While Chael Sonnen has been capturing headlines over the last few weeks for his ‘okay what now?’ trash talk, it’s easy to forget that there are plenty of other dudes in the UFC, who also possess a remarkable gift for controversial gab. Of course, if you’ve followed Roy Nelson since his arrival in the UFC (or before), you know that you don’t head for another web site when the heavyweight’s talking.

In addition to this Saturday’s tilt between Sonnen and middleweight champ Anderson Silva, the bout between Nelson and Junior dos Santos has a teee-onne riding on the outcome. Dana White has already stated that the winner will get a crack at whoever wins between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez on Oct. 23rd. Well, while speaking to MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes, Nelson made the argument that dos Santos is “probably the No.1 guy out there”, by breaking down Lesnar’s recent win over Shane Carwin.

“Carwin, he seems like he trains for five, one-minute rounds. That’s his championship fight, apparently,” said Nelson. “But no, you learn a lot. Like Carwin, he quits. He basically quit with Brock and he tapped out. That means you quit. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Then Brock, you learned that if you don’t give him an opportunity to come back on you, if you don’t give him that hole to come back, he won’t come back. Shane just gave him the chance to come back. He didn’t put him away.”

Don’t hold back on our account Roy. Nelson also cited Carwin’s recent episode of ‘lactic acidosis,’ as to why he prefers to be “fat”, rather than a muscular monstrosity like Shane. See; being fat does have its perks. To bet on UFC 117 head here.

The word ‘holy’ was immediately followed by millions of ‘expletives’ Saturday night , when Shane Carwin caught Brock Lesnar in the early going of their UFC 116 tilt, and proceeded to pound away at the champion for what seemed like days. Of course, Mr. Lesnar survived the rated ‘M- for Mature’ beat down, only to sub Carwin in round two.

Although Lesnar had the piss beat out of him in round 1 (and thankfully for clean-up crews afterwards that wasn’t literally the case), as round two began he seemed relatively okay, while Carwin didn’t exactly appear to be fresh. Well, speaking on his official blog, the imposing heavyweight explained why that was the case.

“When I had him in trouble the ref keep saying he was going to stop it and then towards the end of the 1st my body began to seize up. In between rounds I could not move my legs and had what felt like a whole body cramp. My cardio was fine but my body was not. What can you do? You have to stand up and face your opponent.”…“Heading into the second I knew I need to finish the fight or I was going to be in trouble. Much like the Champion he is I am sure Brock was thinking the same thing. I had zero take down defense as my legs were dead to me and the rest is as they say history.”

So there you have it. It should be interesting to see who the UFC matches Carwin up against next. Somehow we’re thinking Carwin won’t be much fun to fight…

Earlier today we went on and on about how entertaining last night’s UFC 116 main event tilt between Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar was, a fight that saw the heavyweight champ come back from taking a brutal beat down in the first, only to sub Carwin in the second. Whether you’re a fan of Lesnar or not (and let’s face it- the guy doesn’t really kill himself trying to be charming or loveable…) you have to give him props for weathering that hellish fist storm.

Well the debate regarding whether or not Josh Rosenthal should have stopped the fight, when Carwin was pounding away on Lesnar, is in full swing. As we passed along earlier, after last night’s fight Lesnar thanked Rosenthal for not jumping in, stating he “wasn’t hurt” and that he could feel Carwin’s punches becoming “less and less.” In a follow up report from MMA Junkie, however, it’s pretty clear that Carwin’s view on how Lesnar was doing in round one is; well, not exactly identical….

“I felt Brock go out a few times,” he today told MMAjunkie.com via text message. “But it is the ref’s job to call the fight, and mine is to finish the fight.”

Huh. Interesting. The report also included stats from CompuStrike.com which reflect that Carwin apparently landed 57 punches in the opening round- that couldn’t have been much fun for Brock. As far as UFC boss man Dana White’s take on the officiating, he was quoted saying that Rosenthal “did a fantastic job.”

If your evening last night didn’t consist of watching UFC 116 somewhere, somehow, but not necessarily with someone, then you effed up big time. Yes, we say things like this a lot, but in this case…dude…the card was gold. It’s not always certain that a highly anticipated championship fight lives up to the hype, but as we all hoped, Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin both delivered. Now if you still haven’t seen the fight run along and rectify….

Of course, the reason last night’s main event tilt can now be labelled with the ‘where were you when’ tag, is because Lesnar came back from quite the ass whooping in round one, to tap out Carwin with a second round arm-triangle-choke (if you predicted that finish then you are a god amongst men). While Lesnar’s comeback was nothing short of spectacular, it’s likely some people were miffed that the fight wasn’t stopped in round one, when Carwin was throwing down punch after punch. Speaking after the fight, Lesnar had this to say about referee Josh Rosenthal’s decision, not to intervene (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quote).

“I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing go on,” Lesnar said. “I wasn’t hurt. I thought if I just kept moving – I could feel Shane’s punches slowly becoming less and less. I thought, ‘If I get out of here, then I’m going to exert a bunch of energy.’…”I realized there was a short time left, and I just tried to stay busy.”

It may not have looked pretty, but really, Lesnar did appear to be okay. Time to move on right Cain?

Anytime Brock Lesnar is set to fight it’s pretty normal for the imposing heavyweight to receive a ton of pre-fight attention, after all, nothing resonates more with the mainstream media than a previous stint as a professional wrestler…This time around the story line surrounding Lesnar is even more intriguing, as it wasn’t long ago that the champion’s career was in doubt due to a nasty case of diverticulitis (and let’s not forget Lesnar’s remarks regarding healthcare, which got that spotlight scalding bright).

In addition to Lesnar’s stardom and abilities (Dana White told Ariel Helwani he believes the Minnesota Monster is the UFC’s biggest commodity), what puts tomorrow night’s UFC 116 main event at the top of the ‘must see’ list, is opponent Shane Carwin. While he may not have the high profile of Lesnar yet, the massive heavyweight has also quickly become a UFC star, in part due to his 5-XL fists which have pounded out every Octagon opponent he’s faced thus far.

So, how special is Carwin? Well in a recent interview with MMA Fighting, renowned Grudge trainer Trevor Wittman said this, when asked to recall his initial assessment of the former collegiate football / wrestling star.

“I went home that night thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, with his size and ability, I finally got my gift from God, a heavyweight champion,’” Wittman told MMA Fighting.

Gift from God? Pretty hard to top that in the compliment category. Someone up there is blessing MMA fans with a pretty huge fight that’s for damn sure; to bet on it head here.

With Fedor Emelianenko now having a ‘real’ loss on his record, this Saturday’s UFC 116 tilt between champion Brock Lesnar and interim champ Shane Carwin has become even more important, as their will be little doubt that the winner is the world’s #1 heavyweight. Not that the fight wasn’t receiving a lot of hype already, which is more than understandable, considering the size, power and agility of each man (just ask Frank Mir what it feels like to be rag dolled by both).

Some of the interesting storylines heading into the fight have surrounded Shane Carwin, who first, fired back at critics and the UFC’s “talking heads” who said he wasn’t doing enough media, and more recently, when the imposing fighter posted what he was going to get paid (one wouldn’t use the word ‘transparency’ to describe Zuffa’s pay structure). Carwin says he’s not inline to get a piece of the pay-per-view pie (which Lesnar knows is delicious), and will make 80 grand if he wins. When asked by MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes recently, if he’ll be looking to renegotiate provided he wins Saturday, Carwin said this:

“I do not think so. Beating Brock does not make you Brock. I will still need to insult most of the fighters in my division, flip off the fans, insult the biggest sponsors the UFC has and then and only then will I renegotiate with Zuffa. Dana and Lorenzo have taken good care of my family and I. They have given us more than they are obligated to and we are happy.”

(Cue drums and the obligatory cymbal please) See, there’s some nice verbal work from Carwin. To bet on Saturday’s card head here.

Earlier today we posted some comments from Fedor Emelianenko, who recently passed along the news, that he doesn’t concern himself with what his detractors say (and judging by his less than enthusiastic and indifferent demeanour- is anyone surprised by this?) In addition to not signing with the UFC last year, “The Last Emperor’s” recent statements that he’s not a big fan of the MMA giant, of course, instantly kicked new life into the whole ‘what will be Fedor’s legacy’ debate. Is he still the world’s best heavyweight? Or does he need to throw down with the UFC’s top beasts like Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, or Brock Lesnar?

Well, speaking of the UFC Heavyweight Champion Lesnar, in a recent teleconference promoting his upcoming July 3^rd bout with Carwin (MMA is a glorious thing), the former NCAA star tossed a few more criticisms Fedor’s way (that he’s free to ignore of course). When asked to comment on recent speculation that Fedor may in fact be looking to retire, sooner than later, (further dashing hopes that the Russian will ever step into the Octagon) Mr. Lesnar said this (thanks to MMA Weekly for the quote):

“Good for Fedor, I hope he does retire.” Lesnar commented. “He’s the greatest champion of all time. He’s the greatest champion ever, of all time, in his own little world. Good for him.”

Lesnar also reportedly said “absolutely” when asked if he thinks he could beat Mr. Emelianenko; no surprises there either. Too bad we’ll likely never find out for sure. To bet on Fedor’s next fight with Fabricio Werdum, or Carwin vs. Lesnar, head here.

Just days removed from Frank Mir’s beatdown defeat courtesy Shane ‘What’s the Second Round Like?’’ Carwin, one might think that the hate-hate relationship between the former champion and current king, Brock Lesnar, might just simmer down a little bit. As really, it could be a while before a rubber match fight between Mir and Lesnar materializes, if ever, so, is it time to toss a few pails of water under the bridge?

Well, in a report from Yahoo Sports, it doesn’t sound like Lesnar is expecting to fight Mir anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean that Mir will have a new found love for the champ if he reads the following quote.

“I kind of figured Shane was going to win, though I know anything can happen in this sport,” Lesnar said. “I was kind of laying back and I didn’t want to count any chickens before they hatched. Shane’s a tough guy and I just know that Frank’s time is done. This is the new evolution of the heavyweight division. Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, we’re the guys in this division.”

Huh. Yes, clearly Mir will have to put together a few wins to get back in the title mix, but to say Frank’s time is done? Yeah; that’s not going to sit welll with a prideful guy like Mir. After all, this is the same man that after a severe motorcycle accident and getting pounded six ways from Sunday by Brandon Vera, he returned to the top of the division. Not too many people were calling that in 2006. It will be interesting to see if can do it again.

Heading into this past weekend’s tilt between Shane Carwin and Frank Mir, where Carwin once again demonstrated that the human brain doesn’t function very well when being battered by his barrel sized fists, much of the focus remained on whether or not the winner would emerge unscathed to face Brock Lesnar this summer. After all, Dana White and the UFC crew had insisted that if the victor couldn’t throw down for a while, Cain Velasquez would get a crack at Lesnar. Well, as we all know, Carwin didn’t appear to injure himself while beating the hell out of Mir…

So, what’s in store for Velasquez? What about throwing him in against the division’s other ‘’holy sh-t this guy is good’ prospect in Junior Dos Santos? Seems like a sweet idea right? Well according to a report from MMA Junkie, it sounds like White will have Velasquez remain on the sidelines until later in the year, to face the winner of Carwin / Lesnar.

“Velasquez will get the next title shot after [Lesnar vs. Carwin],” White told MMAjunkie.com last week. “He earned it. And Dos Santos will probably have to win another win.

“But really, isn’t this a good problem to have?”

Yes and no. Is it a good problem to have that, barring any injuries, the heavyweight title picture looks like it has several awesome fights lined up in a row? Yes. Does that mean it sucks that our selfish needs aren’t being addressed with an immediate bout between Velasquez and Dos Santos? Yes, yes it does.

If you’re not a boxing fan and your exposure to the sport has been solely limited to five second glimpses while channel surfing (as then you realize ‘oh sh-t this isn’t MMA’), then you’re probably picking up by now that UFC newcomer James Toney isn’t exactly known for being shy. From warning that future opponents may have their heads launched into the stands when going in for a takedown, or, that MMA legend Randy Couture is in a “lose-lose” situation if he fights the boxing champ, you can see why the UFC was willing to give Toney a go. As the Wu-Tang Clan so eloquently put it C.R.E.A.M.

This AM HDNet Fights has let the word out that Mr. Toney will appear on the network’s Inside MMA show later tonight, and in a crafty way to run up viewership, they’ve posted a sample of Toney’s latest ‘dude are you serious’ quote.

“I want Brock Lesnar,” says Toney. “I’m the heavyweight champion of the world vs. the UFC champion. That’d be a hell of a match…I’ll fight anybody you got.”

Yes, that would be a hell of an interesting fight (particularly for those who want to see Toney brutally beat down) and with reports surfacing this week that some of the recent UFC pay-per-views haven’t exactly been through the roof, some serious dough could likely be made off such a match-up. But before everyone gets ahead of themselves here (and by everyone we mean Toney) maybe the boxer should, you know, actually win a MMA fight before calling out for a title shot. But just as it was in the 90’s… C.R.E.A.M.