Promoted from the FanPosts by Kid Nate.

Good news for those of you who only chuckled uncomfortably at this picture of Huerta.  From Sherdog.com's blog:

Roger Huerta and Gray Maynard are being eyed for a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Sherdog.com has learned from a source familiar with the plans. UFC Fight Night 19 will serves as a lead-in for season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV.

This will fulfill the final fight on Roger's contract, having refused to sign an extension offered to him earlier this year, after which he can pursue his intended career path: acting (which one assumes to include a dalliance with both Laura Prepon and Scientology).

I'll have to admit that I see this as a bittersweet parting: This is a good fight and fits well within the arc of both fighters' careers.  Additionally, it isn't hard to see how this fight could be fairly enjoyable.  However, Huerta is a bright young prospect, whose grit and heart were able to carry him through adversity both in and out of the cage and it will be unfortunate to see such a talent give it up to be one more fairly handsome nobody in Hollywood.  That said, if a year from now Entertainment Weekly won't shut the hell up about his upcoming marriage to Megan Fox and Oscar nomination for his leading role in Terminator: Seriously, More F**king Explosions, I suppose I could see the wisdom in his decision.

Image via urdirt.com

Here's part of the entry for Emelianenko/Randleman:

Fedor Emelianenko is a merciless knockout machine that emerged from the ruins of war torn Stalingrad to avenge the angry dead. Kevin Randleman is a wrestler whose body was kidnapped by science and mostly replaced with horse DNA. After an early takedown by Randleman, Fedor scrambled to his feet and gave Randleman his back. It is stupidly inadequate to say that what followed next was the greatest suplex in the suplexiverse.

Randleman brought Fedor up in a perfect arc, jumped off his feet, and trebuchet’ed the weight of both of them directly on the point of Fedor’s head. It was like he was trying to make dinosaurs extinct again. When wheelchair salesmen watch it, their eyeballs turn to dollar signs.

But instead of bravely learning to walk again years later, Fedor swept him, got side control, punched him in the head 18 times, jumped to north-south, and locked in a kimura. All in the span of 45 seconds. For baseball fans, this is like getting your eye knocked out by a fastball, then hitting 16 home runs with one swing.

Other entries include  Joe Son/Hackney, Frye/Takayama, Eastman/Belfort.  How could this article get any better, you ask?  For each of the entries, there is a link to the respective fight on Youtube.  That's called journalism, people.

Image via www.mediabistro.com

From Sherdog.com's blog:

Monday, 12:30 a.m. ET: At the post-fight presser for Sengoku’s Eighth Battle, World Victory Road PR Director Takahiro Kokuho unveiled his plans for Japan’s first stab at MMA reality TV. Superficial similarities aside, “The Ultimate Fighter” it is not.

Dubbed “Project: Gold Rush,” Sengoku initially aims to cultivate up-and-coming fighters within three weight classes: 60, 65 and 70 kg (132, 143, 154 pounds). In the vein of Sengoku’s open tryouts and a natural extension of its fighter development program (of which Shigeki Osawa and Maximo Blanco are current products), the show is intended to foster the development of young fighters.

Featuring four to five handpicked fighters per weight class from various Japanese gyms, the young talents will fight each other over the course of four to five episodes. The finals in each weight class will be slotted as preliminary bouts on the Aug. 2 Sengoku Ninth Battle.

As an admitted fan of Sengoku -hence my many late nights with the Bloodyelbow Night Crew (NIGHTRIDER!!!)- I have to admit that I'm pretty bullish about this idea.  Firstly, I like that the most sport-oriented promotion east of Cathay is trying to build up their fighters intelligently.  Secondly, it is comforting to know that Sengoku is implementing plans that could see major long terms gains, both the fighters and the program itself, and are showing an eye for the long term.  Thirdly, when coupled with a little luck, this show could be a vehicle for creating major stars that could galvanize the public and eventually reinvigorate interest in MMA in Japan.

However, the most positive thing about this for me is that Sengoku has proven themselves to be willing to break ranks with conventional wisdom, take risks, and dance to their own tune.  This, more than anything else, makes me think that not only could they stick around for a while, but be successful.  Hell, it kinda worked for this one other promotion.

Expertly Photoshopped MS Painted Image via i669.photobucket.com