tipping the scales at 239 pounds compared to his opponents 230.

Both Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin came in at the 194 pound mark for their contracted 195 pound catchweight main event bout.

A full list of the weigh-in results are listed below.

Rich Franklin (194) vs Wanderlei Silva (194)
Cain Velasquez (239) vs Cheick Kongo (230)
Ben Saunders (169) vs Mike Swick (169)
Dan Hardy (170) vs Marcus Davis (171)
Caol Uno (155) vs Spencer Fisher (154)
Mustapha Al-Turk (236) vs Mirko Cro Cop (233)
Justin Buchholz (155) vs Terry Etim (156)
Dale Hartt (156) vs Dennis Siver (156)
Paul Taylor (169) vs Peter Sobotta (169)
Roli Delgado (155) vs Paul Kelly (156)
Stefan Struve (248) vs Denis Stojnic (241)
Rick Story (169) vs John Hathaway (170)

You have Wanderlei and Rich putting it all on the line at 195 pounds in a main event that is impossible to dissapoint, Velasquez and Kongo in a heavyweight dream match, one of the nastiest grudge matches in the history of the sport between Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy, the list just goes on and on.

Come along with me as I dive headfirst into what promises to be a blood soaked, action packed night of fights in Germany.

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva

I absolutely hate that I love this fight. This bout is a catch 22 for me, I win and lose no matter how the fight ends up. I’m not going to lie, Silva has been my favorite fighter for eight years running. It doesn’t matter who he fights, I will always be routing for “The Axe Murderer”. With that being said, Franklin is hands down one of the genuinely nicest fighters I have ever had the privilege to speak with. Anyone that has met Rich will tell you the same thing, he’s a class act. So like I said, this fight’s a catch 22. Wanderlei wins, I’m happy that he’s back on track but that means that Franklin loses, which really just sucks. The same can be said if the scenario is reversed, I hate to love this fight.

On a positive note, who doesn’t like back and forth wars with one guy winding up in an unconscious stupor? God knows I do. There is no other way that this fight ends up. Someone will need the smelling salts. At some point in this fight it’s going to get really ugly really quick, this is when Wanderlei will catch Franklin. Whether it be in the clinch or just with a signature Silva bomb, when the pace turns up in this fight it will favor Wanderlei.

At the same time, if Franklin fights a perfect fight it’s not out of reach for him by any stretch of the imagination. He would be best served to keep Silva on the outside of his sharp jab, big left hand and paralyzing liver kicks en route to a hard fought decision victory. Fifteen minutes is just a very long time to employ that type of gameplan against a finisher as fearsome as Wanderlei.

Winner: Wanderlei Silva – TKO Round 2

Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo

Kongo is the better striker and Velasquez is the superior wrestler, there’s not a whole lot of argument currently raging about those two facts. Don’t get me wrong, Velasquez is more than capable on his feet and Kongo has shown in recent fights that he too can employ takedowns and ground and pound as one way to obtain victory, but both of these guys have their strengths, make no doubt about it.

The thing to me is this; I think Kongo is a beast on the feet but he’s not the best striker in the UFC. He demonstrated this in his last fight with Antoni Hardonk when he took the K-1 veteran to the canvas and proceeded to batter him there for the TKO stoppage. He’s not going to be taking anyone down in his fight with Velasquez. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if Velasquez is able to stop Kongo standing. I feel like his striking is often overlooked because of his wrestling credentials. However, there’s no way Velasquez will be playing that game with Cheick at UFC 99. He knows his strengths and he’s going to use them right away as he drags Kongo directly to the canvas and turns his face into hamburger.

Winner: Cain Velasquez – TKO Round 2

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Mustapha al Turk

Although it has been nearly two years since Cro Cop showed his face in the Octagon, the knockout artist from Croatia has been staying relatively busy in Japan. In his first fight back after losing to Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 Mirko assaulted a hopelessly outmatched Tatsuya Mizuno at the inaugural DREAM event in March of 2008 before having his testicles kneed into his stomach courtesy of Alistair Overeem at DREAM 6. Most recently Filipovic layed a beatdown on Korean giant Hong Man Choi at K-1 Dynamite on New Years Eve of 2008.

It’s been a long time coming for Cro Cop, the question is; Has the time away from the Octagon and the most recent six month break hurt or helped Mirko. Which Cro Cop will we see this Saturday night against al Turk, the one that looked completely out of his league while being decisioned by Kongo in 2007 or the guy that fought Fedor Emelianenko for five hard rounds in 2005?

This fight is Mirko’s to win or lose quite honestly. Not taking anything away from Mustapha, he’s a warrior, but a guy with a 6-4 record has no business beating a fighter of Cro Cop’s caliber. We’ll just have to wait and see who shows up.

Winner: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic – Knockout Round 1

Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders

I really like Ben Saunders. From his “Why so serious” 24-7 grin, to his tenacious never say die style in the cage. I’m just having a really hard time seeing him walking out of the Octagon with a win on Saturday night over Mike Swick.

Swick represents a massive step up in competition for Saunders. Massive. Swick is a far cry from Brandon Wolff, or even Ryan Thomas for that matter.On the other side of that coin I personally don’t feel like Saunders is a step up from some of Swick’s most current victories with the UFC over guys like Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis.

Swick wins this fight with his hand speed and superior wrestling ability.

Winner: Mike Swick – Unanimous Decision

Dan Hardy vs. Marcus Davis

I am just a sucker for grudge matches from way back. If two guys genuinely despise each other, that’s a fight I’m interested in seeing. Davis vs. Hardy is without a doubt a fight I’m interested in seeing.

Hardy has been enlisting people to photoshop and post unfavorable photos of Davis all over the internet, questioning his Irish heritage, while Davis has been questioning Hardy’s sexuality along with simply stating “I hate Dan Hardy”.

Let’s throw the grudge factor right out of there and what you’re left with is a fight with a whole lot of potential to end up as the “Fight of the Night”. These guys hating each others guts has nothing to do with the fact that both of their big swinging styles match up perfectly to create fireworks one way or the other.

Hardy is exciting and has a world of potential, but Davis is just better. Expect for him to make “The Outlaw” eat his words at UFC 99.

Winner: Marcus Davis – Knockout Round 1

Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno

Everyone keeps talking about the return of Uno, well what about the return of Fisher? I understand that this fight will be the first return to the UFC in ages for Uno, but neither fighter has seen any action since 2008. Fisher’s last appearance saw him catch Shannon Gugerty in a triangle choke at UFC 90 while Uno was last seen on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Shinya Aoki at DREAM 5.

I would personally be shocked if this fight ends any other way than going the full three rounds. Both men are as tough as nails and as well rounded as they come. You have to give an edge in the striking department to Fisher while Uno may be a little slicker on the ground. This fight will be action packed, there’s no way around that.

Winner: Spencer Fisher – Split Decision

Terry Etim vs. Justin Buchholz

This is a tough fight call so I will bust out my dusty MMA calculator to figure this one out MMAth style.

Etim recently beat Sam Stout who beat Matt Wiman who beat Bucholz in 2008 = Etim should have the tools necessary to beat Bucholz. However, we all know how reliable MMAth can be.

Winner: Terry Etim – Unanimous Decision

Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic

I’m sorry but there’s no reason for this fight to be taking place in the UFC. There’s plenty of other capable and deserving fighters that would give anything for an opportunity to shine in the Octagon. However, this event is going down in Germany and you just have to throw some international talent in the mix.

Regardless, I do believe that this fight ends up as one of the more exciting bouts of the evening.

Winner: Stefan Struve – Submission Round 3

Dale Hartt vs. Dennis Siver

This fight is pretty interesting in the respect that both men should know a great deal about the other going into Saturday night. Siver recently spent his training camp at Hartt’s old home, Xtreme Couture, while Hartt has been spending his time at Greg Jackson’s MMA with old friends for Xtreme Couture (spies) reporting back to Hartt on how Siver’s training is progressing.

This is going to be a good fight, no doubt about that. These guys match up pretty evenly in most aspects of the game. I feel like Hartt’s recent move to Albuquerque to train and live with the likes of Leonard Garcia and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is going to pay off in a big way for him.

Winner: Hartt – Submission Round 2

Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta

Sobotta’s 8-1 record is a little bit deceiving in the respect that he has never faced anyone near the caliber of Paul Taylor in his career. Taylor, on the other hand, is a human highlight reel that has been in there with some of the best welterweights the world has to offer in his most recent bouts with the UFC.

If it’s a Paul Taylor fight you should be expecting a “Fight of the Night” performance but Sobotta won’t have the tools to make it competetive enough.

Winner: Paul Taylor – TKO Round 1

Paul Kelly vs. Roli Delgado

While I feel as if Delgado was underestimated for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter and still may be to some extent, there’s just no way he gets past Kelly in my eyes. Kelly is just too compact, powerful and well rounded.

Delgado always has a shot at pulling out the rabbit from his hat in the form of a submission if Kelly decides to utilize his superior wrestling ability, but I think Kelly will use his wrestling to keep the fight standing as opposed to taking the fight to the ground. Look for Kelly to drop a big bomb on Delgado early in this one.

Winner: Paul Kelly – Knockout Round 1

John Hathaway vs. Ricky Story

Both of these guys are bright, bright prospects right now. This is just one of those bouts where one rising star will shine a little brighter. Although Hathaway has already been succesful once in the Octagon and has ammased an unblemished record of 10-0 as opposed to Story’s 7-2, Story has beaten the tougher fighters during the course of his career. Extremely tough fight to have to predict. Hathaway hasn’t lost yet, and I’m not going to bet against him in this one.

Winner: John Hathaway – Unanimous Decision

It was one of the most gruesome moments in the history of the UFC. There were many theories on how the bout would unfold but none of them included Corey Hill‘s shin bone snapping in half like a tree branch after colliding with the shin of Hartt.

It wasn’t the way the native of Bangor, Maine wanted to win that bout. He felt like his back was up against the wall in the fight with Hill, one more loss would have equaled an uncertain future with the biggest fighting promotion on the planet.

Hartt will finally have his chance to show the world that he’s in the UFC to stay this Saturday evening when he faces off with the Russian-German Dennis Siver. Siver is fresh of of a “Knockout of the Night” performance over Nate Mohr at UFC 93.

After getting his foundation in MMA with Marcus Davis in Maine, Hartt recently made the exodus where he trained at elite gyms such as Cobra Kai and Xtreme Couture. For this bout Hartt has made the trek out to Albuquerque, New Mexico to train with none other than Greg Jackson and his gym of killing machines.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com had the chance to catch up with Dale in the days leading up to what can easily be considered the biggest fight of his young career and discussed being roomies with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Leonard Garcia, walking around Wal-Mart with his face busted up and his desire to ‘punch Siver’s teeth in’.

Cory Brady for FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How are you feeling physically heading into your fight with Dennis Siver?

Dale Hartt: I’m feeling pretty good. I have a few nagging things but that’s normal. My shin was bothering me before my fight with Corey Hill and look how that one turned out.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Well if your shin was bothering you before the Corey Hill fight, may I suggest that you bust up your elbow or fist for this one?

Dale Hartt: (Laughs) Mess up my elbow. Yeah, I’ll make sure to go in there with a [expletive] up elbow! If that works I’m going to [expletive] myself up before every fight (laughs).

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I know you’ve been training with Greg Jackson for this one. How did you end up hooking up with Jackson’s MMA after training at Xtreme Couture for a while?

Dale Hartt: I met Greg once before when Marcus Davis fought in Houston, Texas. I met Greg there at the weigh-ins. I talked to him a couple of times after that and I ended up liking him a lot. Also, Marcus normally corners me, and obviously he won’t be able to corner me because he’s fighting Dan Hardy at the same event that I’m fighting at, so I was trying to figure out who the best cornerman was in the game, and on top of that I like Greg. Everyone is like a family down here. I’m not going to lie to you, Jackson’s is going to be my home.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I heard you’ve been rooming with none other than “The Cowboy” Donald Cerrone. How did that end up happening?

Dale Hartt: Yeah, it’s almost like The Ultimate Fighter house. Cowboy and Leonard Garcia have a house and I’ve been staying with them.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Both of them are very cool, down to earth guys. How has staying with them been working out for you?

Dale Hartt: Yeah, they’re both phenomenal guys. I didn’t realize how good of training partners they both were until I got here, and they’re both amazing to train with. It’s been unbelievable.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: You guys ever get into any three way tag team matches in the living room or anything like that?

Dale Hartt: No, not really but I can tell you this though. Cowboy’s cousin lives here and he’s kind of young and dumb. So he’s been talking mad [expletive] about his crazy basketball skills until Cowboy beat him down in basketball and he had to be his slave for a week. He’s been doing push ups all over the place and doing Cowboy’s laundry. I wouldn’t want to be Cowboy’s slave, I can tell you that for sure.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Has living there with those guys helped you to stay extra focused on your training for this upcoming bout with Dennis Siver?

Dale Hartt: It’s good because Cowboy had his fight a week ahead of me so we were really focused on that. Everyone just wakes up and trains together so it helps a lot.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Going back to that fight with Hill, what ran through your mind when you saw his leg snap? Did it make you kind of sick at all?

Dale Hartt: All I know is that it ruined my buzz. You know, when you fight you get this crazy adrenaline rush and you can just feel all of this crazy [expletive] just flowing through your veins. Even for like three day after I fight I am just the happiest guy on the planet. I’m just so chill and I usually have a smile from ear to ear, and when I saw Corey’s leg it just ruined it for me so I’m kind of pissed at him for that. I felt bad for Corey. I don’t feel guilty, but I feel bad for him. Looking back on it I would have liked to beat him by punching his face in. In this fight I just want to punch Siver’s teeth in. Everybody gets free dental in Germany. Our gameplan is to test his mouthpiece durability.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How do you feel you match up with Siver?

Dale Hartt: Well I think I’m going to be a little bigger than him. I’ll be a little taller and probably a little fatter. I think that Dennis is a good kickboxer, he has great kicks, a good overhand right and left hook. He has good takedowns in the clinch and he doesn’t shoot very often but his shot seems pretty nice. That’s kind of where I’m at with him. I think that he’s fit and strong on the ground but he doesn’t really have the best technique necessarily. I think that he’s training with good guys in Las Vegas so I’m sure that he’s improved quite a bit and I’m expecting a tough fight. I’ll bet you money right now that him and I get “Fight of the Night”. I had a dream where him and I get “Fight of the Night”. Plus you get to walk around Wal-Mart with your face all beat up. People are trying to look at you but make it seem like they’re not looking at you, it’s great.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Absolutely, I know during sparring from time to time I’ll allow myself to get hit with just a few good ones so I can look like a bad ass at Wal-Mart.

Dale Hartt: (Laughs) You can’t get away with that [expletive] down here, they’ll kill you man. I’m not going to let them hit me.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Well yeah, but I’m not training at Greg Jackson’s right now either.

Dale Hartt: Man, I went in tired yesterday and I went a couple of rounds with Joey Villasenor. Just in the first round Joey must have punched me at least thirty times in the face.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: He’s in full on fight mode right now too. I know he’s training for his upcoming fight with Cyborg, and doesn’t he have something like thirty pounds on you?

Dale Hartt: Yeah, it’s like thirty or forty pounds. He’s a tough guy. Joey’s a great guy too.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So I heard Siver has been training at your former gym Xtreme Couture. How do you feel about that.

Dale Hartt: Yeah, I fly out and he flies in, the [expletive]. That’s made me a little irritable, I won’t lie to you.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Did he know that you were leaving and that’s why he came to town?

Dale Hartt: I don’t know man, but it was like down to the day. I went to Albuquerque and like three days later he’s in Vegas. The funny thing is that I know that here are probably some guys down there giving him the scoop on me, but I have my buddies down there that are training with him every day telling me everything he’s doing (laughs). I have the camera at Xtreme Couture on him right now and I’m watching him training (laughs). I watch him training every day. I figured out how valuable that little training camera is for someone that’s fighting you.

UFC 99 is scheduled for June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.

This will mark Cro Cop’s first return to MMA since stopping Korean goliath Hong Man Choi at K-1 Dynamite which was held on New Years Eve 2008. His previous time spent with the UFC was widely seen as a huge disappointment following an Octagon record of 1-2.

Al-Turk will be looking to bounce back fro a TKO stoppage loss suffered to Cheick Kongo at UFC 92.

A complete list of the bouts scheduled for UFC 99 are listed below:

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders
Dan Hardy vs. Marcus Davis
Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo
Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Mustapha al Turk
Terry Etim vs. Justin Buchholz
Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic
Dale Hartt vs. Dennis Siver
Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta
Paul Kelly vs. Roli Delgado
John Hathaway vs. Ricky Story

Up to this point he majority of the trash talk has been flung in The Irish Hand Grenade’s direction courtesy of the U.K.’s Outlaw, however, Davis took the opportunity to make his feelings on his opponent at UFC 99 quite clear in his recent blog.

The heavy handed slugger from Maine’s words speak for themselves so without further ado, let’s roll the tape. Here are some of the choice words that Davis had about Hardy and their upcoming showdown on June 13.

“I hate Dan Hardy,” confirmed Davis as if there was any doubt.

“I really can’t stand this guy and I am counting down to days to June 13, to the Lanxess Arena in when I can smash this kid in the mouth,” he continued. “I want to punch holes in this guy’s face. Hardy has gone so far beyond what is professional. This is more than another fight in the UFC for me, more than getting a win and working towards getting a title shot. This is war.

“Like the little coward he is, he’s done all his smack talk from behind his keyboard like a 14 year old living in his mom’s basement.

“He asked people to photoshop pictures of me and put them on forums, and some of them were really disgusting. Come on, this stuff can get back to my kids. This doesn’t sell a fight; it is just disrespectful and personally offensive. Do rivals in any other business photoshop pictures of guys they are up against? Hardy is like a 12 year old keyboard warrior, and he’s about as good in the Octagon too.

“For a guy who has been in the UFC for five minutes, he’s got a big mouth like he’s some sort of Hall of Famer. And he’s had two fights in the UFC. Wow. Hardy thinks he’s talking for the UK fans, but I question that. He’s a loudmouth, a complete attention whore. He’s the kinda guy who’d sit at a funeral and be all angry because he doesn’t get to be the corpse.

“He’s disrespected my heritage as an Irish-American, saying it is a gimmick to get myself noticed. Gimmick? I’m proud of where my family comes from, and anyone who saw me after my wins in Belfast and Dublin knows how genuine my feelings and respect are for Ireland.

“Gimmick? What do you call having a metrosexual, red and black dyed Mohawk and wearing a bandit mask on the way to the Octagon to hide your ugly teeth! That’s a gimmick.

“Finally, I want to address Hardy directly: Hardy, you disrespectful punk, all this crap you’ve been talking hasn’t had the affect you wanted it to. I’m not going into this fight all crazy, swinging wild to give you any kind of chance you know you’ll need to have a prayer of beating me.

“The only other person I genuinely hated going into a fight was Jess Liaudin, who talked a lot of crap before our fight at UFC 80. And he got knocked stone cold for his disrespect and wasn’t heard from again.

“All this BS has done has put pressure on you to back up all this talk. You keep saying you are having fun talking all this crap, but your fun time ends in two weeks.”

A war of words has been heating up between the two since the fight was announced in scores of interviews done by both men leading into the bout. The most of harsh of which have come in the form of their official blogs leading into the fight available at UFC.com.

Although Hardy has made an effort to train with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles leading into the grudge match with Davis, he is adamant that the decision to sharpen up on his boxing has nothing to do with his rival’s history as a professional boxer. According to Hardy, he’s not overly impressed with the hands of Davis to say the least.

“To be honest, I don’t even think Davis’ hands are the most dangerous things he brings to the fight,” Hardy was quoted as saying in his official blog. “I don’t think he’s as good a boxer as people make him out to be.

“He started boxing at a very light weight and it’s very hard to carry that skill as you move up in weight and bulk up. You see that with a lot of professional boxers who move up through the weights. Aside from a few notable exceptions, most pro boxers reduce as fighters as they move up in weight. It’s normally a tactic employed by an old guy or someone who has just lost a fight.

“Let’s be honest, if Marcus Davis was so good at boxing he’d still be doing it now.

“He’s got a good pro boxing record on paper, but when you take the time to look into his record and see the guys he was facing, it’s no longer so impressive. It was a very padded record, compiled mostly against guys in Massachusetts or Maine.”

According to MMA Fanhouse Herring will not be able to face off against Cain Velasquez next month at UFC 99 in Germany due to an illness he has been suffering from for weeks which has left him unable to train.

The UFC has announced on their website today that Cheick Kongo will replace Herring and take on Velasquez at UFC 99. Kongo who is riding a three fight winning streak was last seen at UFC 97 in April where he defeated Antoni Hardonk by second round TKO. There has been some speculation that Kongo would receive a title shot sometime in the near future and a win over Velasquez will only add fuel to those flames.

Herring who hasn’t fought since being dismantled by current UFC champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 last August was to be Velasquez’s toughest opponent to date.

The young up and coming All-American wrestler from Arizona State is seen as the future of the UFC heavyweight division and a bout with Herring was surely going to show everyone what he is really made of. In his last bout against Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night in February Velasquez imposed his will and earned knockout of the night honors with a second round TKO.

The announcement of the ban was recently publicized in a report by Dave Meltzer at Yahoo! Sports.

Initially the call to action was to ban the event completely. One of Germany’s largest newspapers published a front page article that set off a chain reaction of negative publicity. Conclusively, the UFC has been forced to ban anyone under the age of eighteen from attending the event live.

Much of the negative publicity stems from incorrect information that the UFC bans only biting and eye-poking.

Those educated and informed about the sport know that the UFC adopted the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts back in 2000. The rules ban many potentially dangerous moves possible in an MMA bout.

There is a distinct possibility that there has been a lapse in communication amongst sanctioning and administrative bodies in Germany. Did Germany officials involved with the event not do their part in educating the community? UFC President Dana White has made multiple trips to Germany in preparation for the event, so it would be hard pressed to think that the UFC didn’t do their part in the public relations sector.

UFC 99 takes place on June 13 in Cologne, Germany. It will feature a main event catchweight bout (195 lbs) between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin. The event will be held at the Lanxess Arena and marks another UFC milestone as the first event in Germany.

MMAWeekly has been able to confirm the match-up today from sources close to both fighters.

Palhares, who trains with the the Brazilian Top Team, is coming off a resounding victory over Jeremy Horn at UFC 93 in January. Although he was unable to finish the famed Miletich fighter he controlled the pace of the fight and the outcome was never in doubt. Palhares made quite a splash in the UFC when he submitted and retired Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84. He then went on to face Dan Henderson at UFC 88 and lost a unanimous decision but he certainly had nothing to be ashamed of as he was very competitive against the former two division champion.

Sakara who began his career as a boxer in Italy and trains with American Top Team has been somewhat of an enigma throughout his time in the UFC. While he is 4-4-1 during his time in the octagon he has shown flashes of becoming a complete fighter only to take two steps backwards and lose fights in convincing fashion. He recently dropped down to middleweight and in his first fight at 185, he lost by first round TKO to Chris Leben. He then came back and won his next fight via head kick at UFC Fight Night 15 in September of 2008. It is that on again, off again mentality that has hindered him during his time in the UFC.

UFC 99 will feature a catchweight bout at 195 lbs between former Pride FC 205 lb champion Wanderlei Silva and former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. While Franklin has decided to fight at a more natural 205 lbs, Silva has decided to try his hand at 185 but will first give 195 a try to see how his body reacts to the weight cut.

UFC 99 will also mark the return of former lightweight title challenger Caol Uno as he faces Spencer Fisher. Also featured on the card will be a welterweight tilt between Mike Swick and up and coming Ben Saunders. In a bout where fireworks are sure to be expected “The Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis will battle Britian’s own Dan Hardy.

A source close to the fight has revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that verbal commitments have been secured froom both fighters and that at least one of the fighter has returned a signed contract to the UFC.

Signed to a multi-fight contract prior to UFC 94 as a potential replacement for Karo Parisyan in a scheduled bout against Dong Hyun Kim, Story will be making his long-awaited debut for the promotion at UFC 99. Coming from a strong wrestling background, Story has an impressive 7-2 record that includes notable wins over Brandon Melendez, Ryan Healy, and Jake Ellenberger.

His first fight will be against Hathaway, a 21-year old U.K. native who made his Octagon debut in Dublin, Ireland this past January. Discovered during the tryout process for the upcoming ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, he made a strong impression on UFC officials following his first round TKO victory over Tom Egan at UFC 93. With the win, Hathaway improved to 10-0 as a pro.

UFC 99 will emanate from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany and will be headlined by a 195 pound catchweight fight between former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva and former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

In addition to Franklin vs. Silva and Hathaway vs. Story, UFC 99 will also reportedly feature matchups between Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy, Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher, Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring, Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic, Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta, Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha al Turk, Dale Hartt vs. Dennis Siver, and Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim.

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the Kelly vs. Delgado matchup has been confirmed between and is most likely ticketed for the UFC 99 undercard during the UFC’s German debut on Saturday, June 13.

Kelly, who trains out of the Wolfslair Academy, is coming off a victory over another Ultimate Fighter veteran Troy Mandaloniz at UFC 95 last month in London, England. Soon after the win Kelly made the decision to move down in weight.

The British born fighter is 8-1 with his lone loss coming at the hands of Marcus Davis at UFC 89. He was also awarded a “Fight of the Night” bonus after defeating fellow British fighter Paul Taylor at UFC 80.

Delgado is a jiu-jitsu black belt who made a successful debut in the UFC at live finale for the eighth season The Ultimate Fighter where he defeated housemate John Polakowski via second round submission.

While on the show, Delgado had the legitimacy of his black belt questioned by many of the other contestants as well as coach Frank Mir. His opponent, Junie Browning, even went as far as to throw a black belt in front of Delgado after their fight on the show had been announced and spit on it. Delgado gave Browning all he could handle pushing the fight to a third round in which he ultimately lost despite being a heavy underdog.

UFC 99 will take place in Cologne, Germany and will emanate from the Lanxess Arena. The show’s main event will feature former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former PRIDE middleweight (203 pounds) champion Wanderlei Silva in a catch weight bout that will be contested at 195 pounds.

MMAWeekly.com was the first outlet to reveal news of the matchup and FiveOuncesOfPain.com has since confirmed the fight with a source close to one of the fighters.

Siver, a standout wrestler, will be competing in his home country against Hartt. He improved to 13-6 overall and 2-3 lifetime in the UFC following his third round TKO victory over Nate Mohr at UFC 93 this past January.

Hartt, 6-1, has not competed since December’s “Fight for the Troops” event, where he was awarded a second round TKO victory after opponent Corey Hill suffered a severe leg injury while attempting to deliver a kick. The win brought Hartt’s UFC record to .500 following his first round submission loss to Shannon Gugerty at UFC Fight Night 14 this past July.

UFC 99 will emanate from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany and will be headlined by a 195 pound catchweight fight between former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva and former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

In addition to Franklin vs. Silva and Hart vs. Siver, UFC 99 will also reportedly feature matchups between Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy, Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher, Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring, Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic, Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta, Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha al Turk, and Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim.

The new matchup was first reported by the U.K.-based MMA magazine Fighters Only.

Etim and Buchholz were scheduled to meet at UFC 95 but an injured ankle caused Buchholz to withdraw from the bout. Etim wound up fighting Brian Cobb on short notice and was victorious by defeating Cobb via 2nd round TKO.

The victory was third straight for Etim, who recently signed a new three fight deal with the organization. The British-born Etim is 3-2 in the UFC with victories over Sam Stout and Matt Grice with his losses coming to Rich Clementi and Gleison Tibau.

Buchholz will be entering the Octagon for the first time in nearly a year. The Hawaiian-based fighter has not competed since defeating Corey Hill via second round submission at UFC 86 last July. He made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 12 in January of 2008, losing to Matt Wiman.

Buchholz has also competed for the now-dormant EliteXC organization, winning his only fight for the organization in September of 2007 against Ikaika Choy-Fu.

As now, the Etim vs. Buchholz matchup is scheduled to be on the preliminary portion of the card. The UFC is still undecided whether or not to air this on pay-per-view or offer the card for free on Spike TV via tape delay.

The updated card for UFC 99 is as follows:

• Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
• Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno
• Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy
• Ben Saunders vs. Mike Swick
• Heath Herring vs. Cain Velasquez
• Alan Belcher vs. Alessio Sakara
• Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim
• Mustapha al Turk vs. Todd Duffee
• Peter Sobotta vs. Paul Taylor
• Denis Stojnic vs. Stefan Struve

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the matches formal scheduling for the event from a source close to the fight.

The war of words began soon after Hardy’s first round knockout victory over Rory Markham during last month’s UFC 95 event in London, England.

During a post-fight press conference for the event, Hardy called into question Davis’ penchant for playing up his Irish roots.

“… He’s had a couple of fights in the UK, and he’s kind of building himself a fan base, but he’s not English; he’s not Irish,” said Hardy. “I was born here, and I’ve been bred here. I don’t mind taking on that challenge and showing him this is my home and not his.”

Davis responded to the comments in an exclusive interview with MMAjunkie.com and stated that he’s tired of his tribute to his Irish heritage being constantly called into question.

“I’m getting sick and tired of everyone saying I’m a fake Irishman or a fake this and fake that,” he told Junkie. “I never told anybody I was an Irishman. What I am is proud of my heritage, which is Irish, Welsh and Scottish.

“It’s OK for Oscar De La Hoya, who wasn’t born in Mexico, to embrace his Mexican heritage. Or it’s OK for all the African-Americans here in America to embrace their African heritage. But if you’re a white guy and you embrace any of your European heritage, you’re an idiot.”

Never one to back down from a challenge, Davis didn’t hesitate to campaign for the fight.

“I went up to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and I said, ‘Joe, make this fight,’ he said. “I want this fight. This kid’s running his mouth.’”

It appears Davis’ stumping paid off, as sources indicate that the UFC was originally planning to make a match at UFC 99 involving Davis and welterweight prospect Ben Saunders. However, the public feud caused the promotion to change directions. Saunders will instead face Mike Swick at UFC 99 while Davis and Hardy will get a chance to settle their differences on the same card.

UFC 99 will emanate from the Lanxess Arena and will feature former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva taking on former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

In addition to the main event and the welterweight matches between Davis vs. Hardy and Swick vs. Saunders, other reported matchups include Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher, Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring, Alessio Sakara vs. Alan Belcher, Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic, Paul Taylor vs. Peter Sobotta, and Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha al Turk.

This highly anticipated matchup was originally slated for UFC 79 back in December of 2007 but Serra, who was the welterweight champion at the time, injured his back and he was forced to withdraw from the bout.

Hughes went on to face Georges St. Pierre for a third time and was soundly defeated for a second time by the current UFC welterweight champion. There was a ton of heat between Hughes and Serra and the UFC capitalized by casting them as opposing coaches on the sixth installment of The Ultimate Fighter.

The grudge match was further delayed after Hughes suffered a knee injury during a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 85 in June of last year. Hughes was able to heal his injury but the bout was delayed yet again this time due to the birth of Serra’s first child this past February. With both fighters healthy and committed fight fans will finally get to see the two rivals go at it on May 23 in Las Vegas.

The encounter will be more for pride than anything else, as Hughes is on the downside of a Hall of Fame career while Serra is looking to prove he was more than a one hit wonder after knocking out St. Pierre at UFC 69 in April of 2007.

A win by either man will not move them any closer to a title shot. Hughes twice lost handily to St. Pierre and Serra was dominated in their highly anticipated rematch last April at UFC 83 in Montreal. St. Pierre controlled the entire fight and wound up winning via TKO late in the second round.