FanHouse Joe Rogan

The latest UFC promotional video to hit YouTube, this one hyping UFC 105, contains a rather surprising suggestion from UFC announcer Joe Rogan: Could this be your last chance to see Randy Couture fight?

Frank Mir is, in addition to being one of the best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, also one of the best analysts of mixed martial arts. And in an interview with Raw Vegas TV, he had plenty to say about subjects ranging from the Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight at UFC 102 to his anger at Joe Rogan's comments during that fight. Also, he discussed his UFC 100 fight with Brock Lesnar, Fedor Emelianenko's decision not to fight in the UFC and a possible fight between Mir and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Video and quotes are below.

LAS VEGAS -- Only one thing stands between Frank Mir and one of the most unlikely comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Mir, that one thing is 6-foot-4, 265 pounds (before rehydrating) and has a boulder rather than a chip on his shoulder.

With revenge on his mind, Brock Lesnar will attempt to stop Mir from becoming a two-time UFC champion at UFC 100 and complete a comeback from a career-threatening injury caused from a motorcycle crash.

The two heavyweights weighed in at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, and to no one's surprise, Lesnar outweighed Mir, 265 to 245. Mir looked preternaturally calm during his time on stage, laughing at Lesnar's pose on the scale and showing none of the menace that many fighters often display when facing their opponent for the last time before it really counts.

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A significant moment in mixed martial arts history seems to have passed with little notice Saturday night: Kim Winslow became the first woman ever to be in the Octagon during a UFC fight when she refereed the undercard bout between Nick Osipczak and Frank Lester at the Ultimate Fighter Finale.

Joe Rogan is a man of many interests, and two of those interests will be on display Saturday night on Spike, when his new stand-up comedy special, Talking Monkeys in Space, debuts immediately after the Ultimate Fighter Finale, with Rogan, as usual on UFC shows, providing color commentary.

In an interview with FanHouse, Rogan talked about both the UFC show and the comedy show, why he'd choose stand-up over all his other professions if he had to pick one, and why he hopes to help the "casual drunken meatheads" understand the nuances of mixed martial arts. The full interview is below.

Longtime boxing promoter Lou DiBella took part in the "boxing vs. MMA" debate with Joe Rogan on ESPN a couple of years ago that you see above, but he said in a recent interview that he doesn't think the growth of the UFC's popularity has had anything to do with the decline of boxing's popularity.

Watching the latest promotional video for UFC 99, you get the sense that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is hoping that the main event between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin is the first step toward a 2010 middleweight title fight between Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva.

The concept of the "grudge match" is such a cliche that it sounds kind of silly to say it at all. And yet as the above video shows, the Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes fight at UFC 98 is, in the words of Joe Rogan, a real grudge match.

Above, video of UFC announcer Joe Rogan discussing the upcoming UFC 98 fight between Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, and explaining why he likes Machida's style. (Warning: Language not safe for work.)

Above is Dana White's video blog for UFC 94, and the conversation at the 11:05 mark gives me a good opportunity to bring up just what an amazing performance we got on Saturday from Jon Jones, who defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision, improving his pro MMA record to 8-0.