Okay, Oliveria/Lentz has officially been changed to a no contest.  Now, MMAplayground will give guys who picked Oliveria their points, regardless of the fact that the fight has just been changed.  Some of us want to stick with playground and some want to say forget that and add up our own.  Slippery slope... So what do we do?  I think we should stick with playground, but I have the most to lose here.  I would no longer be in 1st or get $20 for the last Versus event.  I think the only fair way to decide is to vote.  Just something to consider, if we do change this, we could also change hot bouts, underdogs, points, ect...  I thiink if we use playground, we stick to their rules, no cherry picking.

According to MMAJunkie these two have verbally agree to meet on the Versus card which is scheduled for June 26th from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It is expected to be the Main Event of the evening and Nate's first fight at 170. The card is also expected to feature Tyson Griffen and Joe Stevenson at 145 plus a good scrap between Martin Kampmann and John Howard. This is shaping up pretty good for a Versus card.

Props: Lifesports.ru

Quoteworthy:

"It seems to us that all isn't this simple and certain technologies might have been used - certainly, not the ones that would be visible to an open eye. Most likely, they were psychological technologies that influenced both fighters from the distance of the crowd. For this reason Fedor simply wasn't himself during fight. Fedor's behavior was very strange to me, and he did exactly the opposite of what we have practiced and discussed before the fight. All of us were in shock! He has never done or behaved this way before. We will wait a week or so, for things to calm down and afterwards we will try to figure out what has happened. However, I might add that the loss has not broken his psychological stability and Fedor will be more than ready to return to the ring. Because of the loss, he is ready to rip apart his next opponents and we will be training three times as much."

Questionable stoppage? Check. Antonio Silva eating the scale after weighing in on it? Check. "Psychological technologies" from the crowd at the IZOD Center? Apparently the Emelianenko camp is ready to check that off as well. In fact, they believe that could be the main culprit in Fedor Emelianenko's crushing encounter with "Bigfoot" in New Jersey on Feb. 12 in the opening leg of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix. The former PRIDE kingpin has made a career out of his mental stability and unflappable nature but the IZOD arena occupants seemingly turned the historically stoic Russian into a raving madman. Perhaps his altered state is to blame for his premature retirement talk ... but what will they blame if he loses again? Survivors of psychological technology are encouraged to respond ...

Here is a little video I saw on a local news channel that I thought you guys might want to watch.  It is really tough no to like this kid.  I know I will be rooting for him come next Thursday.  More words, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

http://www.todaystmj4.com/bloggers/lanceallan/111503584.html?video=pop&t=a&bctid=CLIP_ID_422049

Prior to UFC 121 Dana White had this to say about Diego Sanchez.

"I don't think Diego belongs at 170. I think it's easier to be at 170. He looked soft. He looked real lethargic and slow and heavy. [One] fifty-five, Diego. Fifty-five. He's a tough guy. I'm not his manager, but I think he should stay at 155. Listen, a loss to B.J. Penn doesn't mean you go back up to 170. It means you stay at 155 and you do what Kenny Florian did. You stay in there and keep grinding it out and beating the top guys, and you get back in line and work your way up to the top again. Diego does not look good at 170."

And after UFC 121 Dana White said basically the exact opposite.

"I love Diego Sanchez at 170 lbs., I think he's strong there" 

Here is a link to the video, it is at around the 6:30 mark.

http://www.mmamania.com/2010/10/24/1770833/ufc-121-video-recap-with-dana-white-on-cain-velasquez-brock-lesnar

Dana is full of shit, I think we all knew that.  It just gets really annoying at times and I wanted to call him out.  As for Diego Sanchez, I also like him at 170.  There are several good match ups for him there, Nate Diaz, Carlos Condit, rematch Jon Fitch, either way, I know I will be watching.

Looking at that Shinya picture I had a thought, in a sport where there is a lot of talk about respect, MMA has certainly seen its fair share of disrespectful/unsportsmanlike moments.  And I'm not talking about pre-fight trash talk, that is par for the course.  I'm talking about holding subs longer than necassary, landing those couple extra blows after a KO or flat out being an asshole to fans and fighters alike.  Now, these guys get in a cage and fight for a living, so I understand that shit happens and in the heat of the moment you may go a little too far, but somethings are just inexcusable.  Here are just a few I thought of, I'm sure there are more.  I'm not trying to rehash old arguments (although I may have) just bored and curious on a Friday.

I was having a debate today about Diego Sanchez and whether he is an elite fighter or not.  I happen to believe he is and a few set backs don't change that.  He has changed camps now and is back to Team Jackson which I believe is the best thing for him currently.  So I guess the real questions is what actually makes a fighter elite.  Is it the man who holds the belt?  Is it your record, ranking, or the competition you have beat?  Some may argue that even getting into the UFC would make you elite among thousands of hungry up and coming fighters.  What do you guys think?

Ok, there has been some pretty heated discussion this week following UFC 112.  Thought we needed to switch it up a bit.  MMA is the best sport in the world and is taken very seriously by the fighters and fans alike.  But everybody needs a good laugh every now and then.  Some of the funniest shit I have every seen has occured in or around this sport.  If I was as talented as some of you guys I would posts gifs, but unfortunatly I'm not, so I hope you guys will help out below.  What is the funniest thing you have seen or heard?  I have some personal favorites and I'm sure sure you guys do to.  Have fun...