Rich Franklin: MMARated Interview

Jason MacDonald: MMARated Interview

UFC 88 Picks

Eric "Performify" Foster, MMAjunkie.com handicaps UFC 88

MMAMania.com predictions, preview, and analysis of UFC 88

The Staff of 5 Oz. Breaks Down UFC 88

Bloodyelbow.com's staff UFC 88 predictions

UFC 88 live weigh-in results

MAIN CARD

Rashad Evans (205) vs. Chuck Liddell (204)
Rich Franklin (204.5) vs. Matt Hamill (205)
Dan Henderson (185) vs. Rousimar Palhares (184.5)
Martin Kampmann (184.5) vs. Nate Marquardt (185)
Matt Brown (170) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Kurt Pellegrino (156) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
Tim Boetsch (205.25) vs. Mike Patt (205.25)
Roan Carneiro (170) vs. Ryo Chonan (170)
Jason Lambert (185) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)

“MMA Live” Episode 17 feat. Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar

UFC 88 bout between Parisyan vs. Yoshida scratched

Approximately 24 hours before the scheduled fight, Karo Parisyan has withdrawn due to injury. Many believed this fight would be shown live on the PPV and it will most likely be replaced by either a welterweight bout between Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim or a lightweight bout between Kurt Pellegrino and Thiago Tavares.
-MMAjunkie.com

Dan Henderson vs Rousimar Palhares UFC 88 video fight talk

Dan Henderson UFC 88 Pre-Fight Interview

MMARated.com Interview with Rashad Evans

MMARated.com Interview with Chuck Liddell

Karo Parisyan Pre-UFC 88 Interview

Rashad Evans on "The SCOTT CONNER Show"

Dana's UFC 88 Video Blog 9/3/08

Today's News

Jeremy Horn injured, replaced by Ryan Jensen at UFC Fight Night 15

Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar on ESPNs Mike & Mike in the Morning

DREAM announces Cro Cop vs. Overeem and the return of Kharitonov at DREAM 6

5oz of Pain reports that Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks of confirmed for UFC 91

Tibau injured, Aurelio steps in to face Franca at UFC 90

Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock Elite XC video promo for October 4

Amir Sadollah announces possible return at UFC 91

Kim Couture: ‘I kind of feel sorry for’ Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

Audio of UFC Press Conference

Yahoo! Sports Blog has posted the audio of the conference call announcing Brock Lesnar v Randy Couture.

HDNet announces long-term agreement with Affliction

“This is the beginning of a long-term partnership with Affliction that encompasses live MMA, co-marketing and top fighters for the top weekly show in MMA - Inside MMA on HDNet,” HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon is quoted in the release. “Affliction has quickly become one of the top organizations in MMA which means it is a must have for HDNet.”
The events will be 60-90 minute specials on HDNet airing immediately prior to major Affliction pay-per-view events. The agreement begins with “Day of Reckoning” show on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar video UFC 91 on ESPN

Dana's UFC 88 Video Blog 9/2/08

Dana hits the nail on the head when says there will be over 1 million PPV buys...My favorite quote is from Brock Lesnar, "I'm tired of hearing about fucking Fedor..." Dana responds, "He might be my son"

Don't Insult the Fans

http://view.break.com/562644 - Watch more free videos

Quick Thoughts

Sorry I have been MIA the past few days, I went to a wedding at Bushwood Country Club in Harbor Springs, MI and I may have taken approximately ten years off my life. Anyhoo, I am heading into another wedding bender this weekend so I wanted to hit you up with my thoughts on the world of MMA before I head off to the Smails' Yacht Christening Part II.

Couture vs. Lesnar is a solid fight no matter what the old school fans think. The heavyweight division isn't full of veteran names so there really isn't a warm up match for Randy or even a young contender that I'd throw out there to fight Lesnar at this point. Lesnar is a physical freak and has the ability to overwhelm Randy, but Randy always seems to outperform in situations like this where he is a physical underdog so I think it makes for a great fight.

Fedor will fight in the UFC. Despite the hate that has been spewed about Dana White, he was absolutely right to defend his contracted fighters and it is not responsible for him to make a single fight happen when a belt would be on the line. If Fedor really wants to prove he is the best, he should sign a multi fight deal with the UFC and fight Randy. It is really a win win for him because even if he loses he will still be in the best organization in the world and fighting on the biggest PPV cards up to four times a year which means he will be making a ton of money. If he sticks to his status as a permanent free agent he risks a lot financially because he may only get one or two fights a year and won't have as many PPV fighters to be matched up against. Realistically, there is no one in Elite XC that I would pay to watch him fight and Affliction only has Barnett and Arlovski so the pickings are slim.

Rampage needs to take six to nine months off and get his head together. Liddell went through the same thing when he dropped the title and then he tried to get back in the ring quickly but didn't prepare properly and it set him back almost 18 months to return to a position to have a shot at the light heavyweight belt. Rampage is trying out a new fight team and dealing with numerous legal issues, both of which are far more complicated than anything Chuck went through when he lost the belt. Rampage needs to clear his head, get dedicated in the gym and clear his name. Once he does that, Dana should fight him, but until he gets those three things accomplished I think it is a waste to throw him in the Octagon because he will not be successful.

GSP versus Penn needs to wait. There are contenders in both of their respective weight classes that deserve shots at the title. I think fighters should establish several title defenses before they are allowed to jump and fight other weight classes. Anderson Silva is a perfect example of how it should be done. He literally destroyed every legit contender at his weight class and only then did he move up to 205. GSP and Penn would be better served to do the same, because it would enhance the value of that fight ultimately.

Today's News

LT & Kimbo: Stretch Master
by Yardbarker

Rampage has a TV interview, Bloody Elbow has some interesting thoughts on the matter

MMA4Real has some thoughts on the Couture versus Lesnar matchup

Injury update on Rumble Johnson

MMA Memories talks about what is in store for the UFC in 2009

More videos of LT and Kimbo Here

Randy's Back! Fighting Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

As expected Dana White announced on a midday conference call that Randy Couture has a new agreement with the UFC and will fight Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight belt. White also confirmed that the winner of an upcoming fight between interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir will meet the Couture vs. Lesnar winner sometime in 2009 to unify the titles. Of course Dana did curse during the conference call saying "All I give a [expletive] about is that he's back and fighting"

UFC 88 Countdown to Liddell vs Evans

Scenes from UFC 88 Countdown to Liddell vs Evans. You can catch the full broadcast tomorrow night at 11pm on Spike.

Dana's UFC 88 Video Blog 9/1/08

Featuring David Spade and Mandy Moore. It is impossible to hear anything when Spade is talking and Mandy Moore is definitely unprepared, but does admit to being UFC groupie. We'll post all of Dana's video blog entries throughout the week.

DANA WHITE TO HOLD MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL

From Yahoo! Sports Blogger Steve Cofield:
*MEDIA ADVISORY*

DANA WHITE TO HOLD MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL

TO MAKE MAJOR UFC® ANNOUNCEMENT

Today, Sept. 2, 2008 at 3pm ET/12Noon PT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Dana White, President, Ultimate Fighting Championship® will hold a media conference call today to make a major UFC announcement. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 3pm ET/12Noon PT.

Many believe the conference call is to announce a new contract for Randy Couture and that he will be fighting Brock Lesnar November 15th. We'll update you when we have the news...