First and foremost, I hope and trust everyone is enjoying the “most wonderful time of the year” and that the year that was 2009 is ending on a joyous and safe note.

Monday’s “MMA Connected” will be a special one, as UFC Welterweight Champion (and Sportsnet’s 2009 Canadian Athlete of the Year ) Georges St-Pierre will be my co-host, as we look back at the top stories of 2009, as well as countdown your top fighters of the year.

GSP and I will also discuss which fights were the creme de la creme in 09, while I list my top 10 (from a massive list) bouts over the past twelve months. And of course, what year end show would it be, if we did not have all the best hilites (and lowlites) from the controversial UFC President, Dana White.

While that show airs on Monday, there are a variety of stories in the MMA world that are making headlines, not stopping for a moment during the holiday season.

Here are a few that caught my eye, with some radom thoughts:

* While Diego Sanchez is healing well http://mmajunkie.com/news/17315/battered-ufc-107-headliner-diego-sanchez-recovering-quickly-90-percent-healed.mma after his UFC 107 bout vs BJ Penn, there is now some talk that the UFC may be bringing in Takanori Gomi as a future opponent of the champ http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/12/23/1217364/will-takanori-gomi-rejuvenate-his . In my opinion, Penn beat him up the first time they fought in Hawaii, and will make it worse this time around. Note: to Dana White and Joe Silva – I`d much rather see a pitch to get Tatsuya Kawajiri as a future opponent for Penn.

* The verbal warfare between Matt Serra and Frank Trigg has commenced ( http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Trigg-Serra-Trade-Barbs-21731 )…these two are gonna make it a fun ride leading it up to their bout at UFC 109.

* While Karo Parisyan was the brunt of so much fan hatred after backing out of his UFC 106 bout with Dustin Hazelett, many of us in the media knew there was much more to the story, one which involved much more than pain killers, but a psychological one as well. Karo speaks out http://mmajunkie.com/news/17289/the-lightning-rod-controversial-ufc-castoff-karo-parisyan-explains-recent-troubles.mma and shares a small glimpse into a situation I hope and trust will see him rebound back to top contender status.

* Many of us are hoping that Fedor can fight for Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Allistair Overeem, sooner than later, but it looks as if its going to be the ladder * http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=10333&zoneid=2 ). While we were all hoping it was going to be April, it looks more like July /August now, due to Overeem’s scheduled fight at K-1 (in April) , and needing at least 3-4 months to recover and get a proper training camp in to face “The Last Emperor”.

* Looks like Canadian MMA Pioneer Gary Goodridge has a New Year’s Eve date with a Dream Catcher ( http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/12/25/1219315/gary-goodridge-vs-gegard-mousasi ). Yup, “Big Daddy” appears to have signed on the dotted line and will face Gegard Mousasi, under K-1 Rules at the Fields Dynamite Super card in Japan. Here’s a video that’s hyping the event ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPARDxaCbAk&feature=player_embedded )…sort of.

* My good friend Steve Cofield caught up with Dan Henderson ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnk-aMGWB2w&feature=player_embedded ) who stated his negotiations did become personal with the UFC, and knew things changed for the worse when they banned one his sponsors.

* Former Champ Frank Shamrock is looking to return to action in March ( http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/12/25/frank-shamrock-set-on-march-return/ ), and wants ratings…but which ratings is he referring to? Strikeforce’s next network telecast in in April, so which card and network is he speaking of? Either way, the last time I ran into Shamrock was in August, and he already looked like he was ready to rumble, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the legend recovers from the surgery he received on his arm earlier this year.

* After having his leg mangled in his last fight, former TUF alumnus Corey Hill talks about his recovery ( http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AtHungDUYLKDIkhHk497fa49Eo14?slug=ki-hill122509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns ) and upcoming bout on January 23rd. If he can one day make it back to the UFC, I hope fans greet him with a standing ovation.

* Gotta love Boxing negotiations: First it’s a weight issue, now it’s a drug testing issue for Floyd Mayweather, who wants potential future opponent Manny Pacquiao to undergo a variety of obstacles before he signs to fight him. Pac-Man has responed with a Merry Xmas and see you in court (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/manny-pacquiao/6885761/Manny-Pacquiaos-Christmas-gift-to-Floyd-Mayweather-is-a-lawsuit.html ). To increase the comedic flavour, now there is a request to bring in John McCain to mediate ( http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73611-mccain-lobbied-to-mediate-high-profile-boxing-dispute )I want this fight to come together, but cmon.

* On a side note, there`s a bunch of boxers looking to transition to MMA. Names include Ricardo Mayorga http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/12/16/1203545/ricardo-mayorga-set-to-face-din, James Toney http://www.mmamania.com/2009/12/16/1203156/punch-drunk-boxing-legend-james and Shannon Briggs http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/12/22/former-wbo-champ-shannon-briggs-reportedly-training-for-mma-debu/. All guys whose boxing careers are done, and are a right hand away from MMA Glory – or a submission away from total embarassment.

* In closing, I`ve received an unbelievable amount of requests via email and Facebook pertaining to my thoughts to what is happening with all of this talk about MMA being legalized in Ontario. Stay tuned…I will offer my thoughts once I have a few more pieces of information that I have been accumulating for quite some time. In the meantime, I want to second the notion that Marc Ratner deserves to be in the UFC`s Hall of Fame http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-mmamailbag122209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.

By Joe Ferraro

BJ Penn’s dominant performance vs Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 has me thinking it’s time to grant “The Prodigy” a rubber match. I can’t say the same (yet) for Frank Mir.

Penn’s performance on Saturday night was simply incredible; he took on a monster in Diego Sanchez and immediately proved why he is on a completely different level than any fighter that dares to stand opposite him at 155 lbs.

There’s a comical stat that came out from Fightmetric.com ( http://www.fightmetric.com/blog/2009/12/fun-fact-from-penn-sanchez.html ) that showed Penn hit himself in the face more times (eleven) than Sanchez did (seven), for the entire 22:37 seconds that they fought.

It’s an astounding number and just shows you how skillful Penn is with his boxing, bobbing and weaving, while slipping any strikes that come his way.

Another strange stat that struck me as bizarre was when I was watching the fight on Saturday night. Going into the fifth round, I told my pal Rodney Keefe ( who you’ve heard numerous times on my FAN 590 radio show ) that while Penn has dominated the first four rounds, at least Sanchez can say he is the only person to have gone five rounds with “The Prodigy”. Keefe responded by stating “you mean Sanchez can say he is the only person to have taken a five round beating from Penn”.

While I was amazed by Sanchez’s heart and courage going into round five, I couldn’t help but compare Penn to the dominance shown by two other UFC Champions in their respected divisions: Georges St-Pierre and welterweight and Anderson Silva at middleweight.

As we began comparing each fighter’s style, I hearkened back to a passage I read in BJ’s book “Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge”, where he stipulates that he is not a fan of kicking in MMA; that it’s something he doesn’t like to do because it makes him susceptible to being taken down to the ground. I told Keefe that while BJ’s boxing, takedown, takedown defense and ground game is second to none, can you just imagine if he started incorporating kicking into his arsenal?

No more than five seconds later, Penn nailed Sanchez with the right high kick, to which Keefe responded “there you go”. Moments later, the fight was stopped – and I was shaking my head in awe that Penn was able to successfully pull off something he was so steadfastly against.

So the question now remains: who’s next in line for a crack at Penn’s title?

Many of my sources have all told me that if Gray Maynard can defeat Nate Diaz at UFN 20 on January 11th, he’s next for BJ; but if Diaz wins, the title shot may fall on the lap of “The Answer”, Frankie Edgar.

But if it’s up to me, I would go with who my “MMA Connected” Associate Producer Jim Cotton recommends: a rubber match with Matt Hughes. Each guy has a victory, so let’s settle the score, once and for all.

Mir Makes His Case For a Rubber Match With Lesnar

While I wasn’t surprised that Frank Mir was able to easily submit Cheick Kongo on Saturday night, I was amazed at how he did it.

Mir’s striking improvement was on display during last year’s bout vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, but this time he was able to land a thunderous left overhook on a quality stand-up fighter. After he dropped Kongo, he did follow up with some ground and pound attempts, but Kongo’s mistake was to counter back with a takedown ( as opposed to getting out of dodge ). Mir took the silver platter offering and sunk in the choke – doing what he does best and showing once again why he is one of the best finishers in the heavyweight division.

While I firmly believe Kongo will recover from this devastating loss and return stronger than ever, it’s Mir that may have actually lost something he was searching for in this fight.

Weighing in at 264.5 lbs for the bout, there is no doubt that Mir was looking to see how is body would truly react with all of the extra muscle he packed on. To do so, he needed the fight to go much longer, perhaps even going as far as round three to see where his stamina and conditioning would fare. All of the excess weight he has amassed onto his frame is for a hopeful rubber match with Brock Lesnar.

We all know Lesnar still has health issues to deal with, but if the champ can overcome this adversity, he still has Shane Carwin to deal with. Either way, win or lose, I will not be surprised if Lesnar and Mir meet at the end of 2010, in a super fight with or without the title on the line.

On a side note, my pals over at MMA Weekly posted a story last week ( http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=10199&zoneid=13 ) that Lesnar is recovering well from surgery, stemming from a severe case of Diverticulitis. In August of 2005, I had the same type of surgery as Lesnar, one which had me hospitalized for about a week. Based on my experience in trying to recover, it took me over two weeks to be able to walk again, as the surgery left an open wound ( about an inch in length ) on the right side of my abdomen from the incision, one which still shows scarring today. I’m nowhere near an elite athlete, so while it took me months to recover and get back to having fun while working out, I would think if this is the only thing Brock is going through right now, the champ will heal much faster than I did, and will back to 100% shortly.

Other UFC 107 Musings

Jon Fitch just keeps on winning, and while he was hanging on for dear life at the end of his bout with Mike Pearce, the veteran still proved why is the best welterweight in the world ( this side of GSP ). I think the only thing stopping Fitch from getting another title shot, is the fact his fights keep going the distance. Jon told me at UFC 106 last month that guys keep avoiding him so it’s hard to finish them off, but did state at UFC 107, enough is enough – it’s time to finish guys off.

Kenny Florian – after two cracks at the UFC lightweight title, he found himself in the same position as Fitch, with guys bypassing his number one contendership in favour of giving new blood a shot at glory. One thing is for certain – Kenflo has returned back to his roots, prioritizing to finish off his opponents, and not try and play it safe, waiting too long to explode as the seconds tick by on the clock.

Clay Guida – although it was his fifth loss in the octagon, evening out his record at 5-5 with the UFC, I highly doubt he will be cut. The fans love “The Carpenter” and win or lose, he always puts on exciting fights; and that’s exactly the type of in-cage entertainment the UFC is looking for.

Alan Belcher’s performance was great, but now he’s calling out Anderson Silva. I believe I’m in the majority that believe “The Talent” still needs to work his way to a title shot. When he starts taking out the likes of Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt, then I’ll be more than happy to jump on his bandwagon.

Congrats to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native, TJ Grant, who pocketed an extra $65K at UFC 107, after knocking out fellow welterweight, Kevin “The Fire” Burns. Look for Grant to make 2010 his year, as he’s looking to prove his worth in the stacked 170 lbs weight class.

Misc MMA News and Notes

My condolences go out to the family of Canadian MMA Pioneer, Phil Hughes who lost his battle with cancer last week (http://www.lifenews.ca/miltoncanadianchampion/profile/64783–hughes-phillip

). Hughes was one the originals from back in my UCC and TKO days, and was a former welterweight champion.

And some more sad news in Canadian MMA, as Timothy John Kelley, a veteran of seven MMA fights and training partner of Roger Hollett was apparently murdered in front of his home on Saturday night ( http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1157540.html ). Tragic news to say the least.

Regards,

Joe Ferraro
MMA Analyst
Host of “MMA Connected”

Catch all episodes online at http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma
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C.O.M.M.A.N.D. Certified MMA Referee

Canadian Heavyweight Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague (10-2) will make his octagon return at UFC 109, taking on Chris Tuchscherer (17-2, 1 NC), a training partner of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Hague, a native of Edmonton, Alberta is looking to rebound from a loss to Todd Duffee at UFC 102 on August 29^th, a fight he firmly believes was an arbitration of his skill set; a one off error on his part that will not affect his future fighting strategies.

“My last loss didn’t really affect my fighting style. It was just me coming out too sloppy. Todd threw a proper punch and I ran into it”.

“The Thrashing Machine” is fully aware that Tuchsherer is one of Lesnar’s main training partners but see this as not only an opportunity to prove his own worth in the heavyweight division, but is also planning to make a statement when they meet.

“I respect Brock and anyone from his camp. I can only say 1 thing. I’m looking to dominate this fight and do so in exciting fashion.”

Tuchscherer’s last bout was also at UFC 102, where he suffered a first round TKO loss to Gabriel “Nepao” Gonzaga, after sustaining a an accidental low blow early in the fight, one that nearly had him vomiting in the cage.

UFC 109 will be headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between UFC Hall of Famers Randy “The Natural” Couture and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

The event is scheduled for February 06^th, 2010 and will be held at The Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The full card is listed below.

Main card

Light Heavyweight bout:  Randy Couture vs.  Mark Coleman

Welterweight bout:  Josh Koscheck vs.  Paulo Thiago

Light Heavyweight bout:  Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs.  Brandon Vera

Middleweight bout:  Nate Marquardt vs.  Chael Sonnen

Welterweight bout:  Matt Serra vs.  Frank Trigg

Preliminary card

Middleweight bout:  Demian Maia vs.  Dan Miller

Lightweight bout:  Mac Danzig vs.  Justin Buchholz

Lightweight bout:  Melvin Guillard vs.  Ronnys Torres

Heavyweight bout:  Tim Hague vs.  Chris Tuchscherer

Lightweight bout:  Phillipe Nover vs.  Rob Emerson

Heavyweight bout:  Mostapha Al Turk vs.  Rolles Gracie

The Ultimate Fighter Ten Finale was an event to remember, one that will have MMA lifers referring back to the variety of storylines that have been written in the UFC’s history book.

“Big Country” awards me many free meals in the future

I for one held my breath throughout the main event between Roy Nelson and Brendan Schaub, as my July 2009 prediction that “Big Country” would win the six figure contract was consistently met with reservation. Once “Big Country” finished “The Hybrid”, I exhaled a sigh of relief, while fielding a plethora of phone calls, texts and emails pertaining to the prediction…many of which will cost a fair amount of folks a night on the town for yours truly.

With that being said, Nelson is still not getting the respect he deserves, namely because he will likely be thrust right into the mix of the UFC’s heavyweight divison. With the weight class being so thin on talent (no pun intended), Nelson will be matched up with quality opponents right away.

Jones was the victim, is the victim and will always be the victim

The co-main event stoppage is raising quite the controversy, but for all the grief referee Steve Mazzagatti gets, I agree with the decision he made. History will show that for the first time, instant replay was used to determine the final result of the bout ( a disqualification to Jon Jones giving the victory to Matt Hammil ) and based on his stoppage, Mazzagatti was correct.

While the throwing of elbows in a 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock fashion is deemed illegal according to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, this scenario has raised a variety of concerns in my eyes.

First off, the rule is simply a silly one, and should be erased from the rule book. Earlier this year, Big John McCarthy discussed this at length during my C.O.M.M.A.N.D. certification course and quite frankly, the rule itself is out dated and needs to be abolished immediately.

In the case of Jon Jones, two things come to mind – if that rule wasn’t there, he would have won the fight, but the fact the youngster did throw them was disturbing. Did he not know that they were illegal? If so, we have an issue. Second, if he is using them in training, then a tiny portion of the blame has to fall onto the lap of Greg Jackson and crew.

This is something that should have been corrected with “Bones” a long time ago, because the worse thing about the disqualification is if Jones’s incredible potential becomes a reality, many will look back at the “loss” in his career, similar to that of Fedor Emelianenko’s loss to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in 2000. It may be a loss on paper, but we all know what the true result is, and now, he will never be able to say he has a perfect record.

Kimbo Slice not only lost, he wasn’t event impressive

Kimbo Slice’s “official” UFC debut will go down as a victory, but I can’t say I agree on the final judges decision.

Yes, Houston Alexander circled for the vast majority of the first round, but he did land more strikes than Kimbo – he won the round. If it’s okay for Machida to play that game, then it’s okay for Alexander.

Round two – no question that Kimbo won that round, but in round three, Alexander landed 27 strikes to Kimbo’s 13 ( http://fightmetric.com/fights/Slice-Alexander.html ). He kicked Kimbo’s legs out from underneath him. Kimbo did execute a takedown but did nothing with it. Houston ended the round with a left elbow and right hand that sent Slice wobbling backwards. He wins round three to me, and the bout two rounds to one.

Instead, one judge scores it 30-27 for Kimbo, while the other two judges score it 29-28 for Slice as well. Mind boggling in my opinion, but welcome to a period of MMA where far too many judges simply do not even understand the very scoring critieria they are employed to administer and calculate.

Slice’s performance was also sub-par. Cardio issues aside (I still can not figure out how in this day and age, guys fatique so easily) one would figure that after training and fighting in MMA for over two years, you would figure Kimbo would know how to secure the back position and know how to lock in a rear naked choke. He obviously does not know how, or completely forgot how to do so in the second round of his fight with Alexander.

This is the same guy who spent months training with a team ( which included submission fighter Marcus Jones ) on The Ultimate Fighter, is a part of the American Top Team, one of the best teams on the planet, and spent a fair amount of time with the legendary Bas Rutten.

I’ll be the first to admit that Kimbo is one of the nicest guys that I have ever met, but I cannot for the life of me understand why he cannot execute what ground game he has learned over the past 24 months. I know men and women that have trained less than three months of BJJ, that have the positioning and submission locked into their muscle memory and can likely do it at will, after running a marathon and blind folded to boot. It’s inexcusable to see a UFC fighter not be able to pull it off in a fight.

Random Misc TUF Ten Notes

* While Frankie Edgar continues to do very well in the UFC’s division, he belongs in the featherweight division. Trust me, if the money was there, he would do it, but until the UFC’s payscale improves at 145 lbs, Edgar will continue to face much larger foes, and it’s just not right.

* Marcus Jones’ gas tank was disappointing to say the least, and so were his hands. Hopefully the charismatic role model can fix both of them, because he is the perfect mold of what the UFC looks for in a superstar.

* Canadian Mark Bocek had a stellar performance, but now needs to cross the line and start fighting some tougher competition. His boxing looked better, but now I’d like to see him tested against someone that cannot be taken down easily and has great hands. Bocek appears ready to take it to the next step.

* Although he lost to James McSweeney via TKO in the third round, we should all wish the best to Darrill Schoonover, who now returns to active duty in Afghanistan.

* Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell will renew their rivalry as coaches on season eleven of The Ultimate Fighter. I cannot say I agree with this decision (I’d much rather have seen Ortiz and Forrest Griffin as coaches) but if Tito can rock the boat, the ratings will be gold. On a side note, I’m picking Ortiz to defeat Liddell in their upcoming trilogy bout – let the hate mail begin.

* Time for the UFC to take the TUF Finale’s on the road. Yesterday’s dismal attendance and low gate will surely be (more than) compensated by the television ratings, but I’d suggest moving the show outside of Vegas. They know who wins ahead of time, so just have the show in a city of one of the two fighters who made it to the final. I know this may give away the end result, but how many people will actually pay attention and figure this out (okay, every MMA message board, but at least the live attendance will be booming). Imagine if the TUF 10 Finale was held close to Schaub’s hometown (i.e. Denver, Colorado). It’s safe to say more than 1400 people would have showed, and unlike the 1400 in Vegas, everyone would have stayed in their seats for the main event.

Canadian Middleweight Patrick “The Predator” Cote (13-5) is aiming for a return to action at UFC 113, scheduled for May 01st, 2010, at the Montreal Bell Centre.

Cote has been sidelined with multiple knee injuries, stemming from his last bout at UFC 90, when he took on Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the UFC’s Middleweight title.

“The Predator” contacted me via text message to inform me that he has been cleared by his doctor, and is looking forward to raising the level of his training now, in hopes to make one of his MMA dreams come true: to fight for the UFC in front of his hometown crowd.

Cote was unable to participate in the UFC’s first two ventures in Montreal and is hoping to do whatever it takes to be a part of their third trip to Canada.

So much so, that he is willing to call out a variety of top fighters for his return bout, while skipping any sort of “tune up” bout in the process.

On multiple occasions, Cote singled out Michael Bisping, long before “The Count” signed on to take on Wanderlai Silva, a bout that is scheduled to take place at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia.

Via his Facebook account, Cote then took aim at another former middleweight champion stating:

“Rich Franklin said than he want to take time off until may, hope he will come back at 185 and fight me here in Montreal !!! UFC 113 may 1st Coté vs Franklin sounds good to me !!! “.

Franklin’s last fight at middleweight was ironically enough vs Travis Lutter at UFC 83 in Montreal, back on April 19th, 2008, and has since competed twice at light heavyweight and twice at a catch weight of 195 lbs.

If this fight was to take place, the question would be whether or not Franklin would decide to cut down to 185 lbs or if Cote would move up to 195 lbs.

Cote is keeping his options open, and stated “maybe” to the catch weight bout, but firmly believes Franklin has enough time to make a successful cut to 185 lbs.

UFC 113 will be highlighted by a main event between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, a rematch that will have the MMA world buzzing after their controversial bout at UFC 104, where many believed Shogun was robbed by a unanimous judges decision granted to Machida.

By Joe Ferraro

As we enter the final month of 2009, injuries to many elite MMA fighters is playing havoc with the UFC and Strikeforce matchmaking teams, while the speculation surrounding the final replacement bouts has everyone holding their breath.

We reported on “MMA Connected” that the UFC 109 main event between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort was off, as Silva’s camp was stating that Silva’s recovery from elbow surgery was not going as planned, and that the champ would not be ready to fight until April. Rumblings began circulating that this was a ploy by Silva’s camp to continue stalling until the UFC offers them a better challenger, and a fight that would actually motivate “The Spider’, as many within the camp do not believe Belfort deserves a shot at the title.

It appeared the fight was off, or at least postponed until April, leaving the UFC and Belfort with an option to forget the bout and have Vitor fight someone else instead.

Then, one of Silva’s managers (and Brazilian MMA Pioneer) Jorge Guimaraes stated ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khb9rOOV65M&feature=player_embedded ) the fight with Belfort was still a go and that it was going to be a great bout between two exceptional Brazilian fighters.

All was calm and restored back to normal until just a few hours later, multiple reports that Vitor Belfort had moved on, and would now be replacing Chael Sonnen at UFC 109, so he could face Nathan Marquardt in a UFC number one middleweight contender bout. My sources tell me that Sonnen is still Marquardt’s opponent, but Belfort is definetly having fun with all of this.

Via his twitter account, ( http://twitter.com/vitorbelfort ) Belfort would not reveal the news, but did state that the news would come via UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta and/or President Dana White.

This scenario is just one of many for the UFC matchmaking team, and it’s not just in the middleweight division. We see what’s happening in the heavyweight division with champ Brock Lesnar out indefinetly, his opponent Shane Carwin out rehabbing his knee, while both Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Gabriel Gonzaga are out with staph. Big Nog is returning at UFC 110 vs Cain Velasquez, but with Gonzaga out, what’s next for his UFC 108 opponent, Junior Cigano de Santos?

The light heavyweight divsion will not see a title fight until May 01st in Montreal, while champion Lyoto Machida heals up for his rematch with Mauricio Shogun Rua. The superfight between Ultimate Fighter 10 coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans has been postponed until next year, while Rampage finishes with his movie gig. So Evans will now face Thiago Silva, a very dangerous opponent that many are not giving much credit to.

Silva quickly defeated Evan’s teammate, Keith Jardine at UFC 102, so there is a sense of redemption there for Rashad. In the meantime – “The Dean of Mean” is reported ( http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=10132&zoneid=13 ) to be facing Ryan Bader at UFC 110 in Australia, a card that is slowly stacking up to be an instant classic. Its the same card with Wanderlai Silva vs Michael Bisping and Joe Stevenson vs George Sotiropolous.

But all of these matchmaking headaches are not only centred within each and every UFC weight class, the same can be said for Strikeforce, who recently lost a great match up between Benji Radach and Robbie Lawler for their upcoming Strikeforce: Evolution card.

Radach was forced to withdraw from the bout ( http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Radach-Out-Lawler-Awaits-New-Opponent-for-Dec-19-Strikeforce-21221 ) as he has not received medical clearance to even begin training again, let alone fight, since injuring his hand vs Scott Smith in April.

With Radach out, Strikeforce has apparently placed two big names on the platter for Lawler to accept. The first is UFC veteran Trevor Prangley ( http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/12/01/with-benji-radach-out-trevor-prangley-being-considered-for-robb/ ) and the second is Dutch striker and DREAM veteran Melvin Manhoef ( http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/12/02/melvin-manhoef-signs-with-strikeforce/ ). I can just imagine if Lawler accepts Manhoef, it would be an absolute bomb-fest.

Misc. MMA News
* Don’t forget to tune in to Sportsnet tonight to see the final two hours of The Ultimate Fighter Ten. There are two quarter final bouts left: James McSweeney vs Matt Mitrione and Marcus Jones vs Darrel Schoonover, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals vs Roy Nelson and Brendan Schaub. Check your local listings and remember, Sportsnet is the only station in Canada where you can watch The Ultimate Fighter in HD.

* With the State of Massachusetts legalizing Mixed Martial Arts on Monday, it appears the first UFC event is being pencilled in for July or August of next year, likely at the TD Arena  ( http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Ratner-UFC-Planning-Show-for-Bostons-TD-Garden-in-July-or-August-21244 ) (formerly the Boston Garden). With the organization aiming for a summer 2010 date, would they risk holding an outdoor show at Fenway, and try and break the North American MMA attendance record while holding their first stadium show?

* Josh Koschek must really be in Dana White’s good books. After White gave Kos lots of love at the UFC 106 post-fight press conference ( along with fight of the night and submission of the night bonuses), White has also granted a longstanding wish Kos has had for quite some time: a rematch vs Paulo Thiago ( http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/12/01/josh-koscheck-vs-paulo-thiago-ii-being-targeted-for-ufc-109/ ), tentatively scheduled for UFC 109 on February 06th. In the meantime, Josh just celebrated his 32nd birthday by jumping on stage ( http://www.mmamania.com/2009/12/2/1182199/josh-koscheck-and-steel-panther ) to sing an eighties classic.

* Matt Hughes fans – the former champ recently stated ( http://matt-hughes.com/blog1/?p=696 ) he is hoping to make an octagon return at UFC 112 in April of 2010 – no opponent has been named yet.

* Looks like you can add Amir Sadollah vs Brad Blackburn ( http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/xuy4YVAeIsA/amir-sadollah-vs-brad-blackburn-likely-to-take-ufc-fight-night-20-main-card-slot.mma ) to the stacked UFC Fight Night 20 card ( http://mmajunkie.com/event/672/ufc-fight-night-20.mma ), set for January 11th at the Patriot Centre in Fairfax, Virginia.

* While co-promotion is not something the UFC will ever consider, Japanese competitors WVR: Sengoku and DREAM have decided to team up for a huge year end MMA show in the land of the rising sun. Look for the card ( http://mmajunkie.com/event/671/dreamfegs-dynamite-2009.mma ) to feature a variety of WVR vs DREAM bouts, the finals of the Super Hulk Tournament, as well as some title fights, one of which I hope is Dream Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki defending his title against Tatsuya Kawajiri.
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Regards,

Joe Ferraro
MMA Analyst
Host of “MMA Connected”

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