Author: Steve Cofield

The UFC battened down the hatches yesterday after Frank Mir’s comments on a Pittsburgh radio show.

"I want to break [Lesnar’s] neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that
dies due to Octagon-related injuries."

Apparently, everyone didn’t get the message or memo to shut the heck up about the situation. Without seeing or hearing the comments, Mir’s opponent at UFC 111, Shane Carwin, lost it to a certain extent on Mir.

"I can tell you that ANY athlete wishing death upon a competitor is either
a terrible human being or mentally unfit to fight," Carwin told the U.K.’s MMABay. "That type of talk and if it
ever happened will take this sport backwards. Frank has been a part of the
stone ages of MMA and it makes no sense why he would want or make comments that
might damage a lot of the good HE has participated in adding to this sport over
the years."

No word yet on whether the Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control
Board,  Nick Lembo will demand that Mir be put through a battery of tests to determine his mental fitness.

Carwin went on to say think what you want about Lesnar, but he’s still a human being.

"Brock is a heel in the ring but at home he is a human, husband, father
and friend to many. Wishing death or harm upon him doesn’t serve any purpose. I will do my best to make Frank’s dream of fighting Brock come true,
unfortunately for them it will be a three round fight as I plan on winning both
of those belts."

Now to the subject of "die," "kill" and "murder" being part of fighters’ vernacular.

Thinking back, we’re finding plenty of examples where fighters have employed this kind of language. B.J. Penn on several occasions including screaming "You’re dead" at Sean Sherk in the Octagon. Penn also said he would "kill" Georges St. Pierre during the extended Countdown to UFC 94 series. A Penn opponent, Kenny Florian talked about "killing" the master in the Octagon when asking for a UFC lightweight title fight. Then there’s Lesnar, who went a step further actually using the word "murder" before UFC 100:

"I’m gonna murder him," Lesnar told Maxim. "I count the days
and the nights before I get to do that."

Sounds like this is simply a case of Mir’s comments being blown up nationally and Lesnar’s staying off the radar. The argument against that would be referencing Dana White’s own words when he said Herschel Walker in the UFC would be the first "death" in MMA.

That got plenty of publicity on the front page of Yahoo! But there was no apology in that instance. 

Thanks to Watch Kalib Run for the Maxim quotes

Everyone wants in the UFC. From former baseball sluggers with little fight experience to boxers to will 81 pro fights under their chubby belts. Dana White has to manage the fine line between promoting a legitimate sport and ticket/pay-per-view sales. Sure heavyweight boxer James Toney would sell PPV’s but would an appearance in the Octagon turn into a complete circus?

Cagewriter caught up with the season 10 "Ultimate Fighter" champ, Roy Nelson, who is all about promotion and star-power. 

"He’s definitely worth watching the fight once or twice," said Nelson. "But I think it’s how Dana says, he doesn’t want a freak show [but] I think a lot of people would pay to see [Toney fight]."

Nelson fights at 264 pounds while Toney’s last fight was around 217. He would be a tiny heavyweight by MMA standards. For the last six years, the IBA heavyweight champ has averaged around 230 on fight night. That said, he probably needs to be down at light heavyweight in MMA. 

"205 would be a better spot for him for the pure fact that they like to bang. Heavyweight fighters, they like to wrestle. It’s a double-edge sword versus a one-edge sword."

Off camera, Nelson mentioned the real reason he thinks Toney would never be in the UFC and that’s the issue of managing the fighters from a public relations standpoint. We just saw the PR nightmare that the UFC and Frank Mir put themselves through yesterday. The organization also likes to keep its money and other dealings under wraps. Do you think for one second that Toney is going to listen to anyone or play by the rules? It’s a risk versus reward scenario. How much is Toney worth in long term promotion and PPV sales if he only fights once or twice? 

Toney first popped onto the MMA scene when he crashed the postfight press conference after UFC 108. He’s had at least one sit down with White after which he said the offer made by the UFC was "chump change."

Frank Mir opened a can of worms with his comments about wanting to break Brock Lesnar’s neck. He also said he wanted Lesnar to be first death in the Octagon. His boss Dana White reacted in his typical short, sweet and explosive fashion. 

"Mir is a [expletive] idiot! I have never heard something so unprofessional and idiotic in my life," White told Carmichael Dave of KHTK in Sacramento.

I know what you’re thinking. White doesn’t exactly have a clean slate when it comes to offending people. You’ll remember last April, he got in some hot water for a rant that was deemed by some to be homophobic and sexist. 

UPDATE: Here we go! In this day and age of ridiculous and unnecessary apologies it sounds like Mir is about to fall in line. Dave spoke with Mir’s wife Jennifer, who made these comments.

"Frank will be making a statement this afternoon from the UFC headquarters.
Frank is disturbed by the reaction to his comments regarding Brock Lesnar. Frank
is a warrior and an ambassador for this sport. After his statement, he will not
be speaking about Brock again, and will choose to instead focus on his next
opponent, Shane Carwin."

Read Dave’s reaction to this fiasco on the KHTK website. 

UPDATE II: The apology is here at UFC.com.

Dana White:

"I was disappointed by Frank Mir’s comments. Frank’s been with the UFC a long
time, he’s a two-time heavyweight champion and a commentator for the WEC. I
think his emotions are running high right now, he has a big fight coming up next
month and he’s still upset about his loss to Lesnar.  He’s been talked to, he
regrets what he said, and he won’t be saying anything like that again."

Frank Mir: 

"I would like to apologize to Brock Lesnar,
his family, the UFC and the UFC fans for my stupid remarks. I
respect Brock, all the other fighters, and the sport of mixed martial arts. I’m
sorry that I stepped out of line."

Frank Mir is dynamite for the sport. His talent in the cage in undeniable and he’s got the "it" factor outside the cage. Simply stated, his chops put him amongst the elite. Mir trash talks but there’s an air of smugness when he does it. But every once in a while a trash talker can overdo it and put his foot in his mouth. Chael Sonnen got nabbed right before UFC 109 when he was praising Mark Coleman during the prefight press conference just two weeks after calling the guy a bum on MMAWeekly Radio.

Mir lost his mind late last week on a Pittsburgh radio show.

There’s no doubt that Mir hates Brock Lesnar. He’s stated it many times that Lesnar took the quick road to the UFC heavyweight title, is short on technical ability and worst of all, he behaves like a pro wrestler. This is where Mir moves into "pot calling the kettle black" territory.

During the conversation on The Mark Madden Show on WXDX in Pittsburgh, when asked if the dislike for Lesnar is genuine Mir again explained why he thinks the champ is bad for the sport (1:57 mark).

"He doesn’t like me and I can guarantee, you talk to anybody in my family, it’s
a legitimate hate. His very being bugs me just because
I’ve seen a lot of children out there who look to athletes and martial artists
as role models, and it just makes me cringe. I sit there and go, ‘Man, I lost to
this guy the second time around and now people think that’s the way to be — be
big, obnoxious and angry.’ That’s not right. We have anger toward each other.
Everything I stand for he despises and dislikes, and I can tell you I truly do
not like him as a person whatsoever."

Sounds familiar. Mir has said that on many occasions. But for some reason Mir became the guy he dislikes so much. Completely unprovoked at the end of the interview when being asked why he has so many fans, Mir went Mike Tyson on Lesnar (4:05 mark).

"A lot of individuals are so worried about being politically correct, I’d rather go ahead and say
what’s on my mind than to sit there and come up with some PC ‘Oh, the guy is a
great fighter and I have a lot of respect for him.’ If I don’t mean it, why is
it even coming out of my mouth? … I want to fight Lesnar. I hate who he is as
a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first
person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That’s what’s going through my
mind."

Tyson saying he wanted eat Lennox Lewis’ children shocked some but eventually it blew over and only added to his bad ass mystique. And what Mir said probably isn’t the best thing for a growing sport that again was recently labeled "Bloodsport" by some Aussie media members. UFC president Dana White is one of the most politically incorrect and anti-establishment guys in sports, but even he may cringe at Mir’s "die in the Octagon" comment. Don’t forget White has ripped fighters like Lesnar, Paul Daley and Dan Henderson for going overboard with their postfight antics and trash talk.

Now the question is, does Mir need to be publicly disciplined or apologize?

That’s easy for me. If he doesn’t mean it, don’t bother. In era of phony, disingenuous mea culpas, the last thing MMA needs to do is jump on that bandwagon. Luckily the sport is still undercovered and underpromoted, so this won’t blow up much. If Randy Moss, Pedro Martinez or Kevin Garnett says something like this, they get reprimanded and fined. That’s always been a ridiculous policy by the big three — MLB, NFL and NBA. Athletes are entitled to speak like jackasses. It’s up to the viewing audience and consumer to ultimately decide their long term fate. For me, Mir went overboard. Oh well. As long as he doesn’t want kill me the next time I interview, I feel comfortable. 

But we do have to point out Mir’s stance on not being "PC" is ridiculous. At the end of the interview he sounded identical to why he and many others hate Lesnar.

Bottom line, it’s all good for the sport. Sure if you’re Jay Mariotti or Skip Bayless, get your panties in a bunch. But we all know those guys are huge hypocrites who are often more boorish to their own co-workers than Mir would ever be to another fighter or fan. For the most part, boxing’s biggest stars over the years, have been bullies and trash talkers. Deal with it. It’s no different in MMA.

Listen here for the entire interview. 

Thanks to WXDX for the audio

The man is a lightning rod. Always has been, always will be. Jose Canseco’s ability to speak his mind, added to his off the charts athleticism made him a worldwide star when he played baseball from 1985-2001. At 6-foot-4, 240-lbs. Canseco still stands out in the crowd. Now that baseball and his history as a performance enhancing drug user are behind him, the 45-year-old Canseco has become a bit of a star in social networking circles. His demands for an MMA fight against Herschel Walker blew up two weeks ago on the web. No shocker, Canseco was chided, mocked and greeted with anger from fans of the sport.  

"I get criticized for anything I do," Canseco told Cagewriter. "If I breath wrong, I get
criticized … no matter what I do negative or positive. If you look at
our world, it’s a world of critique."

We caught up with Canseco while he was playing softball at the Big League Dreams softball complex in Las Vegas, and even amongst a few hundred fans and softball players, he drew plenty of attention. Most people consider Canseco to be off the grid now, yet he already has over 325,000 followers on Twitter. The former slugger said it’s proof of his drawing power and that MMA’s biggest promotion, the UFC could use him. 

"If you really think about it, we’re getting more coverage than all of
their UFC fighters combined, especially on Twitter."

On sheer numbers, Canseco is correct. Two of the UFC biggest names, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, only boast 84,000 followers combined. That’s a low number in comparison to Canseco especially consider Liddell just finished a stint on Dancing With The Stars and Ortiz was a cast member during a season of Celebrity Apprentice.

"I think the UFC could
be expanded that way. They’re in a win-win situation because they’re
going to get a lot more fans."

Most people view this as a publicity stunt trying to piggy back off of Walker’s amazing journey to a professional MMA win at the end of January. 

"You’re wrong. I was doing it before Herschel. I think it would be a
perfect match. We are individual athletes that were great at what we
did. Why can’t we transcend it to another arena. It’s more of a
celebrity, entertainment type deal. It’s a lot of fun. Why not do it?"

MMA is violent and very dangerous if you’re not matched up properly. It’s also a sport that leans on virtues like respect, discipline and hard work. Canseco is 1-1-1 in three exhibition boxing matches and lost his only professional MMA fight, but he says this is different. He’s never been healthy. He claims, he feels better after suffering from knee and shoulder ailments, and that he’ll be a different fighter with three months of training under renowned MMA guru Cesar Gracie in Northern California. 

"Why not do it if you’re capalbe of doing it? I was a professional athlete, the best baseball player in the world at one point. The need to stay young, the need to stay active, the need to compete [are all reasons]. I think you want to try every sport possible just to experience life."

Canseco said his agent Mike Keck spoke with Walker’s handlers and they said the former NFL star would not fight him. Canseco believes it’s a negotiating ploy and there’s a "great possibilty" of a fight, one that fans will want to see.

"We would not go in there unless we’re properly trained. With [Gracie’s]
training, with them behind you, with their support, you’re gonna see a
real good fight."

Canseco again claimed that he did meet two weeks ago at a San Jose restaurant with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Walker fought under the Strikeforce banner and it’s most likely the only promoter he would fight for if he did eventually step into a cage against Canseco. 

The Aussies are nothing like the Germans. At least, when it comes to their love of mixed martial arts. We know that from the prefight and more importantly, the postfight reaction to UFC 110 in Sydney. Some of the German media employed scare tactics before UFC 99 and then focused on a bloody picture of Stefan Struve, to paint the event in a negative light. The Aussie media seemed enthused to cover UFC 110 and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole even pointed out that they went a bit overboard during the card, saying along press row they openly rooted for and high-fived Australian fighters.

UFC 110 was a brutal card at times. Brian Foster had his knee popped by a Chris Lytle kneebar while Anthony Perosh and Stephan Bonnar suffered huge gashes that spurted blood. Paul Kent from The Telegraph took it all in stride, describing the injuries without sensationalizing them and these things are part of the sport. 

Similarly, it was in the gash that ran down the forehead of Anthony Perosh, a
gash so deep his opponent Mirko Cro Cop could have lost his elbow in it. It was in all of that … this threat of violence that finally became real
when the UFC finally arrived in Sydney yesterday.

But there seemed to be a few discrepancies in the story as well like describing the tooth that C.B. Dolloway lost. As you can see in the photo by Tracy Lee, Dolloway is claiming he didn’t loose one of his chompers.

There’s also the business of the UFC returning to Australia. Dana White was asked about the possibility of Melbourne next. White said he was open to it and they’d consider it. Kent points out nicely though that it may be difficult because MMA isn’t licensed in Melbourne. Iole told Cagewriter that if it’s not Sydney again, Perth will host the next fight. He was told point blank by UFC Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik, that Perth would be the spot.  

During his postfight conversation with Cain Velasquez, UFC analyst Joe Rogan captured the moment saying, "to be a legend, you have to beat a legend." Velasquez is now on the fast track to a UFC heavyweight title shot after taking out veteran Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in less than three minutes. Even more impressive was the way the former Arizona State wrestler did it. The 27-year-old made "Big Nog" look slow and landed anything he wanted with kicks and punches.

A three-punch combo started the trouble for Nogueira. He got drilled by a left, a right hook/uppercut and then a left bounced off the top of his head as he was falling to the canvas. A great fighter has to have a killer instinct and there’s no questioning Velasquez’s thirst for blood. He pounced on the grounded Nogueira and landed five clean punches in what seemed like two seconds. Nogueira was stunned, referee Herb Dean had to jump in and stop the fight at 2:30 of the first giving Velasquez a win in the main event of UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia. 

"I just tried to keep focused," a subdued Velasquez told Rogan. "And when I got in good position, try to beat him to the punch."

UPDATE: Velasquez got the $50,000 knockout of the night bonus. He probably edged out fellow ASU grappler Ryan Bader for the honor. Bader blasted out Keith Jardine earlier in the evening.

Velasquez has made his living brutalizing people on the ground but that’s a dangerous proposition with the submission abilities of Nogueira (32-6-1, 3-2 UFC). He was so proficient with his striking that never had to take that risk. 

"We were planning on pushing the pace. We could work the standup and when the takedown was there take it," said Velasquez (8-0, 6-0 UFC).

Velasquez did break momentarily from his usual stoic nature.  Just after the fight, with blood trickling down his face, he celebrated B.J. Penn-style by licking the plasma from his hands.  

The win holds plenty of significance. Beyond beating someone who’s carried the MMA heavyweight torch since the late 90’s, this was a fight between the No. 3 and No. 4 big boys in the UFC. Back in January when UFC heavyweight king Brock Lesnar annoucing that he was returning from an intestinal disorder, the winner of this fight was promised a spot as the alternate to face him sometime during the summer. Velasquez will get an immediate shot at Lesnar only if the winner of Frank Mir-Shane Carwin, next month at UFC 111, suffers an injury that makes him unable to fight for the belt. 

From the opening seconds, there were signs of trouble for the 33-year-old Nogueira. He was holding his hands low and not moving side-to-side. The stationary target, made "Big Nog" an easy target for kick-punch combinations from Velasquez. The lethargic defense was very remiscent of his troubles against Frank Mir. But this time there is no "staph infection" excuse to fall back on.  

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One punch can derail a career. It’s exactly what happened to hot shot prospect George Sotiropoulos during Season 6 of "The Ultimate Fighter" when the Aussie was upset by Tommy Speer. After an eye poke, Speer knocked him out, but it didn’t stop things completely for Sotiropoulos. He went back to work, fought through some injuries, posted three more wins and tonight he officially sent word to the MMA world, that he’s a quick riser to be reckoned with by beating veteran Joe Stevenson at his own game. Sotiropoulos outgrappled Stevenson for the better part of 15 minutes to pick up a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all cards, at UFC 110 in Australia. Steveson was a minus-240 favorite in Las Vegas sportsbooks. 

"That was a very close fight," Sotiropoulos told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "I know I won the striking and the ground. I was very aware of his submissions [but] I didn’t feel in danger at anytime. It was second nature."

UPDATE: Stevenson and Sotiropoulos got the $50,000 fight of the night bonus. 

For Stevenson, it was loss No. 5 in the UFC but he’s never been outgrappled like this. Sotiropoulos dominated the first round. In the second, Stevenson scored a takedown but the Aussie immediately thwarted his offense by working an omoplata. When the fight was standing, Sotiropoulos (12-2, 5-0 UFC) picked apart Stevenson with beautiful counter right hands. "Joe Daddy" would whiff with wild left hooks and get belted across the chin. Sotiropolous also landed his best punch, a left hook, in the first minute of the final round.  

Sotirpoulos missed out on that TUF 6 Finale. Speer fell quickly to the show winner Mac Danzig, who is just 2-3 in the UFC.

Anthony "The Hippo" Perosh deserves lots of credit for stepping up on short notice but the Australian didn’t have enough to pose any threat to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the first fight of the pay-per-view portion of UFC 110. The ringside doctor stopped the fight between the second and third rounds because of a huge gash on Perosh’s forehead.

Cro Cop (26-7-2, 3-3 UFC) got back on the winning track with the dominant win. He showed a solid gas tank and excellent takedown defense. He stuffed 10 different takedown attempts by Perosh. In most cases, Cro Cop sat down on the Aussie and inflicted more damage with Perosh in the turtle position. When Cro Cop did enter Perosh’s guard late in the second round, he delivered the left elbow that bounced off of Perosh’s head and busted him open.

Perosh (10-6, 0-3 UFC) got a huge ovation at Acer Arena in his hometown of Sydney. During his postfight conversation with UFC analyst Joe Rogan, Cro Cop also thanked him for stepping in for his original opponent Ben Rothwell. Rothwell ducked out of the fight on Wednesday suffering from a stomach flu.  

Krzysztof Soszynski escaped a tough one with a shaky blow that ripped open a huge gash on Stephan Bonnar’s head. The Canadian was awarded a TKO victory at 1:04 of the third round in the final undercard fight at UFC 110. Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole reported that it did not appear to be the result of a clean Soszynski strike.

Bonnar took another loss on his record, but this one was perhaps undeserved. He was cut wide open on the top middle of his forehead by a head butt in the third round as he and Krzysztof Soszynski were each throwing a punch.

Soszynski had been in control of the fight and got the win when referee John Sharp ruled the cut was caused by a punch.

"I was feeling strong in the third round and I was excited to keep going," Bonnar said. "Sorry guys: I wanted to give you a few more minutes of entertainment."

But Soszynski (19-9, 4-1 UFC) was very impressive and was frequently beating Bonnar to the punch.

Bonnar has lost three straight and 5-of-7. Under normal circumstances, he may in jeopardy of being dumped from the UFC roster. The circumstances of this decision keeps him in a safe position. Bonnar (11-7, 5-6 UFC) also has a special place in Dana White’s heart. The UFC president often points to the Spike television battle between Bonnar and Forrest Griffin on the Season 1 "Ultimate Fighter Finale" as the fight that saved the promotion back in 2005. 

Kevin Iole contributed to this report

James Te Huna stopped Igor Pokrajac at 3:26 of the opening round to the delight of the raucous sellout crowd, taking him down and pounding him out on the ground. Referee Steve Percival jumped in after giving Pokrajac a chance to fight back.

Pokrajac gave a thumbs up to the referee just before it was stopped, but Te Huna had mount and was raining down blows.

Pokrajac managed to hurt Te Huna at the end of the second round, blasting him with an elbow and then dropping with him a right.

Te Huna, though, recovered quickly and dominated the third. The New Zealander fighting relatively close to home in in Sydney, Australia is now 12-4 with wins in six straight. Pokrajac (21-7, 0-2 UFC), a former protege of Mirko Filipovic, has lost both of his UFC fights.

DOLLOWAY UPSETS RELJIC VIA SPLIT DECISION

While he was laid up with injuries, there was a lot of hype surrounding Croatian kickboxer Goran Reljic. C.B. Dolloway ignored all of it, A one-time wrestler at Arizona State, Dollaway did his best work on his feet, landing some hard shots.

But he had a difficult time with Reljic, who had several very good
submission attempts. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Dollaway.
Yahoo! Sports had it 29-28 for Reljic.

"I was real happy, because I wasn’t sharp at my last fight," Dolloway said. "Certain circumstances allowed me not to (be sharp), but I came back and showed the real C.B. Dollaway."

After an upset loss at UFC 100 versus Tom Lawlor, this makes two straight wins for Dolloway (10-2, 4-2 UFC). The runnerup on season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter" also cashed as a plus-150 underdog. The 6-foot-4 Reljic, who dropped from light heavyweight, is now 1-1 in the UFC. This was his first fight in nearly 21 months. 

WELTERWEIGHT GATEKEEPER LYTLE STOPS FOSTER

The underappreciated Chris Lytle did it again. Lytle, in his 16th UFC fight, scored a first-round finish of rising prospect Brian Foster. Lytle (27-17, 7-9 UFC), a fireman by trade, scored a kneebar at 1:41 of the first round. 

Foster had taken Lytle down and appeared to have gotten Lytle’s back. Lytle quickly went for the knee and forced Foster to tap.

UPDATE: Lytle picked up the $50,000 submission of the night bonus. Incredibly, this is the seventh time Lytle has received postfight honors.

"What a lot of people don’t know, I’ve been a ground guy a lot longer than I’ve been doing standup," Lytle said. "I try to keep it a secret and make them think I’m a standup guy. I have a pretty good ground game."

He said as soon as Foster took his back, he began thinking submission.

"That’s an old school move and a lot of the time, they don’t see it coming," Lytle said. If a guy takes my back, I immediately go for that knee."

Lytle’s last submission victory came in 2007 against Matt Brown.

Kevin Iole contributed to this report

The public loves Cain Velasquez to take the main event at UFC 110. Velasquez, 27, is taking his first big step up against top five welterweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. "Big Nog" is 33 but he’s got plenty of wear and tear on the treads. Tons of fighters from Frank Mir to Chael Sonnen rave about Velasquez as the future of the UFC heavyweight division. Bettors in Las Vegas have been listening.

At the Venetian Sportsbook, there’s been heavy action on Velasquez. Big Nog is still a slight favorite at minus-120. There’s also been plenty of play on another youngster, Ryan Bader. "Darth" is minus-160 over Keith Jardine, who enters having lost four-of-six fights.

Big action on the non-televised undercard has come on Brian Foster against UFC veteran Chris Lytle. Lytle opened as a 2-to-1 favorite but is now down to minus-150. The bettors also loved Goran Reljic and James Te Huna.  

Updated UFC 110 odds (Coutesy of the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino):

Cain Velasquez (OPEN: +105; CURRENT: -110) v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (OPEN: -135; CURRENT: -120) – Heavyweight

Michael Bisping (+115 to +130) v. Wanderlei Silva (-145 to -160) – Middleweight
George Sotiropoulos (+180 to +190) v. Joe Stevenson (-220 to -240) – Lightweight
Keith Jardine (+120 to +130) v. Ryan Bader (-150 to -160) – Light heavyweight
Mirko Filipovic (-550) v. Anthony Perosh (+375) – Heavyweight
Stephan Bonnar (+150) v. Krzysztof Soszynski (-180) – Light heavyweight
Brian Foster (+170 to +120) v. Chris Lytle (-200 to -150) – Welterweight
Goran Reljic (-180 to -250) v. C.B. Dolloway (+150 to +200) – Middleweight

James Te Huna (-115 to -155) v. Igor Pokrajac (-115 to +125) – Light heavyweight

Mike Swick made another trip to train in Thailand. Roger Huerta is in Phuket with the UFC welterweight. In this video, the fellas showcase some of the local customs from tumbling down a hill on a scooter, eating huge insects, relieving yourself in full view of a local market and best of all, trying to have your arm ripped off by a dude on a motorcycle. 

During football season in Las Vegas, it’s always wise to play against the squares. One-sided betting action on a fight usually means the casual fan’s favorite picks are the wrong choices. What happens tonight? The public is all over Cain Velasquez in his fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Yet the pro picks over at Sherdog tabbed Big Nog as the pick. Cagewriter spoke with both Frank Trigg and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who like Velasquez.

All the action from Australia kicks off around 8 p.m. ET here in the United States. We’ll try to get as many updates from the undercard as possible but we’ll roll out full coverage at the start of the pay-per-view card.

UFC 110 odds (Coutesy of the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino):
Recommended plays in bold

Cain Velasquez (+105) v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (-135) – Heavyweight
Michael Bisping (+115) v. Wanderlei Silva (-145) – Middleweight
George Sotiropoulos (+180) v. Joe Stevenson (-220) – Lightweight
Keith Jardine (+120) v. Ryan Bader (-150) – Light heavyweight
Stephan Bonnar (+150) v. Krzysztof Soszynski (-180) – Light heavyweight
Brian Foster (+170) v. Chris Lytle (-200) – Welterweight
Goran Reljic (-180) v. C.B. Dolloway (+150) – Middleweight

James Te Huna (-115) v. Igor Pokrajac (-115) – Light heavyweight

Here’s Iole and Cofield along with Brett Okamoto from the Las Vegas Sun with straight up picks regardless of the odds. You can also check out straight picks at Bloody Elbow and by the odds at MMAJunkie.  

Some fans thought it was matter of when, not if Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic would grab the UFC heavyweight title. A huge star with PRIDE
in Japan from 2000-2006, Cro Cop has gone just 2-3 in the UFC and now
because of his surly attitude he may be headed for the unemployment
line.

The Croatian was considered the No. 2 heavyweight in the
world when he joined the UFC at the start of 2007. He went just 1-2 in
his first three fights, including a loss to Cheick Kongo, who’s having
trouble beating any quality heavyweight in the UFC right now. After
some injuries and a three fights in Japan, Cro Cop returned in 2009
with what he said was a new attitude and plenty of motivation to repair
his reputation in the UFC.

The second go round hasn’t been too
hot either. Cro Cop beat Mostapha Al-Turk at UFC 99 and then right
after the fight word leaked that he had signed to return to Japan, a
move that infuriated UFC president Dana White, who said he got "[expletive]" by Filipovic.
Once cooler heads prevailed, Cro Cop returned again at UFC 103 and lost
via third round stoppage to rising heavyweight star Junior Dos Santos.

Cro
Cop is back on the docket tonight at UFC 110 against fill-in Anthony
Perosh. Some may think that he caught a break by avoiding Ben Rothwell,
who dropped off the card due to illness, and getting to face a blown up
light heavyweight in Perosh. That may not be correct. In some ways, Cro
Cop is now in a must-win situation. During an interview from Sydney,
Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole indicated UFC management isn’t thrilled with
the promotional cooperation they’ve been getting from Cro Cop. 

Iole was told by UFC president Dana White that Wanderlei Silva and Stephan Bonnar, will be with the the promotion for life. That’s not the case with Cro Cop. 

Breaking barriers and holding fights on new continents always comes with small risks for the UFC. UFC 110 is on tap tonight in Sydney, Australia and almost everything seems to have gone off without a hitch except for one small problem with Brian Foster at the weigh-in. The officials on hand almost cost Foster some money because of miscommunication when quickly converting weights from kilos to pounds. Foster missed weight by a kilo but wasn’t informed. In this video shot from Sydney, Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole indicated that before officials got to Foster he had quickly downed a six-inch sandwich from Subway and drank some water!

Foster did return later to drop the necessary weight and the fight against Chris Lytle is on. The kid deserves some kind of extra credit. Jared Fogle is packing on the pounds now, maybe it’s time for Foster to get an endorsement deal from Subway!    

The UFC bad luck with injuries/illness continued this week when the scheduled slugfest between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Ben Rothwell was ruined because of a stomach flu. Rothwell got sick in Australia, went to a hospital to receive fluids and couldn’t recover well enough to remain in the fight against Cro Cop. In fact, he left Australia and is already back in the United States.

The UFC searched for fill-in opponents on Wednesday but with so little notice, the promotion had to turn to a local fighter, Anthony Perosh.

Heavyweight kickboxing specialist Pat Barry was one guy considered. On Wednesday, he was asked by his trainer Duke Roufus if he was interested.   

"He asked me if I wanted to step up and take the fight," Barry told Cagewriter. "I said absolutely. I told them I would fly in the day of the fight and fight him in my jeans."

Barry (pictured next 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve) ran into a couple of issues, a work visa and his health. 

"I’d take it no matter what, but we were told I couldn’t get a work visa [in time]."

Barry, who like Cro Cop is making the transition from the world of K-1, was bummed that circumstances weren’t different.

"Of course I’d love to have that fight. If I had more notice that would’ve been awesome," said Barry. "I [expletive] wanted that fight so bad, bro. I told them ‘y’all don’t
even have to pay me. Really! All you have to do is send me a plane
ticket.’ Either way I win."

Barry’s health and conditioning were also issues. He just got medically cleared to train after a long recovery from a broken thumb (pictured on the right). Barry didn’t care.

"I haven’t trained in three months. I’ll fight the
dude in my jeans," Barry sounding like the WWE’s John Cena or Uncle Elmer. "I would’ve fought him while I’m fat."

Barry was the rage of the MMA blogosphere after his win over Antoni Hardonk at UFC 104. He received bonuses for fight of the night and knockout of the night and banked $130,000. Days after the win, Barry admitted that without the extra cash, because of a heavy debt load, he may have been homeless. He even said that he barely ate the week of the fight. Barry is happy to report that he’s paid off all his debt, put some money away to start a retirement plan and has been eating like a king. 

Barry is expected back in June. Rumors have it that he’ll face fellow striker Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115 in Vancouver. 

UFC 110 Official weights (Courtesy MMAJunkie):

Pay-per-view card:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (233.2 lbs.) v. Cain Velasquez (242
lbs.)
Michael Bisping (184.8) v. Wanderlei Silva (184.8)
George Sotiropoulos (154) vs. Joe Stevenson (154)
Ryan Bader (204.6) vs. Keith Jardine (204.6)
Mirko Filipovic (233.2) vs. Anthony Perosh (215.6)

Non-television undercard
Stephan Bonnar (204.6) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (204.6)
Brian Foster (171.6) vs. Chris Lytle (169.4)
C.B. Dollaway (184.8) v. Goran Reljic (184.8)
Igor Pokrajac (205) v. James Te Huna (204.6)

Now this is getting frustrating. Kudos to the UFC for trying expand internationally but the shakiness of the news cycle around UFC 110 in Australia is proving this is still a very big world. It came down yesterday that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic’s fight against Ben Rothwell could be down the drain. That was until veteran Aussie fighter Anthony Perosh stepped up to fight Cro Cop. Rothwell backed out because he’s been fighting a stomach flu.

Now there’s the odd news that Cro Cop suffered a cut over one of his eyes during training this week. He refused to bow out of the match, got it stitched up and will fight tomorrow.  

Cagewriter tracked down Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole (pictured) who filled us in on some of the details. Yahoo! spoke with UFC Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik, who said he was unaware of any Cro Cop cut.

Iole also cleared up questions about allowing Perosh to serve as a last second replacement. Some blogs have written that this would have never been approved if there was a commission in Australia. There is a commission that regulates the fights in Sydney. Craig Waller of the New South Wales Commission deemed Perosh a credible fight. Perosh was in training and looks to be in fighting shape. In fact, his addition adds a good storyline since he was helping Igor Pokrajac get ready for his fight on this card. Pokrajac, a prospect in the his second UFC fight, was a student of Cro Cop until recently. 

There were also reports earlier today that Quinton Jackson and Randy Couture, both in Australia, were offered the fight.

MMAxion learned that the UFC offered Randy the fight and Couture but Rampage
Quinton Jackson, but both are understandably refused to fight Cro Copa without
any preparation.

There is no confirmation that either fighter was offered. The story seems preposterous considering Couture is less than two weeks removed from his fight at UFC 109 and Jackson is slated for a fight in late May against rival Rashad Evans and hasn’t been training. He also appears to be a beefy 225-230 pounds right now.

Perception is reality right? That’s not the case in the mixed martial arts. A fighter on an upswing isn’t always necessarily the better guy in a particular fight. UFC 110 is dotted with matches where fighters struggled at times in 2009 and are looking to right the ship against less experienced/accomplished competition.

Cain Velasquez, with just seven pro fights, steps way up to fight to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a veteran in his 39th fight. Several fighters have their backs against the wall. The UFC is extremely loyal but could it be the end of the road for Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva and Stephan Bonnar? The public is on the other side in all three of the fights featuring those guys. 

Check out Dave Farra from RawVegas.tv speaking with myself and Ben Fowlkes from Cage Potato. 

UFC 110 odds (Courtesy Venetian Resort Hotel Casino):
Recommended plays tomorrow following weigh-in results.