Tonight, I sat down to watch some select fights from PRIDE: Bushido 13. After moving out earlier this year and away from my brothers extensive MMA DVD library (UFCs 1-104 and every PRIDE barring "The Best Ofs" and Shockwave 2002) I have left the majority of my MMA video viewing to the Internet.

I had recently been lent Bushido 13 by my brother so that I could see some fights I had not seen such as the welterweight grand prix finals, Gomi vs. Aurelio 2, and Mousasi vs. Lombard.

Once I put the DVD in, my roommate came out to see what I was watching. Although he had a small knowledge of jiu-jitsu due to my routine drunken displays he was still very much an MMA-neophyte and had absolutely no idea what was going on.

As I was aware of all the fight results, I decided to try and do my best to educate him using the fights.

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Former UFC light heavyweight title contender, Elvis Sinosic has been in the MMA news lately for his well published desire to fight on the UFC's first ever Australian event in February, 2009 and his letter to the Sydney Morning Herald regarding their grossly misinformed "Cage Rage Coming Here" article.

I recently conducted an email based interview with Elvis regarding all of the above, as well as some potential Australian names you may see in early 2009.

Sam:  You have come out recently imploring for a spot on the almost 100% confirmed UFC Australia card this upcoming February. Can you talk a little about your desire to fight on the card and what it would mean to you?

Elvis:  I am a big fan of the sport as much as I am a participant. I’ve been involved in the sport of MMA since it’s inception here in Australia in 1997. I was the first Australian to be on a UFC card and I’ve done a lot since then. With the UFC coming to Australia it’s just something I want to do. I want to be part of this history in the making. This would mean a lot to me.

Sam: Some people might look at your 8-11-2 record and say you aren't deserving of a spot on an UFC card at this stage of your career. How do you respond to that?

Elvis: To me it’s just numbers. But you need to look behind those numbers. Have a look at the quality of fighters I have faced. I have faced numerous World Champions. Though I would have preferred to have won those matches, I would rather have my record than a padded out record against nobodies. At least I know I have stepped up to the plate and faced the best guys out there. I have challenged myself when I fought. I been forced to push myself to the limit. Everyone knows that I come to fight. I don’t come not too lose I come to win. I put it on the line, I take risks, I make fights exciting. That’s what my record reflects.

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Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida's manager, Ed Soares has once again reiterated to Sherdog.com that no matter how much Dana White wants it, the middleweight champion and the light heavyweight champion will never meet in the cage.

However, he also says the following on a potential Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Machida match-up that should make all those that were worrying about it possibly not happening feel a little better.

"That (Machida vs. Silva) won't happen," said Soares. "Anderson is most likely going to be cornering Lyoto this fight."

However, that doesn't mean Soares has ruled out every fight between his clients and teammates.

"I'll tell you one fight that's going to be a difficult one to go, Rogerio (Nogueira) is coming to the UFC, and I think if Rogerio puts on some good performances and Lyoto keeps on defending his title, that's going to be a fight that, unfortunately for us, is two of our guys fighting each other."

Little Nog is scheduled to make his UFC debut at UFC 106 against Luiz "Banha" Cane and with a victory there I wouldn't be surprised to see Nogueira pushed into the No.1 contenders position considering the lack of contenders after the title clash at UFC 104.

Sherdog has their monthly "10 Tussles Worth Watching" article up for September, and as usual it provides some nice insight on some the lesser known battles happening in the mixed martial arts world. However, it was this bit of insight from the article's author, Tim Leidecker, on the Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin fight (ranked No. 2 by the by) that raised my eyebrow:

 In a fight that should serve as a title eliminator, Tyson Griffin (4-0 against opponents from Brazil) will face one of his toughest hurdles to date in former lightweight championship challenger Hermes Franca. Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard and Diego Sanchez are likely on the fast track to a title shot right now. However, the winner of this battle between Griffin, the inexhaustible power plug, and Franca, the heavy-handed black belt, deserves to challenge champion B.J. Penn, as well, and probably has a better chance at upsetting the reigning 155-pound king than the aforementioned trio.

I for one think the emphasised statement is completely nutty, but what say you people? Who out of the top five contenders in the UFC right now has the best chance at derailing BJ?