Mike Chiappetta Posts

Every time Randy Couture steps into the cage, the mind can't help but wonder if this will be the last time. For years, the 46-year-old has made a very good living bucking the odds and overcoming expectations, but his UFC 105 bout with Brandon Vera will mark the first time since 2002 that Couture stares a possible three-fight losing streak in the face.

In Vera, Couture will face a mercurial talent who was once seen as a future superstar but has yet to reach the heights expected of him.

So how will the fight go down? Let's take a look.

The UFC's cable broadcast home Spike will air two UFC 106 preliminary matchups prior to the pay-per-view portion of the card, a pair of sources confirmed to FanHouse on Tuesday.

The two bouts scheduled to air include the welterweight clash between Marcus Davis and Ben Saunders, as well as a middleweight tangle pitting Jake Rosholt against Kendall Grove.

An official announcement of the broadcast should come in the next day or two.

When Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Jake Shields step into the cage on Saturday, it will match up one of MMA's best known personalities with one of its most underrated fighters.

For all his verbosity and bluster, Miller is highly skilled and well rounded, and presents the surging Shields with a stern challenge in all facets of the fight game.

So how will the Stikeforee middleweight championship fight go down? Let's take a look.

Barriers are not always smashed with a sledgehammer. Sometimes they're chiseled away a little at a time.

A case in point is MMA's move to mainstream acceptance, which has occurred in bits and pieces. The latest step forward comes courtesy of welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with top-selling athletic brand Under Armour.

CBS' most recent attempt to hype Saturday's Strikeforce debut is "Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers," which is airing on Showtime and on select CBS affiliates.

The full video was also just released on online. As Michael David Smith wrote here, the video shows Fedor Emelianenko as the quiet, humble champion MMA fans have gotten to know over the years, and Brett Rogers as a soft-spoken, hard worker who rose from humble beginnings and is now intent on finding glory. One of the best moments comes when we see Rogers and his wife entering the home they bought through his work and determination. It is an "American Dream" moment that encapsulates everything he's been working towards.

If you haven't gotten a look at it, it's worth a view. The full video is below.

Jens Pulver is planning to bring a little evil back to the WEC cage one more time.

The former UFC lightweight champion and MMA legend, who has not been heard from since losing to Josh Grispi in June and was assumed to be finished as an active fighter, plans to return to featherweight action in early 2010, he told FanHouse.

"I'm going to fight again," he said. "And I'm about as confident as I possibly can be."

Sanctioned mixed martial arts fights are one short step from becoming legal in Massachusetts after a bill on the sport sailed through the state's House of Representatives in a 144-10 vote Wednesday afternoon.

Brock Lesnar says he has the flu, and has been too ill to train effectively and prepare for the biggest challenger of his title reign: 6-foot-2, 260-pound Shane Carwin. Because of an extended illness, he's pulled out of their scheduled UFC 106 fight, leading to a postponement that will probably place the bout in the early part of the new year.

That seems perfectly rational and logical. But apparently it's not enough for some, all because of a video of Lesnar appearing at an Oct. 18 Minnesota Vikings game. The cynics believe that video is proof positive that Lesnar is healthy and that something else is afoot in regards to the date change.

What is with the MMA world lately that makes them want to turn every story into a soap opera?