"Condit's not got the athleticism or the wrestling to do what St. Pierre did to me. I think it's safe to say that St. Pierre also has better Jiu-Jitsu as well. Although he was able to take me down, and he was able to control me for the most part of the fight, he wasn't able to submit me. If you take Condit into account, he's not got the strength or the wrestling to take me down, and if it does get to the ground he's not got the ability to submit me either... I don't see what his options are in the fight. He certainly doesn't want to stand and trade with me because if he hits me I'll smile at him and if I hit him he's going to hit the deck. It's just a rough night for him. I don't see how he can win... Greg Jackson is notorious for enforcing the kind of game plans where people fight safe, do the right things and take low risks and try to just win the fight. Carlos is the kind of guy that does like to push the pace, he likes to work for a finish, and it's his tenacity that gets him into a lot of the fights. If working with Greg Jackson, he's put a game plan together and he no longer has that tenacity, then I don't really know what else he's got. He's not technical or powerful enough to win the fight in any other way... I'm thinking early second round knockout. I'm going to wear him down in the first round, and beat him up. At the start of the second round, I'm going to either catch him with a shot and he's going to be knocked unconscious or he'll go to the floor and I'm going to choke him out."

With UFC 120: "Bisping vs. Akiyama" quickly approaching, Dan Hardy has a precious few days left to verbally prod his co-main event opponent Carlos Condit. "The Outlaw" told The Independent that Condit isn't athletic enough or strong enough to control him the ways GSP did. Probably an accurate statement. Hardy also took a jab at Greg Jackson's game planning in suggesting that Jackson-trained fighters often take the safest route to victory. Another comment that seems likely. Dan closed things out with a friendly prediction of how the fight will end ... Hardy by KO in the 2nd. Will he be right about that last comment? Is Hardy too much for Condit to handle?

Some news that has seemingly snuck up on fights fans courtesy of The Wrestling Observer (via Bloody Elbow). Professional wrestler turned aspiring mixed martial artist Bobby Lashley's contract with Strikeforce has expired. The heavyweight is now in an exclusive negotiating period with Strikeforce.

Dave Meltzer with more details:

Bobby Lashley's contract has expired. Right now he's in the exclusive negotiating period, meaning he can't talk to anyone else in MMA, although his Strikeforce deal does allow him to do pro wrestling and he always expressed interest in going back. After the exclusive period ends, he can talk with other groups but Strikeforce would have the option to match any offers, although my understanding is Strikeforce hasn't expressed real interest in him after his loss to Chad Griggs. There has been no talk about Batista coming in of late and that fight only makes sense on CBS or PPV because of Batista's asking price. This is hardly the best time for him to be a free agent when his stock would be at a low point coming off his loss.    

Lashley is of course coming off an ugly loss to Chad Griggs at Strikeforce: "Houston," not exactly an ideal position to be in when trying to negotiate a new contract.

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Tickets for UFC 124, which today was made official for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Dec. 13, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 10 am.

UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption.

Headlined by Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck, UFC 124 is also expected to feature bouts between Thiago Alves and John Howard as well as Dustin Hazelett and Mark Bocek

Here is the UFC 124 tickets sales schedule:

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Brian Bowles just can't catch a break.

Pun absolutely intended.

The former WEC 135-pound champ broke his foot during training and has been forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Wagney Fabiano at WEC 52 next month according to MMA Weekly.

Bowles had been out of action since losing his crown to Dominick Cruz back in March when he suffered a broken hand that put a stop to his night.

The WEC is currently looking for a replacement for Bowles, but nothing has been announced at this time.

Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more on this developing story.

Welterweights Ricardo Almeida and T.J. Grant are in talks to compete at UFC 124: "Georges St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2" in Montreal on December 11 according to "Showdown" Joe Ferraro.

"Big Dog" was last seen in action against Matt Hughes at UFC 117. In a fight that many thought he would win, Almeida fell victim to a vicious front headlock from Hughes that put him to sleep.

It was Ricardo's second bout at 170 since dropping down from middleweight. He won his debut at the weight class against Matt Brown at UFC 111 via a 2nd round submission.

The Renzo Gracie-trained fighter also previously defeated Kendall Grove at UFC 101 last summer by way of unanimous decision.

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Christiane "Cyborg" Santos performs a rear-naked choke on her husband Evangelista.

Herschel Walker's naked body in mid-air after the jump:

HT: Bloody Elbow

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The Colorado Office of Boxing recently issued its list of medical suspensions for WEC 51: "Aldo vs. Gamburyan," which took place on Thursday, September 30, 2010, from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.

With six of the eleven bouts going to decision, only 8 of the 22 fighters were flagged for follow up visits with their doctors.

Ironically enough, 3 of the 4 fighters who face a possible 180-day suspension walked away victorious at WEC 51. Only Jamie Varner, who was brutalized by Donald Cerrone for three rounds, took an L on the night. Mike Brown, Antonio Banuelos and Mark Hominick will also be on the shelf for a while.

Brown injured his right wrist as he punished Cole Province. Banuelos hurt his left foot in his unanimous decision win over Chad George. And Hominick, who picked apart Leonard Garcia for 15 minutes, admitted that he came into the bout with a broken left thumb.

Here is the complete list of WEC 51 injuries and their medical instructions (via Sherdog):

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Props: The MMA Hour (via Versus.com)

Quoteworthy:

"To be honest with you, if you were to say, ‘What would be your dream fight for [Aldo]?' I think a dream fight for him, which I think would just be a fight that everyone would love to see, would be Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo. That fight to me is the fight that everybody would want to see simply just because, not to disrespect anybody at the 155-pound division to think that Jose has the right to go up there without fighting in it, I just think that, as their styles, the way they match up, it would be one of the greatest fights of all-time, I think. It has the potential to be, just because of their styles."

WEC featherweight wrecking machine Jose Aldo's manager Ed Soares brings a little music to all of our ears. With seemingly no challenge left for him in the WEC, Soares stated that a dream fight for Jose would be that of UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. Oh boy. If Frankie can avenge a previous loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 125, and Aldo disposes of yet another opponent, this contest could very well come to fruition. Jose has said in the past that he has hopes of owning three belts at once. A fight with Edgar would be a good place to start attaining that goal. So I ask you, who would take this match up? Frankie couldn't rely on a size advantage despite taking on a guy moving up in class, but he does have superior wrestling and great stand up himself. Tough bout to call. What say you?

"[In a perfect world Jamie Varner is next]. There's a couple other guys I'd like to fight though. [Chris] Horodecki would be nice, I'd like to stand and fight with him. But I really don't care. Whoever they [WEC} want. I'd like to fight in Las Vegas in 38 days if they let me. I just want to keep at it. I'm healthy. I just want to get after it again because I like money." 

Fresh off his dominant WEC 51 win against sworn enemy Jamie Varner last week, Donald Cerrone joined Larry Pepe of Pro MMA Radio to discuss amongst other things his future plans. "Cowboy" said that though in a perfect world a trilogy fight with Varner would be next, he's open to fighting other guys. One name Cerrone did mention was that of Chris Horodecki, who was victorious at WEC 51 himself taking home a split decision over Ed Ratcliff. Who's feeling that bout? What are some other fights would you like to see Donald take? Time to play matchmaker.

UFC light heavyweight veterans Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin appear to be heading toward a Super Bowl Weekend showdown at UFC 127 on February 5 in Las Vegas.

MMA Fighting brought word of the pending match up today.

Griffin has sat out all of 2010 after undergoing shoulder surgery this past spring.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 winner most recently defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 106 last November via split decision. Forest was scheduled to meet Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 earlier this year but was forced to pull out of the contest due to the aforementioned shoulder injury.

A win over the always tough Franklin could catapult Griffin back towards the top of the 205-pound class.

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 Looks tasty.

 HT: URDirt.com

Props: MMA Fighting

Quoteworthy:

"I'd have them fight every show, the way these guys fight. I'm telling you, that was an absolutely exciting, outstanding fight. And I'd love to see it again. But I'll sit down with Sean Shelby next week and we'll talk about it."

Sounds like a third fight between Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner will indeed take place in the future if WEC General Manager Reed Harris has anything to say about it. Questions is, do you want to see it? Varner took the first bout via split decision when the fight was stopped in the fifth round after Jamie ate at knee to the eye, allegedly, which prevented him from continuing. Last night at WEC 51, "The Cowboy" won a convincing decision evening up the rivalry at one win apiece. The third fight would likely take place at WEC 53 in Varner's home state of Arizona if it is agreed upon. Who wants to see these arch enemies run it back one more time?

"We are rivals I guess, definitely if you would have asked me six years ago if I liked Matt Hughes I would probably have said no but if you asked me now I would probably say that there's not - I mean, I have closer friends, we're not close - but there's not anything I wouldn't do for Matt Hughes if he asked me. Time heals all wounds, time changes things and I have got no animosity towards Matt Hughes whatsoever. What I do have to do is go out and beat the sportsman named Matt Hughes and that's what I am prepared to do."

Well so much for a grudge match. BJ Penn told Fighters Only that his feelings towards Matt Hughes have changed over the years. What once was a bitter rivalry between the two former UFC champions now seems no more. With their trilogy fight set for UFC 123 on November 20 in Detroit, Michigan, "The Prodigy" makes it clear that emotions won't have much of a role in the contest. Penn even goes so far as to say that there isn't anything he wouldn't do for Hughes. Say what? You surprised by these comments? Do you believe that in this case, like BJ states, time heals all wounds?

 You buying what Sonnen is selling?

 HT: Fight Hub TV

 Cool. Super cool.

 HT: Bloody Elbow

And you might be surprised by who "Showtime" beat out to get on the show:

"The WEC recommended a couple fighters to MTV, had a couple guys send in tapes, and they chose me out of I think four other guys. I know Urijah Faber was one of them, I forget who else ... Jenks said my show was one of the best they did. They followed me for about 12 days. One of my closest friends, Pat Barry, and I were talking about the show and what wold happen if I got knocked out in the WEC and then it aired on MTV. Luckily it didn't end up that way. I haven't had a better knockout than that my whole career. It couldn't have gone better."

Newly-named WEC lightweight title contender Anthony Pettis has had a pretty good week. A couple days after being told he'd be challenging Ben Henderson for 155-pound gold, more than two million people tuned in to MTV's "World of Jenks," a show that documented the lead up to his fight with Danny Castillo at WEC 47. "Showtime" told Larry Pepe on Pro MMA Radio that he actually got the nod over WEC poster boy Urijah Faber to be filmed. Thoughts on the show? Despite the incorrect spelling of Pat Berry, er, Barry, did you enjoy it? Any newfound Pettis fans out there?

The UFC 119 pay-per-view event took in a live gate of $1,588,163 on September 25 from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, according to official figures released today by the Indiana Gaming Commission per MMA Weekly.

The final attendance of 15,811 was a result of 13,783 tickets sold and 2,028 comped tickets. These numbers equate to an average ticket price of $115.23.

UFC 119 will likely be remembered as one of the promotion's least entertaining shows due to the lackluster main event between Frank Mir and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, a fight that saw Mir KO the Croatian with just a minute left in the final frame after the two heavyweights fought to a virtual stalemate prior to the finish.

For a complete recap of UFC 119: "Mir vs. Cro Cop" results, click here and here.

We knew it was coming. Now we know when.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 will take place at UFC 125 on January 1 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And this time it's for the title.

MMA Fighting broke the news earlier today.

Edgar is of course coming off of shocking the world, again, when he defeated BJ Penn for a second time this year at UFC 118 last month, asserting himself as the undisputed UFC lightweight champ.

The New Jersey native has only one loss on his record, it just happens that it came to his new challenger to the 155-pound thrown, Gray Maynard.

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"Semtex" vs. "Hands of Steel." That has a nice ring to it.

After Scott Smith had apparently signed on the dotted line to face Jesse Finney on December 4 in St. Louis at Strikeforce: "Henderson vs. Babalu," the powers that be have had a change of heart and matched up the free-swinging fighter with another slugger, Paul Daley.

Can't say I blame them.

The promotion confirmed the match up earlier today.

"Semtex" recently defeated Jorge Masvidal at Shark Fights 13 by unanimous decision and Daniel Acacio via submission at Impact FC 2, making it back-to-back wins for the Brit since falling to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 earlier this year.

The match with "Kos" was also his last inside the Octagon -- thanks to a cheap shot he unloaded on the AKA wrestler out of frustration from losing in their number one contender bout.

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"Meathead" FTW!

Spike TV's broadcast of UFC 119's prelim fights garnered 1.3 million fight fans according to Sherdog, a number slightly up from UFC 118's prelims telecast in which 1.1 million viewers tuned in.

The show of course featured fights between Matt Mitrione and Joey Beltran plus C.B. Dollaway and Joe Doerksen. Viewers tuning in were also treated with the exciting first round submission victories for Sean McCorkle over Mark Hunt as well as Thiago Tavares against Pat Audinwood.

Mitrione and Beltran were awarded for their stand up slugfest in which Matt took home the unanimous decision with "Fight of the Night" honors along with Sean Sherk and Evan Dunham. Dollaway meanwhile won "Submission of the Night" as he locked in a guillotine choke against Doerksen in the first frame.

For a complete recap of UFC 119: "Mir vs. Cro Cop," click here.

"Let me put it like this, for anyone that played any level of football, in high school or whatever. My game plan is to run it up the middle, try to stop me. That's it. That's how I fight every time. I'm coming right at you win or lose. Nick Diaz is all over the place, to keep the football analogy going, he's out there running all these crazy plays. We'll see who's strategy works best come October 9."

Ah, a football analogy in detailing a game plan for a MMA fight, it doesn't get much better than that. On today's Strikeforce: "Diaz vs Noons 2" conference call, in which Nick Diaz chose to not participate because he doesn't believe in those type of things according to Cesar Gracie, KJ Noons talked about how he plans on beating the Strikeforce welterweight champ for a second time. KJ is coming right at Nick. Whether it's the right way to go about it remains to be seen. What's your take? Do you approve of Noons' strategy?

Props: MMA Weekly

Quoteworthy:

"I'm always the little guy and I'm always the underdog. I've been enjoying it lately, being a big underdog. So do my fans. I don't care. I can be a 10-to-1 underdog. Look what happened against Mike Brown... If they're comparing him to Anderson Silva, they should compare me with Fedor. If he's Anderson Silva, most definitely, I'm Fedor... I don't see any trouble. I know what he's going to do. He's going to throw a lot of knees, kicks, leg kicks, high kicks, low kicks. I know exactly his game plan. I got one plan only, just get that belt. That's it."

Manvil "The Anvil" Gamburyan faces the undeniably the toughest test of his career this Thursday night at WEC 51 in featherweight dynamo Jose Aldo. And while confidence is always a good thing to possess, it looks like Manny has enough self-belief for everyone on the main card. Is Gamburyan in trouble of coming into this title fight a little overconfident? Or, is his conviction in this type of bold claim something "The Anvil" will thrive off of come September 30?

The WEC lightweight title fight between Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis, which is set for December 16 in Arizona at WEC 53, now has company.

The promotion has announced that a second title fight will take place on the card, that of bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz vs. Scott Jorgensen.

Cruz was successful in his first title defense as he got by challenger Joseph Benavidez via split decision at WEC 50 last month. The 135-pound kingpin snatched the belt from the clutches of one-and-done champion Brian Bowles at WEC 47 back on March 6.

"The Dominator" has put together a seven-fight win streak since a submission loss to former featherweight champion Urijah Faber way back at WEC 26 in March 2007. 

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"I have no clue about Frank. To talk the stuff he does, and then fight like he fought, that's a little frustrating. Once "Cro Cop" stuffed his takedown attempt, his heart fell out on the floor. If Frank Mir can't bully you, his heart shrinks to the size of the Grinch's. If he can't take you down, his heart shrinks to the size of a pea."

Former UFC champ Frank Mir is neither hairy nor green. But according to Dana White, he does have something in common with one of Dr. Seuss' most memorable characters, the Grinch... they both have no heart. White told ESPN that once Mir realizes he can't bully around his opponent in the cage, his heart shrinks to the size of the aforementioned Christmas-time grouch's. Sure, his UFC 119 win over "Cro Cop" left a lot to be desired, but shouldn't a two-time champion of the UFC's heavyweight division be given a bit more credit by the promotion's president? Thoughts on these comments?

Props: Derek Bolender

Quoteworthy:

"Here's the thing you guys have got to understand. I've been in this business for 10 years. I've been in the fight business since I was 19. There's a lot of stuff you guys don't know. Every day, when my big toe hits the floor and I get out of bed, that sh*t happens.  I have to deal with it. It's no different than any other day. Am I disappointed? Yes, absolutely... The big misconception is that Dana tells the athletic commission this and that. I don't tell the athletic commission jack sh*t. The athletic commission could give a flying rat's a*s what I think or what I have to say. They oversee me. They tell me what I've got to do. I have to sit back now and see what's going to happen.

Every other sport has a commissioner. The NFL has a commissioner. When something goes wrong he comes in and says here's what's going to happen. The government tells my fighters what's going to happen to them. Every time these guys step inside the Octagon and compete the government is overseeing this. They drug test them. They do all the medical testing. They do everything. They tell me what's going to happen. The government will come in. They'll test these guys. You get yourself busted for taking whatever it was you were taking, marijuana, or some illegal substance. Here's what I'm going to do (if I'm the commission). I'm going to take away your ability to work for a year. You can't make a living for a year. Then on top of that I'm going to make you pay a fine from this fight you were having. Most of these fighters-that money that they had from their fight-that's already spent. I'm going to buy this and I'm going to do that. Plus, the tax on that money. They're going to get taxed on that money and they have to pay that fine. You don't realize how devastating it is. They've already been punished. They're down and out. What am I going to do? Go over and kick them in the face? What else is there to do? I'm going to fine you and suspend you for another three months? The government is the commissioner!"

We've heard from everyone and their mother on Chael Sonnen's failed drug test and the usage of PEDs in MMA over the last week or so. Everyone other than Dana White, until now that is. The UFC President spoke in length after UFC 119's pre-fight press conference about the issue at hand, and quite frankly, said what we all probably expected. Punishment of fighters who pop for PED use is not up to him, but up to the state's athletic commission in which the failed drug test occurs. Thoughts on White's comments? Is there anything more he can or should be doing to rid the sport of steroid use?

The WEC lightweight crown will once again be on the line as Ben Henderson is set to defend his title against Anthony Pettis.

MMA Weekly brought word of the the title bout earlier today, which is set to take place on December 16 in Arizona.

"Bendo" captured WEC gold in an interim title fight against Donald Cerrone last fall at WEC 43 and has yet to relinquish it. After winning the undisputed championship against Jamie Varner at WEC 46, "Smooth" once again got by "Cowboy" to retain the belt with a quick submission win at WEC 48.

Henderson has won 11 straight contests en route to asserting himself into the discussion of the best 155-pounders in the world. He'll have to get by a fast-rising star in "Showtime" Pettis to remain there.

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"Chris Lytle is more well-rounded than the previous couple guys I have fought, including Matt Hughes. Styles make fights. He's only been stopped a couple times, and those were from cuts. Even if he's getting dominated by a wrestler, once he gets back up, he's swinging for the fences. Chris is a fighter's fighter. You look up guts and grit in the dictionary, you'll see Chris Lytle there ready to go. I love watching the guy fight. I'm really looking forward to this fight. I think it's gonna be great for everybody."

One of the more interesting fights set to take place at UFC 119 this Saturday night in Indianapolis, Indiana is that of Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle. The two of course previously fought at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 Finale where "The Terror" squeaked by "Lights Out" with a split decision win. Serra told Larry Pepe of Pro MMA Radio that he actually believes Lytle is more well-rounded than his arch nemesis Matt Hughes. He even went on to say he's a big fan of Chris, and that they don't make 'em much tougher than the Indianapolis firefighter. Let's get some thoughts on this bout. Who takes home the rematch?