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Each and every March, from boardrooms to classrooms, men, women and even children watch with bated breath as the NCAA announces the 68 teams that will fill out the brackets for the men's basketball tournament.

It's become a tradition for just about everybody to pick their favorites all the way through March Madness until a national champion is crowned in early April.

Over the years, the Ultimate Fighter has followed a similar format with a roster of young, up and coming hopefuls living in a house trying to make their way through a tournament with the end goal being afforded a six-figure contract with the UFC.

Now fans have a chance to play along with the TUF tournament just like March Madness with the new TUF Tournament Fantasy game.

Fans have already started picking the fighter they believe will go all the way through the tournament, but they can also come back each week to select the winners in each individual fight, and unlike the NCAA Tournament, one game - or in this case one fight - doesn't eliminate you from the competition.

The Ultimate Fighter then becomes an interactive experience that goes beyond watching as a reality show, and transforms you the viewer into a talent scout as you pick and predict each fight along the way.
 
"It's a great way to follow along with the show because normally people get an attachment to the fighters because of their personalities, but this is also your chance to follow a fighter based on his skills," said Rami Genauer from FightMetric.com.

"Normally people take a look at the field ahead of time, and you see articles all over the place about which of these guys will be good. Well, once you start watching the show you get one impression of every guy, and based on those impressions and the training you see during the tournament you make your pick. Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but either way you get to keep going in the tournament just like the fighters do."

Like every season of The Ultimate Fighter, there are always fighters that appear to be favorites and those that come in as underdogs. Coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen will hope to lead each of their fighters to victory, and with the TUF Tournament Fantasy game, you now have a chance to not only see the veteran talent that's already on the show, but the competitors that come from the shadows and develop during their time in the house.

"It's almost like being a talent scout," said Genauer. "Because unfortunately these guys don’t have a lot of history behind them. This is an opportunity to use your eagle eye to spot the diamond in the rough because there's a bunch of guys who you are going to see for the first time.

"If you can spot the guy ahead of time that no one knows about, and you're right and ride that guy all the way through the tournament, you're going to get rewarded. Instead of this being a passive viewing experience, it turns it into an interactive experience. You can really turn the Ultimate Fighter season into an interactive experience instead of just a TV viewing experience."

The Ultimate Fighter fantasy tournament is now underway. Click here to join in.


 

Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, released the following statement today regarding drug test results from UFC on FX 7 that took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on January 19, 2013.

All 22 fighters on the UFC on FX 7 card were drug tested at the event and all fighters passed their drug tests with the exception of Thiago Tavares. The results for Tavares showed the presence of  Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid and banned substance. Tavares has been informed that he will receive a 9-month suspension retroactive to the date of the event and that he must pass a drug test upon completion of the suspension before receiving clearance to compete again.

To dispel rumors that have been circulated, Zuffa wishes to clarify that Vitor Belfort’s drug test results were negative and did not indicate the presence of any performance enhancing drugs.

Belfort has been on a medically approved testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) regimen under the supervision of a medical doctor from the State of Nevada, after being diagnosed with hypogonadism, or low testosterone. The purpose of a medically administered TRT regimen is to allow patients with hypogonadism to maintain testosterone levels within a range that is normal for an adult male.  

UFC® lightweight champion Benson Henderson will defend his title in a long-awaited showdown with Gilbert Melendez, the last man to hold the Strikeforce® lightweight title, on Saturday, April 20 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brings the Octagon® back to HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

The 29-year-old Henderson is 6-0 in the UFC, including two consecutive title defenses over Nate Diaz and Frankie Edgar. He’ll look to cement his status as the world’s best 155-pounder when he meets Melendez, a San Francisco resident riding a seven-fight winning streak.

“Benson Henderson wants to beat Gilbert Melendez to prove once and for all that he’s the best lightweight in the world,” UFC President Dana White said. “Gilbert was a champion in Strikeforce and he’s been on an incredible tear. Benson wants this fight badly and I’m excited that it’s headlining such a stacked card.”

In addition, this outstanding card also features:

•    Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir vs. highly touted Olympic wrestler and winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, San Jose’s Daniel Cormier.
•    Stockton’s Nate Diaz vs. San Jose’s Josh Thomson in lightweight action
•    A welterweight collision between Dan Hardy and Matt Brown

The main card airs live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, preceded by the prelims on FX at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. FUEL TV previews the card the week before on signature shows UFC TONIGHT and UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER, and also carries the WEIGH-IN SHOW on Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and provides post-event analysis.

Tickets for UFC® on FOX: HENDERSON vs. MELENDEZ go on sale Friday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $250, $150, $100, $75, and $50. Tickets are available at the HP Pavilion Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Feb. 14, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
 
All bouts live and subject to change.

The first edition of the UFC Fighter Rankings hit the internet Monday evening, and, of course, there was plenty of debate about the media’s picks for the Octagon’s best of the best. Today, we’ll look at one of the weight classes that has recently been thrown into upheaval, not just with a changing of the guard at the top, but with a stunning upset last Saturday at UFC 156.

So, did the media get the top ten right?

The Champion – Cain Velasquez
When Cain Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight title the first time in 2010, his reign at the top was expected to be a lengthy one. Junior dos Santos’ right hand had other ideas, but after getting back to business with a knockout of Bigfoot Silva last May, Velasquez took the belt back from JDS at UFC 155 a little over a month ago. His dominant win over dos Santos makes it look like the second reign will be the long one many expected him to have the first time, leaving just one question: who’s next?

1 - Junior dos Santos
Despite his loss to Velasquez, JDS remains in the upper reaches of the division, rising to the number one spot after Overeem’s loss to Silva. Don’t expect an immediate title shot for “Cigano” though. A rubber match with Velasquez is likely one that will need to marinate a bit.

2 - Fabricio Werdum
A new man since returning to the Octagon, Fabricio Werdum has been ultra-impressive in decisioning Roy Nelson and knocking out Mike Russow. His possibility of getting a shot at the big man at the top will have to wait until Werdum’s stint as a coach on TUF Brazil 2 and his fight against counterpart Minotauro Nogueira take place though.

3 - Daniel Cormier
The wildcard of the group, unbeaten former Strikeforce star Daniel Cormier is a player in the UFC’s heavyweight division before even stepping foot in the Octagon. In April, he will get his first chance to make a major statement here when he battles former two-time champ Frank Mir. But with a victory, will he be willing to fight his teammate and friend Velasquez, and will Velasquez be willing to fight "DC"?

4 - Antonio Silva
Things didn’t look too bright for Antonio Silva’s UFC future when he was stopped by Velasquez at UFC 146, but with his subsequent knockouts of Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem, “Bigfoot” is a serious threat. Is it too soon for a Velasquez rematch though?

5 - Frank Mir
Winner of three of his last four, Mir remains a serious challenge for anyone in the division, but does he still have the right stuff to wear a championship belt once again? The Cormier fight should answer that question, and if the 33-year-old does pull off the win, Velasquez is a very interesting stylistic matchup.

6 - Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem’s fall from grace has been the talk of the town since last Saturday night, and for good reason. “The Reem” had a title shot locked up if he could beat Silva, but a ferocious third round assault left Overeem with his first loss since 2007. Luckily in the heavyweight division, one punch can change everything, and Overeem has the punch that can get him back on top sooner rather than later.

7 - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
The division’s ageless wonder, “Minotauro” Nogueira remains relevant in the division at 36 thanks to wins in two of his last three bouts over Brendan Schaub and Dave Herman. It could have even been three in a row if he was able to finish Mir when he had him hurt at UFC 140. If the former PRIDE and UFC champ can add Werdum to his list of victims later this year, the title picture will get a lot more interesting.

8 - Roy Nelson
Yes, Roy Nelson has lost big fights against JDS, Mir, and Werdum, but he has back-to-back knockouts of Dave Herman and Matt Mitrione, an April date with Cheick Kongo, and the type of one punch power that could make him a champion if he lands one of his bombs on the chin of Velasquez. When it comes to live underdogs, “Big Country” may be the liveliest.

9 - Stefan Struve
With four consecutive wins – all finishes – no one is better poised to make a move up the ranks in 2013 than Stefan Struve. Having apparently put his erratic performances of the past to rest, the “Skyscraper” has a pivotal bout with Mark Hunt coming up in Japan in March, and don’t be surprised to see him in the top five should he win that one.

10 - Shane Carwin
Out of action since June of 2011 due to injury, Shane Carwin is an odd pick for the number 10 spot here, simply because he’s been inactive and has no fight scheduled at the present time. But voters have rewarded his body of work with his placement in the top 10.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Gabriel Gonzaga
Mark Hunt
Travis Browne
Todd Duffee
Stipe Miocic
Pat Barry

For a look at the complete UFC Fighter Rankings for this week, click here.

The episode opens up in the hallway of the UFC gym as Adam Cella talks to his recently -announced opponent Uriah Hall. Cella points out how much entertainment value the two of them possess and what a great standup fight they’ll have. Hall simply responds, “Maybe.”

As two actual opponents talk amicably, two potential opponents are still at odds. Kevin Casey still hasn’t gotten over Bubba McDaniel calling him out during the previous episode. He tries to tell us that he understands Bubba’s strategy -- as Kevin suffered a cut in his first fight, he may be vulnerable. Still, he's clearly taking it personally. Yes, as difficult as it may be to fathom, TUF contestants often place a high priority on perceived masculinity.

URIAH'S CORNER
Speaking of dominance issues, back at the house we learn that Uriah Hall has a short fuse. Sitting around the bonfire talking with the housemates, Hall calls someone a “professional cooker.” Josh Samman corrects him, “You mean chef?” We assume Samman didn’t mean it maliciously, but Hall isn’t quite that sure. Now, he doesn't jump up and scream “Let me bang, bro!” but he does talk about his childhood as a Jamaican emigrant. He struggled to learn English, and other kids would make fun of him and call him stupid. Samman’s correction seems to have brought this to the fore. Initially you feel a sense of pathos, but then you hear him talk about his rage and you’re terrified. Note to Josh Samman: Don’t correct Uriah Hall’s grammar, bro.

Cut to the Team Sonnen training session where we learn more about Uriah Hall besides the fact he can be scary. He opines about how martial arts changed his life and helped give him confidence. It puts a human face on the man that many expect to win the season. Plus we see some cool slow motion punching, which is always nice.

Coach Chael Sonnen then levels some high praise on Hall. He states that he’s the best athlete, works the hardest, he has the most talent etc. There is one caveat, though: Chael states that the key to getting Hall to win the whole thing is for him to realize that he doesn’t have to win everything. We catch a glimpse of this as Hall rolls with Kevin Casey. Casey catches him in an armbar, Hall taps, and his ego can’t handle it. He gets visibly upset and can’t seem to let it go. Maybe he’ll use it as a learning experience to improve? Nope. He appears to miss the point when he tells us, “Today I learned to not be nice.” I suppose Chael would have wanted him to learn armbar defense, but hey, you take what you can get.

ADAM'S CORNER
We cut to Adam Cella who goes on a humble brag-a-thon about how his friends and family always get angry at him because he finishes his opponents in the first round. He also talks about the heating and cooling company his family owns and explains he doesn’t need fighting. “I want to do this, I don’t have to.”

At the Team Jones training session, Bones works one-on-one with Cella to show him a better method of blocking kicks. He also realizes the mental coaching he needs to give Adam and tells us that, “My job is to humanize Uriah.” After the personal training, he works with the entire team to show them ground-and-pound technique. Coach Jones reveals to us that he’s used this elbow technique so many times that, “I know what the human skull feels like the back of my hand.”

As Jones teaches his fighters how to elbow a face, Sonnen teaches Uriah Hall about confidence...kind of. Hall asks Chael how he deals with all the pressure that comes with high-level MMA. Chael’s words of wisdom can pretty much be summed up as "Deal with it." He explains: “Failure is always an option, but it’s a choice.”

Time for weigh-in, which occurs with no controversies. Two things worth noting: 1) Dana is still smitten with Uriah Hall and thinks he can be a star 2) Bubba admires Adam’s cojones.

Back at the house, Jon Jones visits the guys and tries to get to know his team better. He asks, “What does it mean to you to make it in the UFC?” There are a variety of responses. Adam Cella is spurned by doubters (who’d have thought those exist in MMA!?) Bubba looks for redemption after being on a path of destruction. Dylan Andrews thinks about his brothers who had potential to be great athletes but lost their chances because of drugs.

FIGHT DAY
It’s finally fight day and the combatants have a few more words. Cella realizes the task that lays before him and knows Hall is an intimidating and dangerous opponent. Despite having the odds stacked against him, he believes in himself since, “I always rise to the occasion.” Meanwhile, Hall doesn’t go the normal route of false modesty and states, “I’d be scared of me, too.”

Both fighters trade jabs to begin the first round. Hall then lands a strong low kick. Cella responds with a couple punches, but Hall clinches and muscles him around the cage delivering knees to the body. They break the clinch and Hal throws a cool spin kick...that doesn’t even come close to landing. Cella answers with a kick of his own, but Hall grabs it and takes him down. Cella works from his back and throws up an armbar attempt. Looks like Hall actually did learn a little defense, because he fends off the submission and stands up. The two are back on their feet and Cella follows a jab-cross combo with another kick that Hall grabs. Cella loses his balance, but Hall doesn’t follow up. Instead, he throws another low kick that lands with a solid thud. Hall throws some more left legs against Cella and backs him up further. Cella swings big with his right hand, but Hall clinches him up again. They break and Adam Cella keeps coming forward.

They trade another couple jabs. Then, with six seconds left, Uriah Hall throws another cool spin kick... that will live forever in TUF highlight reels. Cella is out before he hits the ground. Dana White screams, “Holy [expletive]!” before Cella hits the ground, too. After the initial jubilance subsides, things get very quiet. Cella is still out on the ground and you see the concern on everyone’s faces. Eventually he sits up, but he has no recollection at all about what just happened. As Adam heads to the hospital we see the kick replayed again and again and it still doesn’t get boring.

Then it’s time for next week’s fight announcement -- Kevin Casey will face off against Collin Hart. (Vote here for who you think will win.) Bubba doesn’t like it because he’s been angling for a fight with Kevin, but Coach Sonnen says it’s all a part of the strategy. They believe Kevin will take less damage against Hart.

Cut to previews to next week’s episode. Will Kevin Casey’s cut open up again? Can Team Sonnen make it three in a row? Does Dana White hand Uriah Hall a UFC contract before the season even ends? Find out next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

Season at a glance:

Team Sonnen (2-0)
Luke Barnatt (1-0, TKO win over Gilbert Smith in episode 2)
Uriah Hall (1-0, KOd Adam Cella in episode 3)
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum

Team Jones (0-2)
Clint Hester
Josh Samman
Bubba McDaniel
Gilbert Smith (0-1, TKOd by Luke Barnatt in episode 2)
Collin Hart
Adam Cella (0-1, KOd by Uriah Hall in episode 3)
Dylan Andrews

Few athletes have had the impact Ronda Rousey has had over the last couple years, and things aren’t likely to slow down anytime soon as she prepares to make history on Saturday, February 23 as she defends her bantamweight crown against Liz Carmouche in the first ever women’s fight in the UFC. But before that UFC 157 main event in Anaheim’s Honda Center (perhaps to be renamed the Ronda Center before the night is done), here’s a sampling of Miss Rousey’s thoughts on her career, her opposition, and life as the baddest woman on the planet.

DOES SHE FEEL THE BURDEN OF EXPECTATIONS WEIGHING HER DOWN?
“I did that when I was younger. I’m over it.”

A DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS NO LONGER
“When I was 16, I went on a sports show with my coach, and they were asking everybody questions and they came to me, asked me a question and I went ‘uhhhh.’ (Laughs) I was totally a deer in the headlights for a minute, and I was like that for a while, completely horrified, and I think it’s a learned skill, just like anything else. I couldn’t even speak in full sentences until I was six years old. I was very shy, and all through high school I wore baggy clothes every day just to cover up my arms because I was just embarrassed. The self-confidence that people see in me now has developed over time. It didn’t come to me from the beginning. It came mostly from doing well in sports. I felt that if I was amazing in something, I’m actually a cool person and I should think more of myself. It’s something about medals – having a tangible thing to hold in your hand, it’s like ‘oh look, I’m awesome.’”

BEGINNINGS
“I was raised with the mentality that if you’re going to do anything, you’re gonna do it to be the best at it. Ever since I was a little kid, my dad told me that if you’re gonna swim, and you’re gonna be a swimmer, you’re gonna win the Olympics in swimming. And I switched from swimming to judo, and I was like I’m in judo, I’m gonna be a judo player and I’m gonna win the Olympics in judo. And when I switched to MMA, I completely have that same intent. So it’s not a big change for me; I’m just trying to continue the same trend that I’ve been trying to follow since I was a little kid.”

LIFE LESSONS
“I really think that a lot of things happen for a reason, even if you don’t know it. It’s funny, my mom always has this line – I have a lot of mom lines I bring out all the time – that she got from my great grandmother, that God always knows what he’s doing, even when you don’t. And I always thought about that. If my dad didn’t die, I never would have gone to the Olympics and got a medal.

MOM
“She’s not shocked by anything I do, but she wasn’t very supportive of it (fighting in MMA). She thought it wasn’t very classy and she thought it was extremely dangerous, and what mother wants to see her baby get punched in the face? She did judo herself, but she really didn’t see it as dangerous or barbaric as some people would see in contact sports. But MMA was something she was unfamiliar with, and it’s so visually dramatic. I really think that MMA’s not that dangerous; I think boxing’s way more dangerous, but visually, it’s just insane to watch. It’s like a real fight and I think it’s hard for any mother, no matter how seasoned of an athlete she is.”

SURPRISED BY SUCCESS?
“It’s not surprising. I want myself to be perfect in every single match and I don’t expect that it will always be perfect, but that’s what I always aim for, so when it does happen that way, I’m not surprised because that’s what I wanted to do in the first place.”

QUICK HITS
“I’m happy with the way things are going. If I can go my entire career without leaving the first round, I’m not gonna complain about it. I think winning a fight in 30 seconds is pretty damn skilful.”

THE BEST OF THE BEST
“I want to be the undisputed, best pound-for-pound woman in the world in MMA, and I want to do it while looking good and being entertaining. I want to bring women’s MMA up to be just as respected as the men, and I feel that if there’s something you want to get done, you gotta do it yourself. I can’t trust anybody else to do it for me, and I’m willing to put the work in and be that person.”

MAMA SAID
“I’m full of my mom’s sayings, and one of them was ‘no one’s easy until after you beat them. After you’re done, you’re like ‘ah, that was easy,’ but the weeks leading up to that are extremely difficult, and dealing with the mental rigors of going to fight somebody on national television, it’s all difficult, even if the match itself isn’t.”

ON GINA CARANO
“I definitely don’t think I’ve pushed her aside. She’s the one coming out with a multi-million dollar movie (Haywire) in a couple months, and I’m not. (Laughs) But in the actual competition, I’m dealing with it (all the attention) fine. I expected it to be this way and I asked for it. This is what I wanted; I wanted not only to fight in women’s MMA, but to be the best at it and the most exciting at it. I’m just stoked at how things are going so far, and I really want to keep it going. When people watch this fight this weekend, I want the girls to steal the show. I want everyone to be like ‘hot damn, I want to see more of that.’ And I’m just trying my best to keep it going.”

JUDO VS. MMA
“The difference between judo and MMA is that when I fought in my first amateur MMA fight, I was shocked that there was a room full of people cheering for me. (Laughs) Because every single time I fought, I was getting booed by everyone in the room, the referees were doing everything that they could to keep me from winning, they wouldn’t give me any time on the ground, they would always give me horrible calls, and now I’m competing, and everyone complains about the referees in MMA, but they’re not the least bit involved compared to judo. So people are cheering for me and the referees are just gonna let me fight for as long as I want and not get in the way? This is an amazing transition and I’m super stoked in MMA compared to judo.”

SPEAKING THE TRUTH
“Ask any tattoo artist. Let’s just say that women do have a higher pain tolerance than men do.”

THE CRITICS
“I’m not out to go and make 20,000-50,000 new friends. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to further my career, and if that involves accumulating some critics, they don’t know me. They take a few fragments of information that they get about me and they make some sort of judgment about my character without even knowing me. And if someone that I’ll never meet is making a wrong judgment about me from very little information, that’s not really my problem at all, so I don’t really feel that bad about it.”

CONFIDENT TO THE CORE
“If I wasn’t me I wouldn’t want to fight me because I’m the best female fighter in the world.”

THE ROOTS OF RONDA
“I come from a very outspoken family of very empowered women, and when I was training as a kid, I kinda got bumped around to a lot of these fighter houses where I was hanging out with all men in their mid-20’s ever since I was around 13 or so. So I always kinda had more of a brash sense of humor and rapport with my teammates, and that compounded with very empowered and educated women in my family, and it kind of turned into the way I present myself today, which I admit is not very normal, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

LOSING
“You can always trip on the edge of the ring and fall on your face. Anything can happen and anybody can push you the distance, and it could be the person you least expect. So I just assume that every single person is a danger to me and that every single person is trying to beat me and hurt me, and I’m going to be prepared for every single person, no matter who it is.”

MAMA SAID 2
“My mom has a lot of lines. She also says ‘no one has the right to beat you, regardless of who they are.’”

LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
“I’m dealing with it fine. Before, I was working three jobs and training full-time, and now because everything has been going so well, it’s the same amount of work, but it’s just different work. I don’t have to do graveyard shifts anymore or show up for a 9 to 5 job; I just have more media obligations. But I’ve trained more than I ever have for any other fight before, even for the Olympics. This is the peak of my athletic career, and having to deal some extra media and all those other things, the only challenges are multi-tasking, organization, getting help with my schedule and getting enough rest. But thankfully, I have a very professional team behind me now that’s really helping me coordinate everything, so that’s pretty much how I’m dealing with it – I get a lot of outside help with organization. But I always put my training first and all the other things come second.”

ONE TRICK PONY?
“When people say that I’m a one trick pony and only have the one armbar, they don’t realize that I have so many setups to that armbar that I don’t even know them all – I’ll make them up on the fly. When you’re watching boxing and you see somebody knock someone out with a right hand every time, they’re not like ‘oh, they’re a one trick pony.’ No, they have a billion different setups for that right hand. And just because it ended with a right hand on the face, it doesn’t mean it’s the same thing every time. And just because so many people are unfamiliar with grappling and they just see the armbar ending the same, they assume the setup’s the same, but if you look back at all those fights, I’ve jumped into that armbar from many different positions. It ends the same way, but the setups are always different. So they can prepare for a certain setup, but I’m always gonna think of more.”

THE FINISHER
“Contrary to what a lot of people believe, I never underestimate a single opponent,” she said. “I always assume that they’re going to be the best I’m ever going to be facing, the best version of them that’s ever going to be seen, and the very first opening I see, I’m gonna go for it. I’m not going to be cocky enough to think that I can let certain openings slip by so I can finish the fight in a style that I think is cooler. I assume that if I see one opening to finish a fight, that could be the only one I will ever see and I have to capitalize on it. I never relax in a fight, thinking that I’m such a shoo-in that I can finish in any way I want. I’m always so worried that there might be only one chance or no chances for me to see a finish, so I have to try and create and capitalize on every single thing that I see.”

RESPECT
“It’s extremely satisfying because that was my goal from the very beginning. I wanted to gain the respect of people that I respected and I knew that I was capable. It’s funny, but you can see on some old interviews that I did where I said ‘I’m gonna make these people love me, I’m gonna make these people respect me, and all I have to do is win and win impressively.’ It’s not like they’re gonna put me in the middle of an arena and be like ‘okay, here’s a model airplane, put it together in 60 seconds.’ (Laughs) I have no idea how to do that. But my mom was making me drill judo and armbars and being a fighter and an athlete ever since I can remember. I can’t remember not being an athlete. It’s just doing what comes natural, and I feel like I’ve always been deserving of that respect, but I have to do things to earn it.”

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has already defended his weight class against lightweight intruders Frankie Edgar and Kenny Florian, and on August 3rd, the Brazilian bomber will look to do so once again as he puts his 145-pound title on the line against former WEC lightweight champ and current UFC contender Anthony "Showtime" Pettis.
 
Aldo is fresh off a UFC 156 win over Frankie Edgar last Saturday which saw him successfully defend his belt for the fourth time. Pettis has won three straight at 155 pounds, with his victories over Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone earning him Knockout of the Night honors.

"These guys are two of the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport," said Dana White to USA Today, which broke the news in this morning's edition. Read full article
 
This sizzling summer showdown will take place at an event and venue to be announced.
 

Here’s a question for you … do you think the bee wakes up, says to himself ‘oh, crap another ten hours of flying around collecting pollen?’  I doubt it very much. The bee doesn’t make the distinction between ‘working’ and ‘living’ that most people do … for the bee, it’s all just ‘living’.Think about that …For anyone who has lived in or travelled to Asia, you may have noticed that many of the people there (working in markets, cooking food, etc) are smiling, chatting, solving each other’s problems, etc – all as they ‘earn’ their living. I think many of these people don’t see the distinction between ‘working’ and ‘living’ that many western people see. There’s a secret to be unearthed in this; a big lesson to be learned.If you love what you do or you can learn to ‘live’ fully while you are doing whatever it is you are doing – it may be possible to never ‘work’ a day in your life. In blurring the lines between what we call ‘work’ and what we call ‘life’ – we can enrich our lives dramatically. JBW

One of the most polarizing figures in mixed martial arts history, former UFC light heavyweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz was a crowd favorite from the get-go. Here, his thoughts on his career as only Tito himself could tell it:

FIRST LOOK (2003)
“I watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship and I was like, ‘these guys are crazy.’ I just couldn’t believe the stuff they were doing inside the Octagon. I was a huge fan of the movie ‘Bloodsport’ and thought, ‘wow, it finally came to America.’ It kinda surprised me. I watched a smaller man choke out bigger men left and right, and that was Royce Gracie. He introduced jiu-jitsu to the United States, and it was amazing. I didn’t understand some of the stuff he was doing, but it caught my eye really quick.”

EARLY DAYS (2006)
“At that time I was working at an adult novelty store (laughs), and I had just quit college. I was wondering what I was gonna eat the next day because I was so broke.  I was living in a small apartment, not really sure of what life was gonna bring to me.  I started training and I got the chance to fight in the UFC.  And within a year and a half I became the world champion.  It just seemed that I pushed my life to where I wanted it to be.”

THE DEBUT (2003)
“My first chance was May 30 of 1997, and I fought Wes Albritton. I was scared. I was really intimidated and I wasn’t sure exactly what could happen. He was a second-degree black belt in karate and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. What do I need to do to become the victor in my fight? Well, he was a standup fighter and I’m a ground fighter, so I used my wrestling to my best ability. From then on, I was hooked. That fight lasted 22 seconds and I think it was the building of a star. I set my mind to it, tried to achieve as much as possible, and kept working and working.”

KEN SHAMROCK I (2003)
“There were so many people saying how close the fight was gonna be, and that Ken was really tough and strong. They were just saying so much stuff and giving him so much credit that they didn’t realize how hard I worked and how good I became. At UFC 40 people saw a whole different side of mixed martial arts. They said, ‘man, you really dominated. You picked him apart.’ If he wanted to be the champ, he had to earn it. That night he sure wasn’t going to be the champ and he was not going to earn it because of all the work I put into it.”

THE TRIGGER (2000)
“Once I get locked in that cage, there has to be something in my body to trigger me and make me want to go out and inflict pain on a person. The money and everything, that's fun, but at the same time, the competition, it can work wonders for somebody to win. The feeling of losing, there's no worse feeling than that. There is a difference between Tito Ortiz in the ring and Tito Ortiz outside the ring, because once I get in the ring, the light switch turns on. It's like a red light and it's time to go as hard as I can and try to break this guy. Break him mentally, physically, his arms, his legs. Not literally, just trying to take my opponent out, because that's what his job is, to take me out. But once I step out of the ring, I'm all smiles. My job is over, and hopefully I did my job.”

ON COACHING THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER (2006)
“I’ve been a high school wrestling coach for three years when I was in junior college and I know how to coach kids and push them. I was part of Team Punishment and I was one of the coaches for it.  I helped the guys and I know what it takes to win in the Octagon – I know the different types of submissions to defend, how to use elbows, how to use knees on the feet, striking positions, clinches.  There are a lot of things that I’ve worked on that I bring to the table as a coach.  It’s kinda scary because they’re gonna be a lot better than me. (Laughs)  They’re gonna know all my secrets, but I’ll give them all my secrets.”

ON COACHING II (2006)
“I think they see the real Tito Ortiz when I am a coach and I’m around them, and not when I’m in the Octagon competing.  Those are two separate people – there’s the person that’s in there fighting for his career inside the Octagon and there’s the person who’s fighting for his life outside the Octagon who’s willing to help people out, and who’s always giving.  I’m an Aquarius to the tee – I’m always willing to give to those people who are around me; I would pretty much give my left arm for them, and I really want to see the guys on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ excel, I want to see the guys become good fighters and great people.  I want to see them excel in life.”

RESPECT (2006)
“People have been paying more attention to all the smack talk I talk and they don’t really watch my fight game. They pay more attention to the stuff I do after the fight compared to the fights themselves.  I beat some really good guys, and it seems like every time I beat somebody, I either end their career or they don’t fight the same after the fight. Wanderlei Silva may be the only one who went on to excel.  Having fights like that and winning fights like that, I’m still young, I’m 31 years old and I feel I’ve got a solid five years left in me to compete.  The book is barely on its fifth page, and I’ve still got about another 100 pages to go.”

THE ROAR OF THE CROWD (2007)
“I don’t think there’s a word to describe it.  You’ve got to be the person in the Octagon fighting when it happens.  It’s overwhelming almost.”

THE APPEAL OF TITO ORTIZ (2007)
“I think it really comes down to the fact that I try to entertain.  That’s my job.  When I first started fighting in the UFC, it really came down to entertainment.  A fight was a fight, but there was entertainment value.  When I stepped into the Octagon, I gave my whole heart and soul and it’s very personal to me.  I take training very seriously, so when the fight comes about, I have no doubts in my step.  I make sure that I’m fighting 100%, and when Tito Ortiz fights, it’s an event in itself, so I try to entertain and try to beat down my opponent.  I try to make it exciting for the fans that buy pay-per-views and the fans that are sitting in the front row, all the way up to the fans in the nose bleed seats.  They’re always gonna get a great fight out of Tito Ortiz, no matter what.  I just don’t take this as a payday – this is very personal to me.”

GETTING “IT” (2007)
“Those guys who are just here to fight, they’re the ones that are gonna be forgotten. I’m building a foundation, I’m here to build a castle, and I want to make sure I’m the king standing in that castle.  You see a lot of fighters, all they care about is fighting.  They’re gonna come in and say ‘oh, I’m gonna knock the guy out and that’s my job.’  That’s all they care about.  To me, there’s entertainment value involved.  You’ve got to make sure you’re known beyond just the fighting.  You have to do the extra stuff.  I do a lot of charity work, and to me, it’s not just fighting.  If it was just about fighting, I would have kept my mouth shut and just fought.  But I want to go on to other things.  Being a personality and being an inspiration to a lot of kids who want to find role models to look up to is important to me.  Maybe a lot of the things I do aren’t role model-type stuff, but I speak my mind no matter what.  I came up from nothing, I’ve tasted dirt before and I never want to taste dirt again, so I have to make sure I’m a name that’s recognized always and forever in the sport of mixed martial arts.”

FIGHT NIGHT (2003)
“Mindwise, as soon as I get in the arena, that’s when it sets the tone of ‘all right, now it’s time to fight.  Now it’s time to get serious.’ I put my running shoes on and do a light jog.  I’m warming up, hitting pads, and then it comes to the point of 10-15 minutes before the fight and I always vomit and tears will come out of my eyes.  I don’t know what the reason is. It’s just emotion.  People see me fight and I fight like no other fighter in the UFC.  I have so much emotion and so much aggression.  I never stop moving.  In my mind, it’s just don’t stop moving until the match is over and you’ll have no problem with it.  That’s the whole idea.  So when I step in there and you see the ferocity I go in there with, no one’s gonna stop me.  Whoever’s standing on the other side of the Octagon, I have to go through that person because I’m fighting for my family, my fans, and that’s what really matters.”

REGRETS (2011)
“I actually had two huge regrets. My biggest regret was that I wish my parents were never drug addicts and my other regret was that I wish I never turned my back on Dana (White) and (UFC Chairman and CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta). I feel bad for doing that. My whole life I was always in survival mode. I was trying to survive and I could never trust anybody. I couldn’t trust my mother or my father, I couldn’t trust any of my family around me. I never had anybody to look up to besides people like Muhammad Ali or Hulk Hogan. I never had a father figure, and I never had any type of family at all. All I knew was how to survive. And throughout my fight career I’ve always been like that.”

ON BEING INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME (2012)
“It’s recognition and I’m thankful. It’s always been my goal in life to be the best athlete that I could be and that ever graced the Octagon, and not only inside, but outside. I wanted to be an inspiration in a lot of people’s lives, so they could look at this sport and not see it as barbaric human cockfighting, but see us as well-trained athletes that compete against each other to see who the best athlete is. And I’ve done that, I think. I helped break the mold from the 90s to 2000 and now 2012."

ON HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS (2012)
"I fought in three decades, and it’s crazy to even imagine that. I gave my heart, soul, and body to this sport and to the UFC like no other,” Ortiz continues. “I could have quit a long time ago, but there’s no quit in me. I think about everything that I’ve done throughout my career, and it’s been a really, really long road.”

Everybody knows how the second preliminary matchup on the Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen ends, but how will they get there?

This week, Team Sonnen fighter and highly touted prospect Uriah Hall meets Team Jones' underdog Adam Cella in a bout that already has everybody guessing who ends up unconscious at the end of the show.
 
The previews for this week's fight are already out and it has UFC President Dana White saying the finish is "one of the nastiest knockouts I've ever seen in the fight business, let alone on The Ultimate Fighter.” So we know either Hall or Cella is getting knocked out, but who has the better chance of landing the finishing blow?

Following their debut fights, Uriah Hall became an instant fan favorite for his flashy, dynamic style, one that a lot of people compared to coach and UFC champion Jon Jones. Meanwhile, Cella slipped under the radar in many ways despite an impressive finish by submission to eliminate Jake Heun.

Both Hall and Cella come from striking backgrounds, so it's no surprise that their fight ends in a knockout, but who puts who away is still up for debate.

Uriah Hall comes to The Ultimate Fighter by way of Team Tiger Schulmann in New York City, and right away when looking at his 7-2 record you notice something. He's won a lot of fights by knockout, which should be no secret given his style, but his only losses have come from two of the UFC's most elite middleweights – Chris Weidman and Costas Philippou (who he lost to by majority decision in a close fight). Hall can hang with the best on the planet and his record proves it.

As for Adam Cella, he's a different case study of a fighter that just fell in love with fighting, and decided to give it a go. With an estimated 50 amateur kickboxing matches to his credit, Cella is no slouch in the striking department. While only 4-0 as a pro fighter, Cella has developed his overall MMA game quickly as he showed with his submission win to kick off the show this year.

Now it has to be noted that Hall is a decided favorite going into this fight. Hall was picked by a whopping 52.1-percent of fans as their choice to win the entire season of TUF, while Cella actually came in last at only .6-percent.

Hall's quick attacks and explosive finishing power have everyone sold that not only will he be the one putting Cella in the ambulance (as shown in previews for this week's episode), but ultimately the winner when the show comes to a close in April.

Cella's talent should not be ignored however and a man with nothing to lose is awfully dangerous inside the cage. He's not being picked to win now and he likely wasn't favored to win while filming the show either. That could be just the recipe to pull a huge upset and eliminate Chael Sonnen's No. 2 overall pick.

To play in the TUF Fantasy Tournament, visit fantasy.ultimatefighter.com


 

Sports Celebrities
Avid UFC fan Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino (left) took in his final live event before spring training. Charles Barkley enthusiastically took in the main event, while the NHL represented with Jeremy Roenick.

NFL Stars
Although Sunday belonged to the NFL, several of the sport's players warmed up Saturday night at UFC 156. Kirk Morrison of the Buffalo Bills and Marcedes Lewis of the Jacksonville Jaguars arrived early to catch some undercard fights. Analyst Curt Menafee also attended and said he agreed with the judges on the main event.

Knockout Madness
After the tremendous TKO of Alistair Overeem by Bigfoot Silva, actor Bruno Gagliasso cheered enthusiastically for his fellow Brazilian. Silva exited the Octagon and was greeted by a hearty handshake from fellow heavy Roy Nelson.

70s Rock
Actor Wilmer Valderrama and Linkin Park bassist Dave Farrell (right) were among the stars spotted in the VIP section enjoying the night's spectacular fights.

Champions' Row
Cain Velasquez, Royce Gracie, Vitor Belfort and Chuck Liddell sat directly behind the UFC bosses for the night's event. Chuck Liddell was spotted conferring with Dana White between rounds of the main event.

Jersey Strong
“Jersey Shore” star Jenni “JWoww” Farley sat front row with fiancée Roger Mathews (left), cheering on friend and fellow Jerseyite Frankie Edgar.


UFC's Own
John Dodson, Pat Barry, Clay Guida, Jake Ellenberger, Erick Silva, Thiago Alves, Michael Johnson, Ricardo Lamas and Mike Pyle were all seated together enjoying the night’s card with their friends and dates for the evening.

Company Men
Backstage, Vegas locals Dan Hardy and Frank Mir did interviews with members of the media about their upcoming bouts in San Jose this April.

Stylin' Star
Coming off a huge win against Cowboy Cerrone, Anthony Pettis (right) came dressed to impress in true Showtime fashion

Fly Guy Fans
As flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall were battling in the Octagon, Benavidez' teammates Urijah Faber and Danny Castillo were seen rooting for the Team Alpha Male 125er.

Corner Crew
What is a fighter without good cornermen? UFC vet Ricardo Almeida was in for Edgar’s BJJ. Bantamweight TJ Dillashaw helped flyweight Benavidez and Martin Kampmann cornered Xtreme Couture teammate Jay Hieron. Former WEC champ Mike Brown assisted Yves Edwards and featherweight Max Holloway loaned his expertise to Dustin Kimura's UFC debut.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) returns to Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday, April 6 for UFC® STOCKHOLM 2013: GUSTAFSSON vs. MOUSASI. Rising Swedish light heavyweight Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson will headline the five-round main event, taking on former STRIKEFORCE® light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, of the Netherlands, on FUEL TV.
 
This will mark the UFC’s second trip to Sweden. History was made last April during UFC® Sweden, also headlined by Gustafsson, selling out in less than three hours and breaking Ericsson Globe Arena’s attendance record for sporting events.
 
Gustafsson (15-1) has only been defeated once in his 16-fight career. Currently on a six-fight win streak, Gustafsson recently triumphed over the accomplished Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva. Mousasi (33-3-2) also unbeaten in his last six fights, holds notable wins over Hector Lombard and has been one of the most dominant light heavyweights outside the UFC. On April 6, two of the sport’s best strikers will square off in a match-up with title implications on the division.
 
The highly anticipated event will also feature Sweden native Akira Corassani taking on 145-pound prospect Robbie Peralta. Corassani (10-3, 1 NC)  a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter®  , made his long-awaited UFC debut with a split decision victory over Andy Ogle last September and has finished four of 10 victories. Peralta (16-3, 1 NC) is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak and coming off a 24-second knockout of Jason Young.
 
A welterweight must-win battle will also take place between Swedish up-and-comers Papy Abedi (8-2) and Besam Yousef (6-1), both of whom are looking for their first Octagon® victory this April.
 
Tickets for UFC® STOCKHOLM 2013: GUSTAFSSON vs. MOUSASI will go on sale to the public on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. CET, and tickets are priced at SEK 600, SEK 800, SEK 1110, SEK 1510, SEK 1765 and SEK 2270. Tickets will be available via UFC.com, globearenas.se and http://www.ticnet.se. UFC Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. CET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. CET. To access this pre-sale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

ALDO CEMENTS HIS PLACE AMONG THE ACTIVE GREATS

On paper, at least, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar appeared to be the toughest challenge of Jose Aldo’s career to date.  

Nope.

Aldo handled Edgar no differently than he did Kenny Florian, Urijah Faber, Mike Brown and all the others who have faced him in the UFC and WEC. In fact, Saturday night was his 15th consecutive win. That is a remarkable streak in a sport where parity is the order of the day.

At this point, Aldo has completely cleaned out the featherweight division. Granted, I believe that Dustin Poirier is the guy I’ve got my eye on as the future of the division. But he recently lost to the “Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung, so a title challenge isn’t imminent.

Dominating the division like Aldo has over the last few years leaves no doubt that he is among the very best in the sport, across all weight classes. He is so good that I literally don’t give any other featherweight much of a chance at defeating him in the near future, if I’m being honest.

Shortly after Aldo’s big win, top lightweight competitor and former 155-pound WEC champion Anthony Pettis claimed that he would drop down a weight class if the UFC would give him a shot at the champ. That is an extremely interesting matchup.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. It wasn’t that long ago that Edgar was viewed as a clear top-five pound-for-pound candidate. That makes Aldo’s win that much more impressive. He should enjoy the moment and then ask himself whether he wants to face Pettis at featherweight or possibly move up to lightweight and try to become the first man in the history of the UFC to simultaneously hold two championships.  

THE REEM LEARNS A HARSH LESSON; THE REST OF THE SPORT LEARNS A VALUABLE ONE

Alistair Overeem was dominating Antonio Silva through two rounds with technical brilliance. He was making the fight look just as easy as he claimed it would be in the weeks leading up to the bout. Overeem was not shy about referring to “Bigfoot” as a warm-up bout. The Brazilian was nothing more than a way to shake off the cage rust after 13 months out of action before “The Reem” faced Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight crown.

Then, Silva came out and turned the third round into a bar fight. Twenty-five seconds later, Overeem lay slumped on the canvas. It was his first loss since September 17, 2007, and undoubtedly the most costly loss of his professional career.

There will be no bout with Velasquez around the corner. Overeem now needs to rehabilitate his status among the very best, something I’m sure he will do with a devastating win or two. After all, the last time Overeem lost, he was knocked out. It took nearly six years for it to happen again.

Conversely, Silva is now extremely relevant in the heavyweight division, something that was a pretty farfetched thought after he got obliterated by Velasquez in his UFC debut. The problem, of course, is Velasquez’s win over him was so dominant that it is tough to imagine a rematch unfolding any differently, though a few more wins and the UFC will have no choice but to grant him that wish.

Rankings aside, the way Overeem-Silva ended should be a very vivid teaching lesson to everyone in the UFC—literally everyone.

First, Overeem’s hubris is what cost him the fight. Silva seemed like nothing more than a sparring partner when Overeem relied on his technical skills. The minute Silva devolved the action into a brawl, the worm didn’t just turn. It turned and bit with the jaws of a great white shark.

Had Overeem shunned the invitation to plant and swing in barroom fashion, he would be thinking about his upcoming bout with Velasquez right now.

The obvious lesson to learn is to never shun technique in favor of a rock-em, sock-em exchange when winning the fight.

Second, Silva’s heart is what won him the fight. He knew he was down on the scorecards entering the third and final round. He had no chance of winning, absent a knockout or submission. What did he do? He rushed to the center of the cage and fought like a wild man.

Silva punked Overeem into brawling with him by challenging his manhood, both with words and his actions. Overeem took the bait hook, line and sinker. But for Silva’s decision to throw caution completely to the wind, his bank account would be much lighter right now, and his record would have one more loss on it.

Lots of fighters know they are down on the cards, with no chance of winning a decision, when the final round begins. Few truly do anything about it. Even fewer really let it all hang out, risking getting knocked out themselves, in search of a dramatic, come-from-behind victory.

The obvious lesson to learn is to embrace the old adage “with great risk comes great reward.”

EVANS CONTINUES TO BAFFLE

Rashad Evans is one of the most talented fighters in the sport. From his athleticism to his technical skill to his amazing fighting IQ, this guy doesn’t have many peers. Yet, he has been underperforming since he won the UFC 205-pound title back in 2008.

Evans started his career in the UFC as a heavyweight who didn’t have much chance at stopping the big fellas, so he fought to survive and win at the same time. He carried that mentality with him when he dropped to the light heavyweight class. A split decision win over Sam Hoger and then a majority decision win over Stephan Bonnar. Those are good results, but they don’t suggest a future champion.

Out of nowhere, everything changed.

He followed those sleepy wins with a knockout over the then-highly touted Jason Lambert. It was a spectacular finish, one that turned around Evans’ career path. He went from sleepy victor to must-see TV overnight.

Four fights later, Evans turned in a Knockout of the Century performance against Chuck Liddell to earn a shot at the UFC title. “Suga” won the title by knockout in his next fight, making him one of the top stars in the sport.

Then, everything changed again. This time, however, they changed for the worse.

Evans lost the title by sudden, dramatic knockout to Lyoto Machida in his first defense. He has never been the same since. Sure, he is 4-2 since losing the title, but his only stoppage win was against a faded, over-the-hill Tito Ortiz. Each of the other bouts saw a safety-first Evans do what was necessary to win, but not really press for a finish. He went from must-see TV to, well, less than thrilling.

Evans lost on Saturday night to Rogerio Nogueira in a fight that probably could have gone either way. But it was the same sort of sleepy effort, where the former champion seemed unable to pull the trigger, that has plagued him in recent years.

Could the loss turn out to be a good thing? I don’t know. Something needs to change for Evans. He is far, far too good to turn in performances like he did on Saturday night, where he appears hesitant and defensive.

Where is the knockout king? We need to put out an APB, because the world is dying to see that Evans step into the cage. If Evans would commit to aggressively letting his hands go, like he did back in 2007 and 2008, he would be a handful for anyone in the world. That is the guy who can win a title, whether at 205 or 185 pounds. Bring that guy back, please.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION GSP?

Demian Maia is now 3-0 after dropping to the welterweight division. He has looked better and better in each of those three bouts, culminating in a career-best performance againt Jon Fitch.

If anyone claims they knew Maia would be able to take down Fitch, they are lying. Period. Hard stop.

Fitch is one of the most effective wrestlers in the sport. Yet, he repeatedly found himself on the canvas trying to survive Maia’s ground wizardry. Make no mistake about it. Fitch trained extensively on keeping the fight on the feet, and he still couldn’t do anything to prevent Maia from putting him in the one position he wanted to avoid at all costs.

I personally think Maia is now easily positioned among the top five or six guys in the division. And I think his skills may present the single biggest test for champion Georges St-Pierre among the current crop of contenders.

That may sound crazy, since Maia has only competed three times in the division. But fans must remember that Maia was once the top contender at middleweight. His skills have long been on display inside the Octagon. We know precisely what he brings to the table.

What does he bring? The best BJJ in the sport.

Before Saturday night, I would have completely discounted Maia’s ground game as a significant factor in a matchup with GSP because I didn’t believe he had the ability to take the action to the ground. After watching him repeatedly put Fitch on his back, I’m not so sure anymore.

Eliminating takedowns from GSP’s game, because the champ wants no part of dealing with Maia’s offensive guard, trust me on that one, changes the effectiveness of GSP’s standup.  Adding the possibility of the Brazilian scoring a takedown completely changes the entire complexion of a matchup between these two.

Of course, GSP has to get past Nick Diaz before anyone should spend too much time talking about GSP-Maia. A win over Diaz is far from guaranteed.  But if the champ does survive the brash Stockton native, then a bout with Maia presents some intriguing possibilities.

In my opinion, Johny Hendricks is the number one contender at welterweight. Maia shouldn’t jump him in line, unless he stumbles against Jake Ellenberger next month.

And there is also some guy named Anderson Silva hanging out background, as well, as a possible future opponent for the champion in a bout that would likely be the biggest event in the history of the sport.

I think the perfect next fight for Maia to establish his place in the pecking order would be the winner of the upcoming bout between Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit. That matchup would tell us all we need to know about Maia’s proper place in the championship queue.

There was a time early in his MMA career, Chuck Liddell admitted, when Mountain Dew and Fruity Pebbles were his idea of The Diet of Champions. But, rest assured, Liddell wasn’t consuming cartoon character cereal and soda pop when he won and defended the UFC light heavyweight title. “I always ate a specific diet when I was training for a fight,” the retired 42-year-old Hall of Famer, now UFC Vice President of Business Development, said recently while awaiting a flight to Ottawa. “I cleaned up my diet a lot during fight camps, maybe the last 10 or 12 weeks before a fight.”

In this interview, the UFC icon discusses his past and present diet, how he’s been keeping busy since bidding adieu to the Octagon, and his pursuit of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

WHAT ARE YOU EATING THESE DAYS CHAMP?

Liddell: Now I eat more like I did in the off-season when I was fighting. I mostly eat clean, but I do love my food and I’ll go out to eat and order whatever I like. This morning I ate an egg white omelet. For lunch I ate a spicy vegetarian salad with noodles from a Vietnamese restaurant.

I don’t drink soda very often. I had a few sips of a blackberry soda the other day because somebody told me, ‘You have to try this.’

I eat a lot of organic stuff – my wife buys a lot of organic stuff. We barbeque fish and chicken a lot.  I’ve always been a chicken and fish person, too. I have always been a vegetable person – broccoli, green beans, peas, asparagus.

DIET OF CHAMPIONS

I was averaging probably about 4,500/5,000 calories a day, so I had to eat a lot of calories. I was eating about six meals a day. When you’re eating vegetables, brown rice, fish or chicken … you have to eat a lot to eat 5,000 calories. That’s a lot of food. I was eating kind of a version of The Zone Diet (developed by Barry Sears, Ph.D, and emphasizes a diet rich in Omega fish oils and 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30 % fats, among other things).

When I first started my MMA career I worked with some guys for strength and conditioning. One of the guys asked me to write down everything I eat in a week, then he was going to assess it and write me out a diet plan. So I wrote everything down and gave it to him and he went, ‘Whew! What the (bleep) are you doing!?’ I was drinking like three liters of Mountain Dew per day, eating Lucky Charms cereal and Fruity Pebbles.

He asked me, “How can you eat like this?” So he started making me meal plans. The biggest thing he emphasized to me was, ‘You gotta’ like what you eat. If you hate what you’re eating then it’s not going to work and you’re not going to stay on this plan year-round.’

But he made it clear: “You’re not drinking Mountain Dew any more. And we’re going to have to switch your cereals.”  

When you start eating clean, when you do eat bad food you can feel it when you work out the next day. Once you figure out that eating right does actually make you feel better. It makes a big difference in your training. You have a different body.

TIPPING THE SCALES AT …

I was 228 this morning. I’ve come back down. I had gotten up to about 238. But I’m trying to get down close to 220 (pounds), which would be what I looked like a week before a fight.

IN YOUR RETIREMENT DAYS, YOU’RE STILL VERY YOUNG AND ABLE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO NEXT?

I want to open a gym, too, one that’s close to my house (in Calabasas, California) and easy to go to every day. Right now, it depends on which gym I’m going to, but my current drive to the gym can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. If I go train with Jay Glazer and those guys it takes me about 25 minutes.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET INTO THE GYM AND TRAIN MMA OR WRESTLING OR JIU-JITSU?

It depends on who I’m working with. I might just work mitts; I’m not out there doing too much sparring or anything. If I’m working with someone then I’ll do whatever he needs, might be drilling takedowns or a bunch of drills. I took some time off of sparring for a while but I’ll get back into it and get back into shape.

YOU ARE A PURPLE BELT IN BJJ. ANY DESIRE TO EVENTUALLY EARN A BLACK BELT?

Oh, yeah, I’ll get it. It’s the part of the game that is the most fun for me now. I really like jiu-jitsu. That’s another reason I want a gym close to my house, so I can get better at that.

But I think I’ve got a ways to go (to deserve a black belt from a reputable instructor). I do well at it but I’d like to be well-versed at many of the techniques, especially when I’m coaching another fighter.

STILL SPORTING THE TRADEMARK MOHAWK?

Yeah. I let it grow out for a while, but I just got it cut again before this trip.

Seven fighters joined UFC® President Dana White at the UFC® 156 post-fight press conference - Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar, Antonio Silva, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Demian Maia, Joseph Benavidez, and Tyron Woodley.

Aldo and Edgar received Fight of the Night for their headlining title fight. The two featherweights engaged in a standup battle that saw Aldo take the early rounds, with Edgar gaining ground in the final two frames. Aldo ultimately retained his title with a unanimous decision victory.

Silva earned Knockout of the Night for his come-from-behind stoppage of top contender Alistair Overeem. After losing the first two rounds, "Bigfoot" tagged Overeem with big punches in the third that clearly hurt Overeem. As Overeem crumpled to the mat, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.

STRIKEFORCE® veteran Bobby Green took home Submission of the Night for his third-round victory over Jacob Volkmann. After weathering an early storm from Volkmann, Green found his rhythm, out-striking Volkmann in the second and third rounds before sinking in the fight-ending choke.

All bonused fighters received $50,000 for their efforts.

Check back soon for video highlights from the UFC® 156 post-fight press conference.