“Dana called me after the Sonnen fight and I asked him, ‘Where does this leave me in terms of the title?’ He said to me, ‘In fairness Mike, you won the fight.’ Not that he sent me my win bonus! I asked, ‘Where does this leave me for the title shot?’ And he never said you don’t get one. He said, ‘We need to figure it out.’ When speaking to Joe Silva, he said it all depends on what happens between Sonnen and Anderson. He said if Anderson wins, I might be sitting around for a while. So if Chael wins I might get to fight [for the title]. But I haven’t been told anything official. Since Dan Henderson, I haven’t lost a fight. The Wanderlei fight I was robbed of a decision, the Chael fight I was robbed, so it’s going back to 2009. If you take those out, I haven’t lost in seven or eight fights.”

Alright, a few things to point out here. First, I don’t really get the logic behind Bisping fighting Sonnen if he wins, but not Anderson if he wins. Why you ask. Only for the small detail that Bisping already fought Sonnen! Sure it was a close fight, but wouldn’t you rather see Anderson destroy fight Bisping once before seeing Sonnen vs. Bisping II? Can anyone help explain that to me? Besides, if you’re a legit #1 contender it shouldn’t matter who you fight right? What is this, pro wrestling? Nevermind…

Second of all, we need to address the “if you take those out, I haven’t lost in seven or eight fights.” And you wonder why #BispingHater in my twitter handle. (Ed. Note: it isn’t, but should be). For the record, it would’ve been 7 wins since the Henderson destruction, but this is obviously a moot point. “If you take those out…” WTF! Yes Bisping, if you take your losses out, you’d be on a winning streak. Hell, I’m a little shocked that he included the Henderson KO as a loss. He might as well said “Look, if Hendo didn’t destroy me with that punch, I wouldn’t have gotten knocked out and probably would’ve gone on to win the fight.” Come on Bisping! Sure the Sonnen and Wand fights were close, but a loss is a loss and no one was “robbed.” On a related note, he doesn’t bother to address that in this fantasy winning streak he’s been on (not counting the losses of course) his W’s were against such powerhouses as Denis Kang, Dan Miller, Akiyama, Rivera and Mayhem.

At any rate, I actually do think Bisping should be in the title hunt, but he’ll first need to get by Tim Boetsch next month, and that’s no gimmie. Check out with Tim told us about his pending fight with The Count.

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The Ultimate Fighter Live

BIG JUMPS

Martin Kampmann. By beating Ellenberger, Kampmann halted a 6 fight winning streak by the Juggernaut, which is impressive enough. But take a close look at Kampmann and you’ll see he might be even better than his record indicates. Two of the most controversial decisions of 2010 and 2011 respectively were the Hitman’s fights against Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez. He came up short on the scorecards in each of those fights, despite public outcry to the contrary. I still don’t see what the judges saw in those fights. If the MMA gods happened to shine on Kampmann in those fights, we’d be talking about a 7 fight winning streak. I realize “ifs” are as official as Fresh’s handmade black belt in “Dave Kwon Do,” but still…Kampmann makes a big jump.

Michael Chiesa & Family. The TUF 15 winner, Chiesa had a nice feel-good story which set the theme for the night and his quick submission of (arguably) the better all-around fighter, Al Iaquinta, got everyone riled up. His mom and sister, who were sitting in the crowd, got more camera time Saturday than Lindsey Lohan’s nipples on TMZ.  Congrats to Chiesa.

Charles Oliveira. On a card filled mostly with hopefuls, only one person outside the main event showed he truly already belongs in the UFC long term. And that’s Oliveira. I always thought his 3 fight winless streak at 155 was deceiving since his two losses came against Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone—what are they trying to do to the then-21 year old anyway? And now I think he’s really found a home at 145. He completely outclasses Jonathan Brookins and I fully expect him to get a bump in competition in his next fight. Watch out for this guy.

BIG DUMPS

Kim Winslow. So here’s the deal, John Albert was trapped in an armbar and was trying to escape. Winslow decided Albert couldn’t handle the pain and stopped the fight without even a tap or verbal submission. When Albert appeared visibly (and rightfully) confused Winslow offered no response except the repeated waving of her arms and shaking her head—the universal symbol for “I’m not sure what happened but I can’t back out now.” Winslow took a big dump Saturday. In fact, I might re-name this feature “Dropping a Winslow.”

The Ultimate Fighter. I don’t want to put this all on Jonathan Brookins, but his lopsided loss made me feel that TUF has played its course. This is very argumentative but who’s the last TUF winner to become relevant in the UFC post-show? Let’s skip Dodson and Brandao since its way too early, but I’d say Roy Nelson from season 10. Ferguson, Brookins, McGee, Pearson, Wilks, Escudero…the list goes on and on. At one point I felt TUF was delivering contenders; but now I’m just hoping for more Nam Phan type guys.

Jake Ellenberger. Ellenberger obviously takes a hit with the loss here, but it’s certainly not a big steaming dump. He drops below Kampmann and Hendricks in the welterweight contender pool, but not much farther. One more win and he’s back in the mix—if we ever see another title fight at 170, that is. Dump for Jake? Sure. But just a small one for now.

“Just got back to Brazil, was in the air, and only now found out about the uproar my comments on MMAJunkie Radio created, so I would like to clarify: I have seen way worse cuts then the one Cain inflicted on Bigfoot. The problem with this particular cut was not the size or anything, but the profuse bleeding into Bigfoot’s eyes. This is not an excuse, it is a fact. I am not here saying that wasn’t for the cut , Bigfoot would have won, nor I am making an excuse. What I am saying, again, is a fact. Had not been the cut, the fight most probably would have gone on, who knows what the outcome might have been, maybe Cain would have won anyways, maybe not. I also think that elbows on the ground should not be allowed. For the most part, they cause cuts, which are different then Kos, Tkos or Subs. They also tend to make a bloody mess, sometimes from relatively minor damage, and this does not help MMA as it tends to alienate many people to the sport. I didn’t mean in no way to diminish Cain’s victory, or make an excuse for Bigfoot’s defeat, but simply state a fact that myself, and anyone else who watched the fight, witnessed.”

As Davis stated, elbow strikes can be a means for superficial cuts, which often times can lead to prematurely-ended fights, or at the very least, a highly comprised fighter. Just for the record, I don’t think the Silva vs. Velasquez fight was stopped too soon, but I do think Davis has a point. We’ve seen fights end prematurely due to superficial cuts, and more often times, we’ve seen fights hindered greatly by compromised eye sight due to said superficial cuts. As for his point about blood, I’m kind of on the fence. Granted, it’s not really my thing, but MMA after all is a combat sport and blood should be expected. The question though, is to what extent?

My other big issue with ground elbow strikes is that it engenders “safe” fighting from top control. Striking a grounded opponent with an elbow is a lot safer an option than posturing up and hitting someone because you’re less prone to getting arm-barred, triangle choked or swept. And people, let’s not forget that MMA is a spectator sport, so why not take away safe and boring elbow strikes to even out the playing field and open things up for exciting finishes (see: Pride)?

And lastly, for those naysayers that don’t want to take out elbow strikes because it’s not realistic, or you’re afraid to “pussify” the brutal sport you love, you need to realize, as just mentioned, that MMA is a highly regulated sport. It’s not self-defense. It’s not real life. MMA involves a referee, a soft canvas, an enclosed area, one on one competition, timed rounds, no headbutts, eye gouges, small joint manipulation, etc. Taking out ground elbow strikes isn’t going to make MMA more or less realistic. It’s just a completely different ball game.

So there’s my case. I think elbow strikes suck. They can end fights prematurely and they engender safe fighting. But don’t just take my word for it. What’s your take? Am I just being a big ol’ pussy? Sound off in our comments section and let us know what you think!

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“With Thiago hurt, we turned to Glover and asked him to go right back in to fight ‘Shogun’ at UFC 149,” White told MMA Junkie. Seems reasonable, but he didn’t exactly stop before basically calling Shogun a pussy (not in those words). “’Shogun’s’ people are adamantly refusing to take the fight. They want nothing to do with Glover.” He even took the emphasis off Rua’s “people” and put it directly on the former champ himself. “Shogun’ wants nothing to do with Glover.”

Daaayum, Dana. Rua is considered a legend in the sport and is a former UFC and Pride champion. He has earned four fight night bonuses, including the 2011 Fight of the Year with Dan Henderson and the 2010 KO of the Year against Lyoto Machida. I’d say he’s earned a few respect points in the UFC. It seems White thinks otherwise. It’s kind of unusual for him to be so open with this type of information. Is he just trying to bait Rua into taking this fight?

According to Rua’s camp, this isn’t true at all. Julio Heller, Shogun’s manager, says ‘tap the brakes.’ Heller claims they just found out about Silva’s withdrawal and will work with the UFC on a replacement. “I just sent a message to the UFC,” Heller told Tatame. “I’m waiting for their call.” In reference to White’s claim that they turned down the fight with Teixeira, Heller assured everyone that “it’s not true at all.”

We’ll see what happens, but this looks like White is trying to shame Rua into taking a fight with the rising star with just a single UFC win under on his résumé. Is White going too far? Should Rua have the option of turning down a fight if he wants?

Florian is the only UFC fighter to compete at four different weight classes—making drops to welterweight, lightweight and eventually featherweight to close his career. While never capturing a title, Ken Flo had his share of high profile fights. His first title shot was against veteran Sean Sherk at UFC 64 for the vacant lightweight title. Sherk picked up a 5 round unanimous decision over the young Florian.

Additional chances at the capturing UFC gold came against BJ Penn at UFC 101 and Jose Aldo at UFC 136 (at featherweight), falling short both times. Florian holds key victories over stars such as Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon, Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi to his credit.

Despite never capturing a UFC title, Florian was a contender every step of his career, known for exciting fights and his penchant for finishing fights. Twelve of his 14 wins came by submission or knockout. Back issues arose and ultimately led him announce his retirement last night. Florian has transitioned to a new role with the UFC as a commentator and analyst. He plans to further that role in his retirement.

2. Cain Velasquez: Definitely the most logical choice, and probably the best man suited to take JDS’ belt, even considering their last fight. Too bad Cain’s recent medical suspension for a broken hand will keep him out of training for the next 6 months. Then when you add another 2 to 3 months for training camp, this “can’t miss” fight will have to wait for early to mid 2013.

3. Alistair Overeem: Another great match-up and one we were all robbed of thanks to Overeem’s penchant for sticking needles in his ass. To be fair, I’m sure he wasn’t the one actually administering the shots. At any rate, we’re all going to have to wait out Overeem’s 9 month drug suspension (ends in December) to get the Striker’s Delight fight everyone wants to see. The question then becomes, will it be Cain or Overeem? I’d bet on the latter.

4. Frank Mir: As Mir said, and I’m paraphrasing here “If the fight hits the ground, it’s over for him.” Too bad for Mir that he was the only one hitting the floor last Saturday night. And I don’t think that’s what he had in mind.

5. Daniel Cormier: Great fight but only 2 small problems; a broken hand and subsequent suspension and Strikeforce. Granted, it appears that DC only has one more fight left in SF, but given his broken hand and said “plus 1″ fight, it looks like the unification of the belts will have to wait for about one full year.

6. Fabricio Werdum: Probably the best chance of anyone getting the next shot, assuming he gets by Russow next month. But this is more a matter of timing and circumstance than actual merit. Granted, Werdum is on a nice little run, but he was already smashed by Dos Santos via a 1st round KO. And keep in mind, that was Dos Santos’ UFC debut. In other words, he’s a lot better too.

7. Josh Barnett: Still has a fight left in Strikeforce and coming off a brutal loss to DC that also left him with a broken hand. Plus, seeing what DC did to him in the stand up doesn’t bode well for a potential showdown with Dos Santos.

8. Shane Carwin: Great news! Carwin was just cleared to fight, and it appears he’ll be back in the Octagon sometime early this fall. The bad news, Carwin was already destroyed by JDS and I don’t think anyone wants to see a re-match, including Carwin.

9. Antonio Silva: Um, probs not. After seeing what a quicker and more agile Cain did to him, and prior to that Cormier, I don’t see in what possible way Big Foot would pose any real threat to JDS.

10. Travis Browne: Nice up and coming heavyweight but lacks “big game” experience. And even if the fight happened, we’d still be looking out at least a year or so.

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If you’re having trouble with that link, it’s because of one thing. Wagner Prado doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. He does come to the UFC with some pretty solid credentials, so don’t get me wrong. He steps into the octagon with an undefeated record (7-0, 6 KOs) and trains out of Team Nogueira, so his potential seems high. But why Davis?

My guess is that the UFC is banking on Davis to step into a title challenger role in the next 12 months. I’m not suggesting they’re protecting Mr. Wonderful, but I am suggesting they would love for him to earn a couple wins and grab a title shot. Booking an absolute newcomer against a true contender like Davis is a bizarre move.

We just saw a similar booking with Papy Abedi at the end of last year. Abedi was a promising and highly touted free agent signing who was also undefeated at the time of his signing. Ironically, it was also his debut at welterweight, which made his matchup with former title contender Thiago Alves even more difficult. Abedi lost in the 1^st round and has gone on to completely lose any momentum he once had. He’s now 0-2 in the UFC and in danger of losing his job.

With the landscape of the 205 pound division looking more and more like a clean sweep by young champ Jon Jones, the UFC has to make careful plans for the future of the belt. No one wants to see Jones fighting Rampage Jackson in 2015 fresh off a 3 fight losing streak. That means challengers like Davis and presumably Alexander Gustafsson have to be manufactured strategically. A win for Davis over green, but promising Prado and perhaps a win over another ranked guy like Ryan Bader and you’ve got yourself a challenger for Jones.

It’s the UFC’s version of strategic marketing.

Certainly by this point, you’ve already heard about Jones crashing his Bentley into a telephone pole. And you may have even heard that Jones had 2 passengers with him when he crashed his car. But what you may not have heard, is that the 2 passengers in his car were both female (it hasn’t been determined yet if said females were hot or not), both 25, and both NOT his fiance and mother of his 2 daughters, Jessie Moses. This at least according to a report posted on Deadspin.

Here are some juicy highlights…

The names of the two chicas (get your Google fired up) are Cara Johnson and Michelle L. Vojtisek. Johnson was in the front (aka: his main ho) and Vojtisek was in the back (aka: his Tuesday night at 3 AM booty call ho). Thankfully, both chicas were only treated for minor injuries.

On whether Jones’ seemed inebriated:

Furthermore, the report indicated that both front air bags deployed upon impact and that Jones displayed “slurred speech and glassy bloodshot eyes” while “politely” refusing to agree to a field sobriety test.

Now if you’re one of those “glass half full people” talk solace in the fact that your unbeatable, young, charismatic and on the verge of a GSP-like breakthrough champ was polite to the “Po Po.” So while his grammar may suck giant donkey balls, the dude has enough sense to be nice in the face of authority. Take that Jones haters.

On a side note, no ones knows yet if the accident occurred pre or post threesome.

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“We’re professionals. It is a big irresponsibility not to take care in training, a huge disrespect to fans! I was too sad with all of this. I am ready to knock you out but there is nowhere to hide, this fight will happen. You can’t run, [or] hide.

“Nobody punches so hard in training [that they break their hands]. We use the best equipment: gloves, gel, bandage. I think he chickened out. If he was afraid, he couldn’t have accepted the fight. What will it be like now for the main people interested [fans] in this fight?

“I am – beg your pardon for the word – f***** with this amateurism. A main event in the biggest event of the world and the guy comes with that? No, there is no excuse.”

Well, apparently all of Wand’s venom has gotten Vitor’s wife all hot and bothered. The former actress and model took to her husband’s defense, saying:

“The only thing Wanderlei can do is talk too much, he chickened out several times on fighting Vitor… and now he comes to talk my husband is ducking. If you doubt, the next opponent of Wand in UFC147 will beat the record of 40 sec of vitor Belfort or Chris Leben 20 seconds hahahaha.”

Transcribed from BJPenn.com

She of course referring to Wand’s two quick TKO losses to Belfort and Chris Leben.

Could this be the makings of the very first UFC inter-gender fight? Write your senator or get a petition going…this needs to happen.

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