Even Fedor wants to see Brock Lesnar get back in the cage. On his official website The Last Emperor wishes his fellow colleague a speedy recovery.

“I would like to wish my fellow fighter Brock Lesnar a good and fast recovery. It is always unfortunate when a fighter has to pull out of a fight because of an injury”

Brock Lesnar was forced to pull out of his UFC 106 fight with Shane Carwin due to a bacterial infection in his upper intestine. He was released for the hospital earlier this week, but is still uncertain to his future as a professional fighter.

TG “Roy”

Brock Lesnar health scare, Randy vs Vera controversy, Dan Hardy title shot and UFC 106 preview.

Just a little over two days before the event Karo Parisyan unexpectedly pulled out of his fight with Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106. Dana White tweets the news,

“Karo Parisyan has fucked over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!! He will not be fighting saturday or ever again in the UFC!! … Pulled out of the fight the day before weigh ins again with a laundry list of excuses!!! Let the press ask karo why! Let him explain … Dustin will be paid his full purse to show and win. Its not his fault.”

It is not known what Karo Parisyan excuse is yet, but by the tone of Dana tweet, it doesn’t sound very legit.

Earlier this year, Karo’s win over Kim Dong-hyun at UFC 94 was overturn after positive test for pain killers was discovered in post-fight testing. He was suspended nine months for the violation.

UPDATE
The UFC announced at the post fight press conference that Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah will open the PPV, Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann promoted to the swing bout. Dana White didn’t attend the press conference.

UPDATE 2
Karo has an explanation,

“There’s a lot of problems going on. They won’t re-license me unless I (expletive) pay them,” Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com. “I had to pay the $32,000 fine in order to fight. I never paid because I never had the money. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back.”

“Everything is over bro. I’m just going to go home. Everything is (expletive) up. I’ve got to think about what I’m going to do for my career,” added 27-year old Parisyan. “I’ve got to think about what I want to do as far as fighting goes.”

Oh but wait, Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission disproves his claim. Claiming that Karo and NSAC have come to terms on re-payment.

“Parisyan had already been fully licensed last January and was cleared to fight this Saturday. Kizer said Parisyan had not been required to take a pre-fight drug test for the painkillers he had been flagged for in January, as they would be tested the night of the bout.” [Sherdog]

Leading up to tonight, Roy Nelson won a controversial decision over Justin Wren. Dana visited the house to check up on Matt Mitrione, causing people to wonder who might take Matt’s place versus James McSweeney. Tonight, Brendan Schaub takes on Jon Madsen.

The show begins with Team Rashad arriving at the gym for training. Rashad discusses the good energy and camaraderie the team has. But Matt breaks the happy mood by telling Rashad that he now has a migraine, has been throwing up, etc. There is serious concern over whether or not he will fight. He wants to, but it might not be wise. The words “concussion,” “swelling of the brain,” etc. are thrown around, but the doctors have not told him that he can’t fight. The coach even calls him out on it – if he really had swelling of the brain, the doctor would’ve told him he couldn’t fight. He’s clearly making it up, and the coaches question his desire to fight.

Even back at the house, the guys discuss it. James puts it perfectly, “If you can’t swim, stay out of the water.” He’s not brain-damaged, he’s not concussed. He clearly doesn’t want to fight. Scott reiterates the idea, and throws himself out as a possible replacement.

Matt is even the topic of discussion at Team Rampage training. Rampage believes that if Kimbo ends up fighting James, he can win. But…apparently he was rolling around with Damico and his weight did damage to his knee. Rampage knows that James will kick at his knees if they fight; James is more experienced at kicking legs than Kimbo is at not getting kicked (it’s scary, but even in Rampage-speak, that makes sense).

The next day, Brendan is preparing for his fight with James. Brendan sees stand-up as his advantage, being that Jon’s strength is wrestling. His only fear then is the takedown. As they are working out, they call Rashad in for practice, but he says he can’t help (he said previously that he wouldn’t specifically work with anyone as it’s not fair). Instead, Roy gets in and helps him out. After the workout, Brendan complains a little about who he drew to fight, but he just wants to win.

Kimbo is being seen by a doctor who tells him that he is missing cartilage that coats the bones, called a “kissing lesion”. He equates it walking around on hard pebbles without a shoe on. He has worn out the cartilage and it was replaced with fluid that needs to be drained. Kimbo seems more afraid of the needle than fighting!

And then the moment I’ve been waiting for: the coaches’ challenge, beach volleyball between two coaches who’ve never played! I love it! Teams will be Ramapge and Tiki vs. Rashad and Mike Van Arsdale. They will be playing for $10K in cash with each fighter winning $1500. Wow…where do I sign up???

The game begins and actually looks good. Team Rampage is winning to start and the guys are all pretty hyped up. Rampage is just happy that Rashad is pissed and has no smart-ass comments. No sooner does he say that that Rashad and Mike start winning Game 2. Now they are tied 1 game apiece with one more to go. Rashad and Mike take the first point, and like Dana says, Mike starts looking/acting like a pro. Game 3 is continually tied right to the end, but Team Rashad pulls it together for the win. Rampage is seriously pissed, but with pain in his face he shakes the hands of Rashad and every player. However, the peace is shortlived as Rashad “rubs” the money in Rampage’s face and it gets him all sorts of riled up.

A sad looking Kimbo discusses how disappointed he is with his knee. James offers a solution – a tub of ice-freakin-cold water. The look on Kimbo’s face as he sits in the tub is absolutely priceless. Even as he struggles to get out, James pushes him right back in. Come on, if Wanderlei Silva can do it, the Uber-Macho Kimbo can do it, no? And then jumps right into the hot tub!

Later, Jon is training, and with Rashad no less. This irks Brendan, as Rashad really didn’t do much for him. He understands that both Jon and Rashad are wrestlers, but it’s really not fair. Jon’s gameplan is to change his level frequently so that Brendan doesn’t know when he’s going to shoot. He knows that Brendan will want to keep it standing, but that’s not where he’s comfortable.

The following day, Matt strolls into the gym looking as sluggish as ever. Rashad questions him as to whether or not he wants to fight, which Matt claims he does. Rashad tells him that he doesn’t want him to do it for the wrong reasons and wonders if he thinks they’re forcing. Matt stutters a bit but finally admits that he does feel that way a little – which couldn’t be further from the truth. What it comes down to is that Matt better be 100% into it or else he could get hurt. And for Matt, he just wants to end the show and go back home….then why sign up in the first place?

Dana then decides to speak to the guys, trying to getting them to realize that their hearts need to be in this 100%. Dana will never force someone to fight if they don’t want to. If they don’t want to fight, they’re in the wrong place. He puts it well: to a real fighter, they’re invincible. There’s no question as whether or not they will fight. And Matt Mitrione is not that guy, and at the end of the day it’s up to Matt to decide whether or not he wants it, because if he doesn’t, someone does. My question is, isn’t there some sort of screening process to this show? There seems to be one of these guys EVERY season. There’s always someone who doesn’t really want to be there. Can’t they weed these guys out from the get-go?

At the weigh-in, Dana discusses each fighters’ chance at winning. Schaub is a stand up guy out of Greg Jackson’s camp while Madsen is a wrestler out of Matt Hughes’ camp. Basically, whoever can impose their will can win this fight.

FIGHT DAY

ROUND 1

No glove-touch, and Madsen almost immediately goes for a takedown which is fended off. The two dance around each other for a while (while I yawn). Finally, Madsen shoots, picks Schaub up and slams him. In Schaub’s half guard, Madsen alternates between knees and body shots. Madsen jockeys for position and Schaub tries to push him off. Schaub pushes off the cage with his feet to move them away. They are warned to advance position, but Madsen isn’t doing a whole lot. Finally they are stood back up. Schaub throws a weak jab and Madsen shoots. They clinch against the cage, where Schaub gets in a knee or two. Again, in the clinch not much happens. Schaub reverses and controls the clinch with knees and body shots. As Madsen backs up a little, Schaub lands a short jab that drops Madsen to his knees. Schaub tries to get Madsen in a guillotine, but Madsen picks up and slams Schaub. Back in half guard, Madsen lays on top while Schaub lands some body shots. Even with ground control Madsen has landed fewer shots than Schaub from his back. And the round ends dully.

ROUND 2

They start with a weak jab exchange and more dancing. Madsen fakes a shoot, but Schaub strikes and tries to go for his neck. They clinch and jockey for position. Madsen tries to get Schaub down, but is unsuccessful. Back to their feet, neither wants to be aggressive. Schaub keeps backing Madsen up and finally inches up on him. He catches him off guard and lands a big left-right, knocking Madsen out.

Winner: Brendan Schaub via KO

Post fight, Rashad admits that Brendan was using the fence a lot and probably should’ve been penalized. He actually wondered if Brendan would be able to pull off the win, but he did it. Not the most exciting fight, but at least it was a good ending. Dana was even impressed that Brendan could overcome Jon’s wrestling.

Next week: A two-hour special with the final four fights of the season. The quarterfinals are left: Who will fight James McSweeney: Kimbo or Matt? Will Big Baby pull off a win? Then the semi-finals – who will win to fight in the finale at the Palms?

(and according to a commercial after the end of the show, there will be a Kimbo twist that no one sees coming….yeah, like we haven’t heard that one before)

Always the showman – King Mo is obviously ready to make his Strikeforce debut against TUF veteran Mike Whitehead. Lawal hinted at the fight by referencing a pimple and called for a acne medicated cleaning products sponsorship on his Twitter account.

For the latest on Strikeforce: Evolution check out our fight card section.

UPDATE
Mike Whitehead addresses the rumors in a interview with AOL. Claims the fight will be at heavyweight.

According to Sherdog, Randy “The Natural” Couture (17-10) and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman (16-9) have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 109 on February 6 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The light heavyweight bout is expected to co-headline the event, along with Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

For the latest on UFC 109, check out our UFC Rumors section.

Promoting UFC 106, Tito Style

I’ve never been to Ring of Combat before, but I have been to Battlecage Extreme (same promoter). Local talent is always fun to see, so this is where I’ll be Friday night! I’m looking forward to seeing some TUF alums there as well as some possible up-and-comers. This is a press release from the promoter. Check it out… www.ringofcombat.com

Ring of Combat 27 – Friday, November 20, 2009

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (October 27, 2009) – Mixed martial arts promotion Ring of Combat is proud to announce that its 27th live event will take place on Friday, November 20th at the world-famous Tropicana Casino & Resort.

A proven attraction that has succeeded where most other MMA promotions have failed, Ring of Combat will feature some of the hardest hitting action that Atlantic City has ever witnessed.

For the ROC Heavyweight Championship, Ricardo Romero from Advanced Martial Arts (9-1) will compete against the heavy handed, undefeated Bret Kohan (4-0) from Ricardo Almeida BJJ in what is sure to be an edge-of-your-seat fight. Both fighters already have already held ROC Heavyweight Championship Titles. 4 of Romero’s wins have been by TKO and 4 have been submissions and his only professional loss came from a disqualification due to a head kick to a downed opponent.

Costa Philippou (5-1) from Team Serra Longo will square off against Victor O’Donnell (8-1) from Team Walker Vision MMA for a rematch of the ROC Middleweight Title. Philippou is coming off a 5 fight winning streak. O’Donnell is coming off his first loss to Philippou in a very tight bout many people wanted to see again. Both fighters have knock-out and submission power which will ensure a great matchup.

Finally, Anthony “Mean Machine” Morrison (12-6) of Team Combat will take on Jeff Lentz (5-0) from Pellegrino MMA for the ROC Featherweight Title. The undefeated Lentz is a vicious striker with 4 of his 5 professional wins being by TKO.

Ring of Combat is Atlantic City’s longest running mixed martial arts promotion, and has proven to be a breeding ground for fighters of the next generation. Top fighters who began their careers with Ring of Combat include Matt Serra, Frank Edgar, Josh Koscheck, Kurt Pellegrino, and Phil Baroni.

Tickets for Ring of Combat 27 are on sale now and can be purchased at the Tropicana Casino & Resort box office, your local Ticketmaster outlet, via phone 800-526-2935, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information or the full fight card, visit www.ringofcombat.com.

Strikeforce kicks off their last event of the year with “Evolution” featuring fighters Cung Le, Scott Smith, Robbie Lawler, “King Mo” Lawal and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Strikeforce: Evolution is set for December 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA.

For the rumored fightcard, check out our MMA Rumors section.

The Ultimate Fighting Championships has officially announced UFC Fight Night 20 “Maynard vs Diaz” for January 11 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

For the rumored fightcard, check out our MMA Rumors section.