By Joe Ferraro

Hot off the heals of Zuffa offering it’s roster of athletes health insurance, the next topic the organization was expected to answer was fighter pensions.

The UFC Connected team recently visited the Zuffa Head Offices in Las Vegas, where I had the chance to sit down with organizational president Dana White, to get his thoughts on this very topic.

“Let’s say you did a typical 401K, that you would do in any type of business. You take some money out of their (fighters) cheques, and some companies match it, however it works. Fighters don’t want you taking a nickel out of their cheques, no matter what they think it’s for.”

With many of the athletes on entry level contracts, taking away any funds from what little they earn is a difficult pill to swallow. When some are making $3000 to show and $3000 to win, a loss will only give them their “show” money, and after a potential 8-12 week training camp, that’s a very small amount of money to take home to your family, after 2-3 months of work.

While there are those who earn bonuses, be it “locker room” or public ones (Fight, Submission or Knockout of the Night), or even larger sums of money due to their tenure with the organization, many of them would rather choose to invest it on their own, or at the very least, pay off their debts/mortgage, etc.

While the UFC may not provide a pension for fighters today, their may be one in the future.

“It’s fun to talk about and I think it’s ‘cool things’ for the media to come up with and say, pulling these things off are very difficult”, almost hinting that it is currently a work in progress.

In the meantime, the promotion is doing what it can to educate it’s fighters on the importance of saving their money, investing their funds accordingly, and to always be aware of the taxman.

Most recently, in May, they held their second “Fighter Summit”, where the importance of personal banking was brought to the forefront.

“These guys are sub-contractors” stated White. “They are responsible for their own taxes.”

The theory: save before your spend. Know your limits and do not exceed it. “We like to educate them, and all you need to do is get a good tax guy. Pay your estimated quarterly taxes”, trying to prevent and “eliminate the problems that plagued boxing”. An unfortunate reality that continues to rear it’s ugly head, most recently with pugilist legends Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins.

So what does White have to say about the fighters that may not make millions in the sport? And those that have and one day, will earn a seven digit income?

Find out by watching the full video ( http://bcove.me/0ruik9z4 )

By Joe Ferraro

Rogers Sportsnet recently posted a video ( http://bcove.me/psrv0new ) of my sit down interview with UFC President Dana White, during our visit to the Zuffa Head Offices in Las Vegas.

A variety of topics were covered during the interview, including the organization’s industry leading role in Social Media.

While many professional sports leagues curb their athlete’s usage of Twitter, White disagrees.  He believes it has taken his business to the next level, while allowing his fighters to be who they are, while engaging the UFC’s fan base.

“First, it’s the most amazing marketing tool ever created in the history of mankind” stated White, leaning back in his chair, dawning a black T-shirt, embedded with a Budweiser logo.

“Number two, what’s even more important, is that you are directly connected with your fans”.

Having seen the Twitter trend long before it’s peak, White is now reaping the benefits of its power.

“I have 1.4 million people that follow me on twitter. ONE POINT FOUR MILLION people opt in to follow me. They wanna know what we we’re doing, they wanna hear what we have to say.”

While he and his organization use it to drive followers to various UFC related tv shows, giveaways and fighter appearances, the most important aspect he believes that social media brings to the table, is it’ s real time ability to provide solutions to many problems that inevitably arise during fight night.

“I set up this thing on fight night…I call it ‘The Lab’. It’s in my dressing room. There’s three computers opened in there. We’re monitoring Twitter, The Underground, Facebook and all these other social media sites.”

With a pulse on what’s happening within the fanbase, he is also paying close attention to the action inside the octagon. “I’m watching the fights on Facebook, then, if you ever notice I don’t walk out until we go live.”

For some, this would see seem insane, considering he has the best seat in the house, but White explains the methods to his madness.

“I’m watching the Tv screen cause I want to know what we look like on Tv, if there’s any problems, and I’m on my phone reading Twitter constantly. If the cable goes out in Iowa, I want to know, and our cable people get on it. If some guy got sold some fake tickets, and he’s stuck outside, and he flew here from England: I want to know that and I want to help that guy out.”

In the past, these types of scenarios occurring on a Saturday night would not surface until Monday morning’s newspaper, and by that point, an organization would take a massive PR hit. But in this day and age, the UFC is able to react in real time, fixing an issue as opposed to dealing with it when it is too late.

It’s the old business adage that “it is smarter to prevent the fire, than to fight it.”

It’s hump day, and back to the grind for yours truly. After multiple trips to the West Coast and back, my internal body clock has just about adjusted itself to my home timezone. Fatigue or not, it’s time to “suck it up” and get back to work.
As always, my time in Vancouver was another exceptional experience, but I’m not sure I can say the same for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While I do not speak for the organization, my spidey senses tell me that a third trip to the city may not be an automatic lock for 2012.
June in Van City seems to be the UFC’s preferred timeframe, but with the Canucks such a strong force in the NHL, I’m not so sure they want to gamble the way they did this year.
Facts are facts: just because a team wins the President’s Trophy, it does not guarantee they will make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, let alone win the cup. Over the past ten years, this has only happened three times – the odds were in the UFC’s favour when they first booked the Rogers Arena, but unfortunately for them, it did not fully pan out as they had hoped it would.
By most accounts, UFC 131 was a successful venture, but I’m sure, as with most UFC events, the bottom line was hurt with the current Canucks playoff run, as well as the loss to Brock Lesnar in the main event. A (not-so) perfect storm this time around, will likely have the organization think twice about returning in June 2012. Perhaps July or August may be a better option.
Finances aside, many of the results from UFC 131 has the organization smiling. New chapters from a variety of storylines are being written as we speak, as the stage is now set for some intriguing matchups later this year.
We now know Junior Dos Santos will face heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, likely on October 08th in Houston as part of the main event in Houston, Texas. I concur with the oddsmakers who have Cain as favourite. I believe he is more well rounded than Junior, and what he may lack in striking (and it’s not much), he more than makes up for with his wrestling, and overall skill set.
Dos Santos will have to take his wrestling to the next level, namely takedown defence and continue to showcase his “modern day Chuck Liddell” style, which allows him to get back to his feet, nearly at will. If he cannot do this against Velasquez, he likely will not emerge victorious.
As for Junior’s opponent at UFC 131, Shane Carwin, his performance may go down as a loss, but as I stated at the post-fight press conference, this is a moral victory for “The Engineer”. He proved he could go three rounds, and did so with a broken nose and his vision at nearly half capacity. Once he recovers from his injuries, I’d like to see him square off against Frank Mir or Roy Nelson. I will also not be surprised if the UFC pits him against his original opponent from UFC 131, Jon Olav Einemo.
Speaking for “The Viking”, his walkout to the Octagon was legendary. If you were not there in person, you may not have felt the energy that engulfed the Rogers Arena.
After his opponent Dave “Pee Wee” Herman entered to Culture Club’s “Do you really want to hurt me”, Einemo, draped in a Vancouver Canucks flag, made his way to the octagon, marching to the beat of Guns’n'Roses’ “Sweet child of mine”.  For yours truly, it officially ranks in my top three. I have been blessed to be in the building with some epic entrances, and this one was outstanding. For those wondering, #2 was both Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn’s entrances at UFC 94, and my number one was Mark Hominick’s at UFC 129.
While Boston’s, Kenny Florian was labelled as public enemy number one in Vancouver, he did emerge victorious, albeit, barely. After dropping the first round on my scorecard, he did rebound in the final two frames. While many of us expected more from Kenflo, perhaps our eyes should be focused on the vastly underrated Diego Nunes. He proved why he is a top tier featherweight, giving Florian all he could handle, right up to the final seconds of the last round.
Florian is likely now set to face UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr. next, who will likely look to use Kenny’s legs as target practice. Can Florian elevate his muay thay striking to the level of Aldo’s, while simultaneously improving his wrestling? If he wants to be the champ, he will have no choice.
The middleweight tilt between Mark Munoz and Demian Maia was an awkward bout to score. When it was all said and done, I had Maia winning 29-28, but as I stated to my media peers octagonside, I would have no issues if it was scored the other way. And when Munoz was announced as the winner, I felt no shame in my own scorecards, that is, until I heard one judge scoring it 30-27 for Munoz.
This was coupled with the fact that during the very first bout of the evening, a featherweight tilt between Darren Elkins and Michihiro Omigawa, outrage poured out from the stands, from Omigawa, and post-fight from UFC President Dana White. I will reserve judgement and my thoughts until I get a chance to view the bout. I was unable to view all the pre-lims, minus the Sam Stout / Yves Edwards bout, as I was in our Sportsnet Pacific Studio preparing for our live UFC 131 preview show.
Despite the controversy, the Vancouver Athletic Commission sent me the following statement:
“In the first round, Elkins backed Omigawa up with punches the entire round. He controlled the center of the cage. He was throwing a lot more shots, and landing more — and in combination. If there is any controversy as to the outcome of the fight it must be because of the second round. That was a very challenging round to score. An argument can be made in favour of either fighter. Elkins landed more punches. At one point, when Omigawa came forward, he was stopped dead in his tracks by Elkins’ combination punches, and at another point he was slightly buckled. Due to Omigawa’s unusual stance and balance, it was difficult to tell exactly whether he was rocked by some of these shots. However, you could see Omigawa’s leg bend, and the control shift to Elkins as he landed the combo, stopping Omigawa in his tracks, taking the center of the cage, and going on the attack again. These sequences, as well as the total effective strikes landed, could reasonably warrant awarding the round to Elkins. Elkins didn’t land many more than Omigawa, but he did land more. (The Fightmetric numbers agree.) As to the blood – it represents something, but a cut can be caused by a glancing blow and some fighters just cut more
readily than others.”
They concluded with ” That’s a round about which reasonable people can disagree. Close rounds like Round 2 of Omigawa vs Elkins serve as useful examples for discussion, to assist in refining and evolving the community’s understanding of the scoring criteria, generally. And that is a good thing for the sport.”
As I mentioned above, later this week I will disect the bout and offer my thoughts. In the meantime, I will address many of the twitter responses and theories regarding MMA Judging.
For some fans, they want more fighters to become judges. For others, they believe cageside monitors should have fixed the issues with MMA Judging.
I disagree on both fronts.
First off, former fighters are not the answer. In discussing the Unified Rules of MMA with many of them, some of which have competed at the highest level of the sport, they had more questions for me, than they did answers. Many are not aware of how an MMA bout is scored, even though their livelihood depended on it. They were unaware of what a judge “should” be looking for, let alone what a judge “thought” or even “knew” about the sport. Just because you competed in a sport, does not mean you qualify as a judge. You can make the same arguement for any player from the NHL, NFL, MLB, or NBA. Just because they played, does not mean they can officiate or judge.
As for the monitors, I have addressed this in the past, but I will say it again (and will do it until people finally understand this concept). The monitors are a band aid solution, and simply offer the judge a viewpoint that they may not see when the fight is 30 feet across the cage from them, or when the athletes are in a particular position that a different angle will help determine which fighter has the advantage.
But when you have judges who do not understand the various positions, transitions, submissions, throws and takedowns that separate MMA from boxing, what good does a monitor do for this type of judge? They still are unaware of what they are looking for, and which fighter has the advantage.
To bring MMA judging to the highest possible level, ALL judges must be certified. This falls on the laps of the decision makers at each and every athletic commission, as well as the Association of Boxing Commissions. No officiating or judging license should ever be handed out to anyone, unless they have proven they understand the intricacies that make up MMA. And to do so, they must pass an accredited course that proves they know what is happening inside of the cage. No certification, no license. That’s the bottom line.
If I can get certified as an official and as a judge, by a course that has been signed off by the ABC, then why can’t “real” refs and judges do the same?
I did it to for my own self-education and to prove that I can base my arguments, thoughts, opinions and comments on fact. If I do not know what I speak of, I should not be speaking about it. I went through the courses and passed, and firmly believe all licensed refs and judges should do the exact same thing.
As I mentioned to Dana White at the UFC 131 post-fight press conference, it’s time for his organization to attack this issue with all their might.
They should mandate that all referees and judges an athletic commission will be using during their events, prove that each and everyone has been certified. Let’s face it, they are paying for it via sanctioning fees.  It’s time for the UFC to start getting their moneys worth, and stop allowing a sub-par job affect their business.
And by the way, it is also up to the athletes, their management and everyone in the MMA industry to speak up as well. Don’t point the finger at Vancouver, but instead direct it at the whole industry.
Tell the ABC, as well as your local athletic commission that you’ve had enough. Ask them “how many refs and judges are licensed under their jurisdiction” and “how many of them have been certified by an accredited course signed off by the ABC”?
Then let me know what your reaction is once you hear the numbers. Feel free to send your thoughts via Twitter @showdownjoe

By Joe Ferraro

With UFC 130 behind us, we can now set our sights on tonight’s Ultimate Fighter Semi-finals, while focusing on Saturday’s finale at The Pearl in The Palms in Las Vegas. We’ll also take a look at the aftermath from UFC 130, as well as examine some of the stories that have been making headlines in the world of MMA.

First off, Rogers Sportsnet will be airing tonight’s TUF semi-finals, which feature Team Lesnar’s Chris Cope vs Team dos Santos’ Ramsey Nijem, while the second bracket is all Team Lesnar, with Tony Ferguson taking on Chuck O’Neil. While all four fighters have a serious chance at making it to Saturday’s finale, I’m picking Nijem and Ferguson to advance. Who are you picking?

The aftermath from UFC 130 continues to make waves, beginning with some lengthy medical suspensions.

Quinton Rampage Jackson has been suspended until November 25th, with no contact until June 28th, due to a broken hand. This does not look promising for Rampage, the UFC or light heavyweight champions Jon Bones Jones, who Jackson was expected to face next, sometime in the fall. Does this open the door for Lyoto Machida? Or will the UFC give the shot to the winner of Rashad Evans and Phil Davis now? Unless Rampage can get cleared by a doctor soon, it will either be Machida, or the expected title fight in the fall, will be pushed as late as possible, to allow the UFC enough time to promote Bones’ first title defence with a guaranteed opponent. Bottom line, the UFC generally would like to begin pre-fight production of it’s posters and video trailers, Countdown shows, etc, at least three months in advance.

Also medically suspended until November 25th, was Frank Mir, due to possible broken ribs. I ran into Mir the day after at the MGM Grand and we discussed his ribs, his rumoured broken jaw as well as his wrestling strategy against opponent Roy Nelson. Frank told me he perfectly fine, and the only ill effects were that he was sore, something obviously normal after a fifteen minute bout. I do not see his suspension lasting that long, and would not be surprised to see him back sooner, rather than later.

He also mentioned that he was feeling ill leading up to the bout, a condition similar to what Nelson was experiencing. Just have a listen to the interview I did with Roy at the media workouts to understand that the appearance of a raspy voice was not something intentional; Big Country was not at 100%, and the same can be said for Frank.

It’s often easy to point at Nelson’s physical appearance as the culprit for his conditioning, but explain to me why it has never been an issue in the past, considering before UFC 130, he eight of his twenty fights went into a third round, four of which he won?

But alas, Roy may be changing things up soon, as he may be working with famed fighter turned nutritionist Mike Dolce very soon. Mike’s product “The Dolce Diet”, has already done wonders for the likes of Rampage Jackson and Thiago Alves. It will be interesting to see how this relationship between Nelson and Dolce will evolve over the coming weeks and months. If there was ever a win/win situation and a great story for MMA, this is it.

Other suspensions include Stefan Struve (until July 28), Brian Stann ( until Nov. 25 due to possible fractured finger), Jorge Santiago (until Nov. 25 left orbital injury), Rafaello Olivera (July 28) and Michael MacDonald (until Nov. 25, possible left shoulder injury).

As for payouts, Rampage and Mir also topped the list, making $250,000 each. These figures, along with the rest, do not include various bonuses, sponsorship revenue, etc.

Here’s what each fighter made: Matt Hamill ($32,000), Roy Nelson ($15,000), Travis Browne ($16,000), Stefan Struve ($21,000), Rick Story ($34,000), Thiago Alves ($ 33,000), Brian Stann: ($46,000), Jorge Santiago ($36,000), Demetrious Johnson ($12,000), Miguel Torres ($30,000),
Tim Boetsch($36,000), Kendall Grove ($28,000), Gleison Tibau ($50,000), Rafaello Oliveira ($10,000), Michael McDonald ($12,000) Chris Cariaso ($4000), Renan Barao ($10,000) and Cole Escovedo ($6,000).

Misc News and Notes

Lightweight Kurt Pellegrino has decided to step away from the sport, in what appears to be more of wanting to spend time with his family than inside the octagon. He’s also apparently lost the will to compete. I hope he makes a return – he’s one of the good guys in this game. Top ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki has relinquished his Shooto Title in Japan, and is being rumoured to be attending UFC 131 in Vancouver. Who believes he will be locked up and announced as a Zuffa fighter that week? This guy does. Arianny Celeste would like to see the octagon girl uniforms updated. She wants rhinestones on the outfits and I already know you agree. Amanda Nunes is out vs Julie Kedzie at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum”. This would have been a great 135 lbs female MMA bout. No word if a replacement has been found. For those following the Donald Brashear to MMA story, the former NHL tough guy has a new opponent for his bout on Saturday night, and it’s Sherbrooke, Quebec’s, Mathieu Bergeron.

After week’s of speculation that the UFC is expected to make their fifth stop at the Bell Centre on December 10th, Tom Wright, the Director of Operations for UFC Canada, made it clear that, the deal to return to Montreal, is far from signed, sealed and delivered.

“Well as you know, I wouldn’t believe everything I read in the newspaper. It’s not a foregone conclusion”, stated Wright.

Thus far, the only guarantee is that the Ultimate Fighting Championship will host an event in The Great White North in the final month of 2011.

“We’ve looked at the December 10th date. I think what is a foregone conclusion is that there will be an event in Canada, but there’s lots of places we are looking at, lots of different venues. We of course would love to go back to Montreal. We’ve had great success at the Bell Centre, have a great relationship with the Commission there, great UFC fans also, throughout the province.”

With UFC President Dana White often referring to Canada as “The Mecca of MMA”, Wright hinted that it is not just Montreal that is in the running to host UFC 140.

After a successful event in the City of Toronto, MMA fans should not be surprised if the promotion chooses, instead, to return to the very location where the North American record was set for the largest attended MMA event in history.

“We’re also looking at potentially coming back to Toronto. We look at the ACC (Air Canada Centre), conceivably look at the Rogers Centre.”

The demand to host a UFC event has also spread right across the province of Ontario.

“There’s other places. I’ve been contacted by Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa, there’s Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, there’s lots of different opportunities, and lots of different places.”

While Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton are all in the running to host UFC 140, Wright may have hinted that there are also thriving metropolis’ right across the country that may also be considered. Cities like Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and even Halifax, are all chomping at the bit to host a numbered pay per view event, chalk full of fans hoping that it is their city that is the one selected.

“What I can tell UFC fans, is that, the thing I feel more confident about, is saying there’s going to be a December 10th event in Canada. Where in Canada? It’s a big country.”

Showdown Joe Ferraro goes 1-on-1 with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones:

Canadian welterweight contender Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford:

It’s the middle of the week, so let’s take a look at what’s happening around the world of MMA.

When the Forza, a subsidiary of Zuffa LLC purchased Strikeforce MMA, fans and media alike began predicting what the short term and picture would like like for the California based promotion, both in and out of the cage. Two months have since gone by and changes are abound. Most of the Strikeforce staff have been released, and subsequently replaced by many of the Zuffa employees who once worked for the WEC.

Strikeforce Founder and former CEO, Scott Coker will remain with the organization, but whispers are wondering how long, and under what role and capacity. Many of the athletes under contract with Strikeforce are happy about the direction the organization is taking, what with per diems and gas mileage now being a standard, but one has to wonder what’s in store for many of them.

Rumblings continue about the status of welterweight champ Nick Diaz, and whether he will be moved over to the UFC. The same can be said for heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem. Better yet, how long until all the top dogs are migrated over. Will the promotion survive or will it be amalgamated / dissolved into the UFC? I’m not a betting man, but if I was, my money would be on the ladder.

I spent the earlier part of the day re-watching middleweight Mahmed Khalidov’s last seven fights. For those that who are unaware of Khalidov’s resume, he boasts a record of 22-4-2, and is in, or on the cusp of being added into many of the top ten rankings out there. He was in recent negotiations to enter Bellator’s season five 185 lbs tournament, but a scheduling conflict may prevent him from doing so.

While it hasn’t effected his fights in the past, Khalidov, a practising Muslim will be honouring the Holy month of Ramadan, and thus will be fasting throughout what would be his training camp for the beginning of the tournament. To my understanding, in 2010 there was a fatwa exempting pro athletes from the required fasting, but it appears Khalidov will not accept. This is unfortunate for MMA fans, but understandable; Mahmed has the right to do what he likes and should answer to know one but himself. Risk vs Reward.

For those following what’s happening with Japanese promotion DREAM, the unfortunate tale of impending doom continues to unfold. The organization has apparently lost it’s North American broadcasting rights, with a slim chance of a deal being consummated to air their next event on May 29th.

With 10 days to go, an opponent for Shinya Aoki has still not been secured. First it was former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner. Then it was confirmed that it was former MFC Champ Antonio McKee. Yesterday, due to visa issues, McKee was forced to step away and was replaced by Shane Nelson. This morning, it appears as if Nelson has also been replaced and now, Aoki is set to square off against UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi. Love the nickname, but my goodness, the irony.

Coming back to North America, specifically Vancouver, the UFC 131 card has seen another fighter replaced due to injury. Mac Danzig, is out vs what was pegged to be a stellar grudge match vs Donald Cerrone, and will now be replaced by Brazilian lightweight Vagner Rocha.

Rocha (6-1) is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu who now resides in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and is a veteran of both Strikeforce and Bellator. He has only gone the distance twice, with four of his six wins ending via submission. Of those four wins, three were by arm bar. Mental note for the Cowboy, keep your elbows in check.

And as discussed during last week’s episode of UFC Connected, many MMA pundits are paying close attention to the contract status of Japanese featherweight sensation Hatsu Hioki. The current Sengoku Featherweight champion is apparently in limbo, waiting to find out if he will be released from the Japanese promotion. Seeing as they do not have an event scheduled in 2011, and Hioki’s last bout was under the Shooto banner. Perhaps the writing is on the wall, as the clock ticks away to his free agency.

Hioki boasts a record of 24-4-2, with two of those wins over Mark Hominick, and others vs names like Jeff Curran, Rumina Sato, Masanori Kanehara, Takashi Inoue and Marlon Sandro. He is also listed in many of the media’s top ten pound for pound fighters.

On a side note, and pardon me as I digress, one of Hioki’s losses comes to the hands of another top featherweight who has yet to be signed by Zuffa: Canadian Antonio “Pato” Carvalho, who I firmly believe, also belongs in the big show.

By: Joe Ferraro 

It appears Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub (8-1) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (36-6-1) may be facing one another at UFC 134: Silva vs Okami.

A source has informed that the bout has been verbally agreed to by both parties, with the two set to be added to the main card, taking place on August 27th, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Schaub is riding a four fight winning streak, with his last bout a knockout victory over Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic at UFC 128 in March.

Minotauro has not seen action inside the octagon since February of 2010, a knockout loss suffered to the hands of Cain Velasquez, who has since become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. The living legend from Brazil has been sidelined due to various injuries and surgery to his hips and knee.

The bout is considered a rumour at this point, and has not been confirmed by the UFC.

Here’s a look at the rest of the rumoured card for UFC 134: Silva vs Okami:

Main Card

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Light Heavyweight bout: Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza

Prelims

Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Lightweight bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher

Welterweight bout: Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell

By Joe Ferraro

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, has been forced to step away from his UFC 131 number one contender bout vs Junior dos Santos. Replacing the former champ will be Shane Carwin, who steps in on thirty days notice, albeit, he was preparing for a fight on the same evening vs Norwegian Jon Olav Einemo.

UFC President Dana White made the announcement earlier today, during a conference call with the media.

Lesnar, who has been featured as a coach during this season’s Ultimate Fighter has been stricken with a recurrence of diverticulitis, a condition that causes swelling of diverticulum ( pouches ) in the walls of the intestines. He was forced to make a decision this week, as to whether or not he would be able to face dos Santos on June 11th, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Symptoms began appearing during filming of The Ultimate Fighter and throughout his training camp, often preventing him from recovering properly, although he had been taking anti-biotics throughout. Disheartened, he contacted White, who consoled him and made it clear that Lesnar’s health was far more important than his career. The Minnesota native expressed his gratitude towards White during the conference call, calling him “first class”, while also extending an apology to Junior dos Santos.

The former NCAA wrestling standout recently spent 14 hours at the Mayo Clinic, speaking with doctors while undergoing various tests, including CT scans. He now faces a daunting decision – does he undergo surgery to correct the issue, or continue taking medication that will hopefully cure the illness.

While I was never diagnosed with diverticulitis, in August of 2005, I had a diverticulum removed on the right side of my abdomen. I spent seven days in hospital after emergency surgery, and recall being back to normal within 30 days. But one of the differences here is that Lesnar is an elite athlete, I am far from it. His illness sounds far worse than what I experienced, and the ramifications may be worse. At stake, is not only his career, but his overall well being.

While many of us wish Brock a speedy recovery and a quick return to action, business must go on.

The UFC 131 main event was set to determine who would face current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez. With Lesnar out and Carwin in, would the ladder still be awarded a title shot, should he defeat dos Santos? Or would the UFC only grant that to the Brazilian knockout artist?

After the conference call, I contacted White, and asked him if the winner from the main event of the UFC’s second event in Vancouver would get the title shot, and his response, was “Yes”.

Here’s a look at the (rumoured) full card for UFC 131: dos Santos vs Carwin, going down June 11th, at the Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Main card (Pay per view)

Heavyweight bout: Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Mark Muñoz
Featherweight bout: United States Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes

Preliminary card

Lightweight bout:  Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards
Middleweight bout: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Middleweight bout: Nick Ring vs. James Head
Heavyweight bout: Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman
Featherweight bout: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins

Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac

With the current space between major events, let’s take a look at what’s making headlines in the world of MMA.

Chael Sonnen has been suspended (again) by the CSAC:  the top middleweight contender is set for another hearing on May 18th, as the commission believes he not only may have made false statements during his last hearing, but it’s also time for the Oregon native to discuss his recent guilty plea of a felony charge, stemming from the money laundering case. It remains to be seen if Sonnen, and his representation can talk their way out of this one. And if they do, waiting in the wings will be Keith Kizer and the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

While he is still contracted under the UFC, the same cannot be said for Brazilian Maiquel Falcao. After winning his octagon debut versus Gerald Harris at UFC 123, he was set to take on Tom Lawlor at UFC 134, in his home country of Brazil. But that idea has been scrapped as Falcao’s manager stated they received “an e-mail from Joe Silva yesterday saying that the UFC decided to end Maiquel Falcão’s contract.” The organization has officially cut the fighter, likely stemming from an assault charge, dating back to 2002.

The organization also announced three bouts for UFC Live 5, going down on August 14 at Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI, which you can catch live on Rogers Sportsnet. Light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar will face Karlos Vemola, lightweight Danny Castillo vs Jacob Volkman, and as predicted last month on “The Showdown”, on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590, as well as on a recent episode of “UFC Connected”, Jim Miller will take on Ben Henderson, in an absolute stellar lightweight matchup that has “Fight of the Night”, written all over it.

Two fighters have also suffered injuries with their replacements announced as well. Jonathan Brookings is out vs Jeremy Stephens, and will now be replaced by Danny Downes at the TUF 13 Finale (also available on Rogers Sportsnet). At UFC 131, Igor Pokrajac will replace Anthony Perosh, and will take on Canadian Light Heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski.

All of this news is taking place while Zuffa is holding it’s annual “Fighter’s Summit” in Las Vegas. All contracted athletes, with the exception of those deep into a training camp, have been flown in for two days of intensive “in class” presentations. Topics include recognizing concussion symptoms, the dangers of cutting too much weight before a bout, staying away from performance enhancing drugs, recommendation of how to handle their finances, how to deal with the media, and the importance of social media. There was also an in depth explanation of the new accident insurance policy.

It’s an interesting time for the Maximum Fighting Championships. First, Lightweight champion Antonio McKee was stripped of his title, then their welterweight champion Douglas Lima has skipped town, in favour of signing with Bellator. This prompted organizational President Mark Pavelich to sound off on twitter.  He took some direct shots at his competition while on vacation in Cabo. It’s safe to say that upon his return, this story (or battle if you will) will pick up dramatically.

Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren is making news, by taking shots at UFC 170 lbers Thiago Alves and Anthony Johnson. “Funky” hinted both are “idiots” and “cowards” for their history of making weights, insinuating they are afraid to take on fighters their own size or bigger. “Rumble” replied back stating Askren was a “bushy headed kid” while informing the former NCAA champ that he would “kick Ben in his mouth quick before he ever try and say something like that in my face”. Unfortunately this fight is a “what if”, but tell, am I the only one who wishes these two could settle their differences inside the cage?

On the Japanese MMA front, many of us are excited that Dream will be having their next event on May 29th. Entitled “Dream 17: Fight for Japan”, the organization has put together a trailer profiling the athletes competing in their bantamweight tournament.