Author: Steve Cofield

The UFC really hits the road this year with an aggressive international expansion that include shows in Sydney, Australia and Abu Dhabi. The Aussies are ready for UFC 110. Boy, are they ever. The Acer Arena, configured for 17,300, is already sold out. The UFC’s U.K. president told Cagewriter the promotion will be adding a closed circuit seating venue adjacent to the arena. The event in Abu Dhabi is a little more tricky. The "arena" is far from sold out. That’s because there is no arena and yet the event is tentatively scheduled for April 10. What gives?

Zelaznik scouted the area last week and said the plan is moving forward. The UAE is experienced at holding big events. 

"The majority of the events are held outdoors. The opportunity for us would include the building of an outdoor arena."

He said it’ll be similar to Las Vegas superfight venues of the ’70s and ’80s.

"You’d have some sort of covering on it. You’d have a pretty intimate live setting. In our current planning, we’d look to have 10,000 seats or more depending on the configuration we go with." 

Zelaznik said the thought that Flash Entertainment and the UAE would have a standard 20,000 seat arena finished by April is far-fetched. 

"Make no bones about it, the area we’re looking at is gravel currently. It will be built for a UFC event. It will be dressed in a way that it will feel very special. With the exception of walls and a roof, it will be an arena with raised seating, coliseum-style seating where you have people very close to the action."

The main event for UFC 112 has B.J. Penn defending his title against Frank Edgar. Renzo Gracie, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor to the UAE royal family and a legendary member of the Gracie clan, will make his UFC debut as well. The 42-year-old will fight a fellow legend in Matt Hughes. Gracie will try to avenge the loss his brother Royce to Hughes back at UFC 63. 

Zelaznik said he felt an optimism, almost a "gold rush mentality" because of all the success in the UAE right now. Abu Dhabi has become an entertainement mecca. 

If you followed the entire Brock Lesnar sickness saga, you know the guy doesn’t want people messing with his personal life. Information trickled out through Dana White from time to time and then there were the little leaks to certain blogs. Clearly, someone in Lesnar’s camp couldn’t keep their mouth shut. Lesnar takes this seriously.

"It was difficult [to keep things] private when my own camp comes out and says things when they’re not authorized to say anything. It pissed me off."

Lesnar has a terrible temper so imagine if you’re the guy who crossed him?

"It pissed me off. Automatically I want to get rid of those people because them are the people I trust."

The leaks actually changed the way the Lesnar return announcement went down this week. The UFC was going to hold a big press conference in Las Vegas but the promotion scrapped the idea when leaks emerged last week indicating that he was coming back. Lesnar’s trainer Greg Nelson went on ESPN’s MMALive and took away much of mystery by saying Lesnar was coming back without spilling the beans on a date.

After plenty of speculation that the UFC may bail from its May 1 date for UFC 113, the promotion has decided to push the event back a week. The reason? It’s all but a certainty that Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley will meet in Las Vegas on May 1. The UFC does not want to go head-to-head against a powerhouse boxing pay-per-view.

This afternoon, a UFC source told Cagewriter that UFC 113 was headed
for May 8. This evening UFC president Dana White confirmed the date
change. The switch was made possible when the Bell Centre was able to
move a May 8 concert. 

"We were trying to not go the same night as boxing but these [expletive] guys can’t get out of their own way," White told Cagewriter. "I have never seen anything so unorganized, selfish and dysfunctional as boxing. It’s a joke!"

Golden Boy Promotions has May 1 reserved at the MGM Grand Arena for Juan Manuel Marquez. If Mayweather-Mosley lands on May 1, the Marquez fight, possibly against Michael Katsidis would be moved to May 8 at Mandalay Bay with the replay of Mayweather-Mosley serving as the lead-in on HBO.

The main event will feature a rematch from UFC 104 between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua. There were signs of the change earlier in the week when Machida tweeted that it was a possibility. Also rumored on the card is a Josh Koscheck-Paul Daley fight.

The MMA world may never understand how close it was to losing its biggest draw forever. Brock Lesnar, who announced his return to active fighting this morning, talked about his ordeal with a serious intestinal disorder. He had multiple doctors suggest that life-altering surgery was almost a certainty. Lesnar went home, changed his diet and wished for the best.

"I was facing a colostomy bag," said Lesnar. "What they wanted to do was go in and remove the bad section of my colon. If the perforation wouldn’t have healed itself, I was facing removing my colon.Then they can’t reattach right away because of all the inflammation. So then I would’ve been wearing a colostomy bag for 6-8 weeks. Then they go in and reattach my intestines back together" 

If that were the case, Lesnar was facing a tough decision with his fighting career. 

"I would’ve probably retired."

The human body is amazing sometimes. Lesnar returned for another check up earlier this month and the doctor said he’d gotten a lottery ticket. No longer was the serious surgery a necessity. 

It’s a crazy story. And one can only imagine how much pain Lesnar was in when he was first rushed to hospital where they eventually struck a six-inch needle into his stomach to remove 14 cc’s of fluid. 

White reiterated what he told Cagewriter back in November that Lesnar was told by doctors that he’d been suffering from a lack of nutrients for close to a year and was probably operating at around 60 percent of his potential. 

The 2010 blue print was laid out this morning for Brock Lesnar and the UFC heavyweight belt. Lesnar will keep an eye on UFC 110 in Australia and UFC 111 in New Jersey. At 110, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Cain Velasquez fight with a possibility of getting the next shot at Lesnar. But the first option is the winner between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin at 111. If there were an injury to the Mir/Carwin victor then the Big Nog or Velasquez would get the shot.

If it is Mir, that’ll be the third time Lesnar would face the Las Vegan. Lesnar was asked if he can get motivated for another fight after smashing Mir at UFC 100.

"I don’t think I beat him as bad as I could," said Lesnar. "For me to get my hands on that stalker again … Frank Mir has made it a mission of his life [to get a rematch]. It’s been a while since I’ve had a stalker but we’ll take care of that."

Lesnar also said his return should have every heavyweight [expletive] himself. He’s already back working out and said that he was throwing around 285-pound Cole Konrad and 255-pound Chris Tuchsherer like sacks of potatoes.  

It sure is good to have Brock Lesnar back in the game. Lesnar and UFC president Dana White announced this morning that the UFC heavyweight champion has miraculously recovered from an intestinal disorder, is back training tomorrow and is slated to fight sometime this summer. That’s all great but we really missed Lesnar’s attitude, opinions and bravado. 

Lesnar turned today’s teleconference into a campaign against the drive for universal healthcare in the United States. 

"Our healthcare system is a little radical, but we’ve got the
best doctors in the world. I don’t believe a total reform is
necessary. We don’t need socialistic healthcare in America. The doctors in the United States gave me the best care possible."

Lesnar’s conservative/Republican stance on U.S. healthcare issues were fortified by a trip to Canada. After finding out that he was sick back in October, Lesnar hit Canada for rest and relaxation. That’s when things took a turn for the worse and he had to check himself into a Canadian hospital. Lesnar called it the lowest point of his struggle: 

"They couldn’t do nothing for me. It was like I was
in a third world country. I had to get out of there."

Lesnar wouldn’t give exact details of his escape from the unnamed healthcare facility but he did say his wife helped him flee by "driving 100 mph" to get him to a hospital in Bismark, ND. Lesnar tried to smooth things over with many Canadians, who are sure to be a little insulted over his comments.

"I love Canada. I own property in Canada but if I
had to choose between care in Canada or the U.S., I definitely want to be in
the United States. I wasn’t at the right facility."

Lesnar tried to clarify things further by saying his statements were really more about President Barack Obama, the Democrats and those supporting universal healthcare.

"President Obama is pushing this healthcare and obviously I don’t want it. I’m
speaking behalf of Americans that don’t want this to happen."

When pushed by the Canadian Press’ Neil Davidson on specifics, Lesnar said he didn’t want to elaborate on his complaints about Canadian healthcare. 

"The
hospital I was at, it wasn’t their fault. They had some machinery
that wasn’t working. We went to where we
could have [the proper testing] done."

Lesnar eventually landed at the Mayo Clinic where he was prescribed antibiotics. Weeks later, Lesnar said the issue had healed itself.

Randy Couture had it right. Brock Lesnar is back from his intestinal disorder.

Lesnar, 32, announced today that he was able to avoid serious surgery. UFC president Dana White said Lesnar will return this summer against the winner of the March fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin at UFC 111. 

Lesnar said he was originally diagnosed with mononucleosis then correctly with diverticulitis. It caused him to lose 40 pounds. But the UFC’s heavyweight champ held out on serious surgical options. Another doctor’s visit on Jan. 5 indicated that Lesnar’s body was responding positively to antibiotics.

"[The doctors] were dumbfounded. They couldn’t find any problem in my stomach. It’s just a miracle to me."

Lesnar visited his doctors once more on Tuesday.

"I actually had to go to the doctor yesterday before I came out here and get another CT scan on my stomach because I just still can’t believe it."

Lesnar’s problem began in October when he was struggling with stamina and feeling lousy. He was training for his UFC 106 fight against Carwin. 

"My training wasn’t going well, I missed almost three weeks of my training camp. Kept going to the doctor, couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Finally, it was a Monday I said to my trainer I can’t do this fight," said Lesnar.

That’s when Lesnar visited doctors and got the original mononucleosis diagnosis.

"I decided to get away, and take a trip up to Canada and do some hunting. I could either stay at home and sit on the couch and climb the walls or go to Canada and do something I would enjoy. So I got up there and still didn’t feel right. Had a lot of severe stomach pain and one night I woke up in severe shock, had a 104 temperature, and felt like I was shot in the guts."

Lesnar decided that he needed to return to the U.S.

"I went to the hospital in Canada, realized quickly that I had to get out of Canadian healthcare, and get down to Bismark, to the United States, at Medcenter One. I take my hat off to this doctor there. They diagnosed me with diverticulitis."

Lesnar last fought at UFC 100 where he destroyed Frank Mir. His postfight antics immediately made him into a hero and a heel across the country. Many fans and media members called it an awful night for MMA. That may have been the case, but Lesnar’s drawing power is undeniable. The event set UFC pay-per-vew records with buys in excess of 1.3 million.

Jake Rosholt was blindsided in November when he was released by the UFC after a loss at UFC 106 to Kendall Grove. A three-time NCAA wrestling champ at Oklahoma State is short on experience and suffered two losses with the promotion via submission. With six weeks to think, Rosholt is cool with the demotion and has things in perspective. He knows he needs to work on all facets of his game and wants to get in four fights this year. Rosholt is still part of Team Takedown at Cobra Kai in Las Vegas along with fellow Oklahoma State wrestling legends Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller. He’s getting to work on his jiu-jitsu against black belt Vinny Magalhaes and for striking and grappling 6-foot-3, 240-lb. Forrest Griffin isn’t a bad choice.

Rosholt has also become a prolific tweeter. And little of the dialogue has to do with his diet or training. Cagewriter touched on all topics @jakerosholt.

• keyboard warriors
• dead bobcats
• candles
• the need for a gps
• getting scammed on Ebay

Why keep going? It’s a recurring theme when talking about UFC 109. Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Matt Serra and Frank Trigg keep fighting in spite of all being over 35. Trigg loves the competition, the training and comraderie. He switched Las Vegas camps for this fight from Couture’s gym, Xtreme Couture to Cobra Kai.

"I’m seeing the same stuff in a different light," Trigg said of his work with new trainer Marc Laimon. "You’re teaching an old dog new tricks. It’s still kind of cool, still kind of neat."

On Monday, Trigg was sharing the mat with Jake Rosholt, Forrest Griffin, Shane Roller, Johny Hendricks and Vinny Magalhaes. It’s amazing what returning to the gym does to boost your enthusiasm for the game. Trigg was down in the dumps and contemplating retirement when he suffered a quick defeat at the hands of Josh Koscheck back in September. Now he’s talking about making a run over the next 12-24 months. 

Trigg’s 16-year-old son Frankie also delivered a little perspective without even knowing he was motivating Dad.

Trigg overheard his son (1:15 mark) on the phone, "I heard him say how he likes what I do. He doesn’t really care whether I win or I lose. It’s just the fact that I put my nose to grindstone. From a pride aspect that’s kind of cool for me." 

During his conversation with Cagewriter, Trigg wasn’t much into trash talking Serra, his opponent at UFC 109. Why bother? It’s unlikely to have any affect on the veteran fighter. But Trigg did bring up the question of who has more motivation. Serra owns several jiu-jitsu gyms on Long Island and appears to making be a nice living without stepping into the Octagon. 

"When I’m punching him in the head, he’s going to be thinking in the back of his head, ‘You know, I can teach a couple more guys, make a lot of money doing that. Why am I going to keep getting punched in the face?’ "

Trigg pointed out that his situation is different. He wants to get into broadcasting when his fighting career is finished but right now he’s not exactly rolling in the dough. During the summer, Trigg signed a four-fight contract to return to the UFC. He thinks a second straight loss may mean the end of his second run with the promotion. 

We also tossed around what’s in it for the winner? A win for Serra may earn him another shot at Matt Hughes. For Trigg, he just wants a win to get mentioned as a guy in the top 10. He said Trigg-Hughes III isn’t really desired by either fighter. 

The wheels are turning today in boxing and it could have a significant effect on what the April or May schedule looks like in MMA. Rumors began swirling over the weekend that Floyd Mayweather may be targeting Shane Mosley for a fight on May 1 in Las Vegas. Why is that date significant? It’s the same day the UFC was tentatively scheduled for UFC 113 in Montreal and the highly anticipated Shogun Rua-Lyoto Machida rematch. Adding some more spice to the Mayweather-Mosley rumor is the fact that Fightnews.com is reporting that Andre Berto just pulled out of the Jan. 30 fight against Mosley. Berto, a Haitian, said he couldn’t prepare mentally for the fight with the recent earthquake:  

Berto said, "Since the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday evening, I have been focusing on my family and the Haitian people who are facing an inconceivable battle for survival while still trying to continue to prepare for an opportunity I have dreamt of since childhood. I lost several family members to the earthquake and after two days without word, was relieved to learn that my sister, Naomi and her daughter, Jessica survived, but were left homeless. I have seen the pain in my parents’ eyes as they attempt to understand what has happened to our homeland and recognize a place they once called home.

As a result of this disaster, I am mentally and physically exhausted and therefore I have no choice but to withdraw from my bout on January 30.

Throughout the past six days, I have received an incredible outpouring of support, and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s prayers for the people of Haiti. I hope that everyone will continue to keep the Haitian people in their thoughts and prayers as we work to rebuild this proud nation. The rebuilding of Haiti is not something that will happen overnight, but I am fully dedicated to helping the Haitian people recover from this catastrophic event."

Sources with the UFC have indicated every Saturday in May at the Bell Centre was reserved by the promotion just in case Manny Pacquiao-Mayweather landed on May 1. Mosley and Mayweather isn’t quite as big but it is a mega-fight and would certainly put a dent in the UFC pay-per-views hopes if the cards went head-to-head. May 8 or 15 would the logical choices with the UFC slated to be in Las Vegas at the end of the month with UFC 114.

UPDATE – Dana White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there is no change in date:

UFC president Dana White said via text message Monday night that UFC 113 will
remain in its scheduled slot.

"We are going May 1st still," White wrote.

Lyoto Machida’s twitter account also gave the heads up that there may be a date change for UFC 113. 

Meanwhile, Josh Koscheck confirmed via twitter the much-rumored fight against Paul Daley at UFC 113.  

As far as the May 1 date change, it’s purely speculation. The Mosley-Mayweather could easily be held anywhere from late March to early May. A head-to-head Mosley-Mayweather PPV battle against Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey on March 13 is still a possibility.

Update Richard Schaefer he won’t go Mar. 13: 

"I’m going to sit down with our marketing people, and our sponsors, as well, and
determine what the right time frame would be to properly promote and activate
that fight," Schaefer told Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole. "On the surface, with March 13 just around the
corner, I don’t think that would be the right thing to do. If you’re going with
a super mega fight like that to go against Pacquiao-Clottey. I think that would
be totally wrong and I would not want to do that."

So are April dates, the 10th and 17th, which might screw up any Strikeforce plans to hit Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack. 

The holidays and possibly some intense weight work may have Quinton Jackson, Georges St. Pierre and Diego Sanchez considering a jump to a new weight class. Jackson was seen last night in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock’s new club Vanity. St. Pierre is pictured with heavyweight Brendan Schaub and middleweight Nate Marquardt. GSP looks like the thickest guy of the bunch.

GSP and Sanchez (not pictured) have actually given hints about a move up. St. Pierre told the media throng before UFC 108 that he was considering the jump to 185 pounds. Sanchez posted on his Facebook page that he may go back to welterweight where he was 8-2 in the UFC. Sanchez has little shot at the title at 170, he’s simply too small to compete with guy’s who walk around between 185-195 pounds. But he can get back in the mix at 155 with possible fights against Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, Takanori Gomi and Kenny Florian. MMA for Real says Sanchez is in no man’s land. We say he’s fine at lightweight, B.J. Penn won’t be around forever.

UPDATE – Sanchez confirms move via Twitter:

Meanwhile, Rampage to heavyweight is purely speculation. But by the looks of his new Mr. T persona, there won’t be a "jump" necessary. What is that 230 pounds? The Hard Rock did confirm that the photo is indeed Jackson not Brett Rogers. 

Jackson photo by Cody Boor/Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Rogers line via Twitter @EAJames. 

After repairing his reputation, Gilbert Melendez is on a mission.
Melendez stormed out to a 13-0 start to his career then suffered upset losses in two-of-three fights to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. He beat Thomson last month. That mini-saga is done, now Melendez wants to look ahead
to the rest of the 155-pounders around the world. First and foremost
Shinya Aoki, then down the road to UFC champ B.J. Penn. Melendez and
Thomson both echoed the sentiment that they were getting little respect
on the world scene. Melendez told Cagewriter he can beat anybody in the
UFC or Japan:

"B.J.’s
on another level," said Melendez (17-2). "[But] I think I could do better than a lot of guys do
against B.J."

Penn, the UFC lightweight champion, has won his four 155-pound title fights (Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson and Diego Sanchez) without really losing a round. He finished all four fights in nasty fashion.

"A lot of guys sit back and want to last with B.J. I’d
rather get knocked out in the center of the ring and go for it, than
sit back and try to figure it out. If things aren’t working, I’m
going to charge B.J. and try to knock him out. It’s better than just
running away and not being able to engage."

Melendez, a student of Cesar Gracie along with the Diaz brothers, is hoping to get his first big test against Japanese phenom Shinya Aoki. The 26-year-old Aoki added to his legend by breaking Mizuto Hirota’s arm in his last fight: 

"He’s
probably on a mission right now. He’s full of confidence. Before he
was probably a little more of student. He’s a master now," Melendez said of Aoki, who has become very boisterous the last year about how he’s ready to go and "kill" fighters in the U.S. "This guy
is sounding pretty tough."

Melendez said he’s far from afraid of Aoki and his submission skills. He feels like his game is well-rounded enough to take out Aoki on the feet and he’s comfortable hitting the ground with him. He also pointed to Nate Diaz as a guy who can mimic Aoki well in training. 

Melendez just wants to fight. He’d like to make the Strikeforce CBS card in April with or without Aoki. 

It would be easy to drop some more jokes about Chuck Liddell losing. After all, he was wearing his Lorenzo Neal San Diego Charger jersey to the ESPNZone in New York on Sunday. We’ll be nice. Hanging out in the Big Apple, Liddell tweeted in support of his good buddy, Charger wide receiver Kassim Osgood. The two have been friends since Osgood’s days at Cal Poly.

It didn’t work out for Liddell or Osgood as the Jets shocked the Chargers. It’s all but a certainty that "The Iceman" took it on the chin from fans of Gang Green. He should’ve brought along ‘Snooki‘ and ‘J-Woww’ as bodyguards. That said, we’re guessing he walked out unscathed physically.

A Jets fans in San Diego wasn’t so lucky. In an odd twist, even the Charger fans seem to be outraged over this Qualcomm arrest (NSFW).

Liddell photo via Twitter.com/ChuckLiddell. Jets fans via Jets-Fan.com and the N.Y. Jet Fan Club of Tampa. 

The guy has a star quality. You may think Kimbo Slice stinks as a fighter but he is a marketing machine. TapouT has clearly hitched its wagon to the street fighting legend. Hell, even Elton John knows who the guy is.

How about that sweet tattoo? There is no confirmation that it’s Elton’s.  

We know Joe Rogan hates the fist in fan photos, what would he say about tattooing fighters’ faces on your leg? 

AOL FanHouse reported that Matt Mitrione agreed to fight Kimbo in May at UFC 113. MMAJunkie followed up saying both sides agreed to the fight. Mitrione denied all of it on his Facebook page.

Facebook tip via Twitter @KevinBerard 

As MMA fans, we’re finally facing something boxing has dealt with for years. When stars get old and struggle to win, who tells them it’s time to hang up the gloves? After his loss at UFC 97, Dana White guaranteed that Chuck Liddell was done. Next week, Liddell’s back taping Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and prepping for a June fight against another veteran in Tito Ortiz. You can’t make a fighter quit. If it makes promotional sense, there’s always going to be someone who’ll pay an old-timer. Forty-somethings Dan Severn (91-16-7), Mark Kerr (15-11) and Ken Shamrock (27-13-2) are all still fighting. 

The WEC was facing this reality with Jen Pulver. The former UFC lightweight champ has fallen on hard times losing four straight and six-of-seven fights. They’re all quality losses (Urijah Faber 2x, B.J. Penn, Leonard Garcia, Joe Lauzon, Josh Grispi) but that doesn’t cut it in the fight world. Pulver won’t walk away. He’s coming back Mar. 6 at WEC 47. In this documentary trailer, he talks about the road back. He’s one of the most emotional guys in the game and if you don’t know his story, Pulver gives a glimpse of where he came from and why he fights.

Gregory Bayne has released another snippet. Cagewriter had a chance to grab one of the first interviews after Pulver, 35, left cage at WEC 41 where he lost via guillotine choke against Josh Grispi. He admitted that his financial situation would probably force him to fight on. Pulver got emotional in the cage, giving the throat slash sign to signify the end of his career, and tossed his gear into the Arco Arena crowd.

You can follow the progress of the film @drivenfilm. 

Anyone notice those longer lines at airports around the country? Returning from Washington D.C. and Ultimate Fight Night 20, my first experience at Dulles proved to be a show of inefficiency. But it’s all in the name of safety, right?

MMA fighter Kit Cope put TSA to the test on a trip to Tulsa and he claims they failed. You can’t bring on that big tube of toothpaste or the 6 oz. Old Spice, but those brass knuckles? You’re good to go. Wow!

Cope is in Tulsa for an interesting fight card that includes plenty of UFC veterans. Houston Alexander (9-5, 2-4 UFC), who many thought ran from the challenge of Kimbo Slice during the season 10 "Ultimate Fighter Finale," is already back in action. He’ll take on Joey Beltran. Jeff Monson (31-9, 3-1 UFC) is on the card, as is Jeremy Horn (89-13-1, 6-6 UFC). Rich Clementi (34-15, 5-4 UFC) fights Mike Budnik (7-3, 1-3 WEC). Former UFC light heavyweights Jason Lambert (23-11, 4-4 UFC), trying to snap a five-fight losing streak, and Tim Boetsch (9-3, 2-2 UFC) also are featured in separate bouts. I’m also rooting for 110-pounder Amber "The Crazy Bitch" Powell against Tammy Schneider.

5150 Fights are Saturday night at The Spirit Bank Events Center in Tulsa. Keep an eye out for ring girl Misti.

The news of Abu Dhabi and its UFC purchase has come fast and furious. The UAE government now owns 10 percent of the fight promotion and an Apr. 10 event has been rumored for months. It makes sense and there seems to be plenty of money in Abu Dhabi to draw a nice crowd. One problem, where are they going to watch these fights? That seems to be a huge unanswered question.

Dana White told AOL FanHouse that Abu Dhabi was building an arena. Really? The rumored event, that already includes B.J. Penn-Frank Edgar and Renzo Gracie-Matt Hughes, is less than 12 weeks away and they’re "building" an arena? That would have to set a record for the fastest arena construction in world history. Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole told ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas that the Apr. 10 date for an Abu Dhabi card is still very much up in the air.   

One source with the UFC suggested that the arena notion is puzzling and the only other possibility is holding the fights outside. That could be an interesting proposition with the average April temperature in Abu Dhabi sitting at a steamy 102 degrees. Yahoo! Sports’ Dave Meltzer has the backup plan if the card falls through:

The front-runner location for this card is Abu Dhabi, but backup locations
including Dublin and Manchester and Newcastle, England, are in discussion if the
Abu Dhabi deal isn’t finalized.

A U.K. source said Dublin may be the only real possibility. The 02 Dublin Arena served as a great venue for UFC 93.

Iole also mentioned Las Vegas as a backup for UFC 112 but that could be complicated by the fact that Strikeforce is also looking at Sin City on Apr. 10 or 17 at the Thomas & Mack Arena for its CBS card. He said Strikeforce needs to hustle and get in its promoter license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, a process that takes a minimum of 4-6 weeks. 

Iole estimated that the Flash Entertainment/UFC deal was in the $125 million range. He also stated that UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said none of the money can or will be diverted to his struggling gaming company Station Casinos. 

He’s part fighter, part pitch man. Herschel Walker is making the media rounds in New York Wednesday and Thursday. That was after doing so in Miami on Tuesday on 790 The Ticket (Audio) and WQAM (Audio). The 47-year-old Heisman Trophy winner, who makes his MMA debut Jan. 30 in Sunrise, Fla., has been all over television and radio. There’s more to come the week of the fight which by no accident was placed the day before the Pro Bowl and the arrival of the participants in Super Bowl 44.

Walker participated in a press conference with his trainer Javier Mendez (American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose). He also appeared on the Howard Stern Show and Fox & Friends (Video).

Thursday, he hits ESPN:

Thursday, Jan. 14 on ESPN First Take on ESPN2 at 11:40 a.m. ET/8:40 a.m. PT

Thursday, Jan. 14 on ESPNews at 2:10 p.m. ET/11:10 a.m. PT

Thursday, Jan. 14 on The Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio and ESPN2 at 3:25 p.m. ET/12:25 p.m. PT

Let’s hope they can match Cagewriter’s brilliant conversation with Walker just before Strikeforce: Evolution.

The media tour is working. Walker is the fifth most searched topic on Yahoo! as of 5:15 p.m. ET. That said, is anyone else hoping that this doesn’t turn into a complete PR disaster for MMA on fight night?  

The UFC is steaming toward its debut on Versus with a very solid co-main event combination. Brandon Vera and Jon Jones meet at light heavyweight and UFC.com announced heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Gabriel Gonzaga will square off. Also featured are John Howard-Anthony Johnson and Eliot Marshall-Eliot Matyushenko. The March 21 card is going to be one of the first events at the newly renovated The Odeum in Broomfield, Colo. 

This is wonderful but there’s still one huge issue to resolve, DirectTV’s snubbing of Versus. That’s a huge deal in a city like Las Vegas where most bars and restaurants use DirectTV and love holding UFC viewing parties. That’s a lot of eyes to ignore. There’s already considerable outrage in Sin City because the Mountain West Conference was dumb enough to place some of its games on Versus, meaning the city’s only real team, UNLV men’s basketball, is unavailable on television several times each season at those same meeting places.

SI.com Josh Gross tweeted earlier Wednesday that he’s hearing the DirectTV-Versus situation will be resolved by March. If you’re an MMA fan, you’d better hope that’s true. Versus is slated for lots of fights in 2010:

"Currently our deal (with Versus) is seven fights," WEC’s Peter Dropick told MMAJunkie.  "That doesn’t mean we can’t do more, but we’re guaranteeing them seven fights, which is, we felt in our discussions with Versus, a good number. The UFC has two events on Versus, as well, so they’re going to be carrying nine fight cards within our family."

Tickets for UFC on Versus 1 go on sale Saturday. Dos Santos (pictured on the left) and Gonzaga were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 108.  

Kimbo Slice came out of hiding for an trip to Las Vegas last week. If you follow @kimboslice on Twitter you know he played a little chess, then hopped on a Cessna with "Kimbro," hung with his paisans at Nove Italiano at the Palms and then made an appearance at the AVN Awards show.

The screengrab on the right via SportsbyBrooks is from a 2008 video where Kimbo taught MMA to adult stars from Reality Kings. 

Anyone else assuming that Kimbo isn’t training his stamina, footwork and submission defense six days a week right now? 

Airplane photo via Twitter.com/kimboslice and Nove Italiano photo from N9NE Group