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After a plodding victory over Joey Beltran in his debut at UFC, Miocic looked to send a message here. He came out looking to bang and paid the price in the early seconds. Just 16 seconds in, De Fries (8-1, 1-1 UFC) drilled him with a three-punch combination. The Independence, Ohio native stood his ground stuffing a weak attempt at a clinch and reset himself.

Miocic (8-0. 2-0 UFC) landed a big right of own with 4:25 left that stopped De Fries in his tracks. A submission specialist, De Fries freaked out and tried to punch his way out of trouble. It didn’t work. De Fries got pushed back into the cage when Miocic landed another big right. That was all it took. He dropped to his hands and his knees, and covered up. He didn’t want to fight anymore, so referee Dan Miragliotta saved him after seven more shots.

Miocic’s skill set is impressive. He was a high level college wrestler at 197 pounds and also played on the Cleveland State baseball team.

He’s the rare wrestler, who also boxed at a young age. He’s got a Golden Gloves title to his credit. At 29, he’s getting a little bit of a late start to his MMA career, but it’s also allowed to grow into his frame. The 6-foot-4, 240 pounder didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He continues the trend of new heavyweights, who are much more athletic than the big men of the part.

Dillashaw regains his status as a top 135-pound prospect to watch

The outcome of “The Ultimate Fighter” doesn’t  always predict who’ll be the best fighter to come off the show. T.J. Dillashaw wasn’t up to snuff at the TUF 14 Finale, but he more than made up for it tonight by putting on a clinch against Walel Watson. Dillashaw rolled with a unanimous decision victory, 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

Dillashaw, 25, destroyed Watson from the opening seconds. He scored two takedowns early and worked what appeared to be three nasty chokes.  And that was all in the first round. In the second, Watson found himself on his back just 24 seconds in. By late in the second, he’d outstruck Watson 110-2.

At 5-11, Watson is extremely long for the division, but Dillashaw did a great job staying away from any submission predicaments by working mostly from half guard. He also mounted Watson on several occasions.

At the end of the fight, Dillashaw’s advantage in the stats department was staggering. He outlanded 172-12.

TUF 12 champ Brookins looks explosive in easy victory over Rocha

If Jonathan Brookins can clean up one bugaboo in his game he has a chance to be a real player in the UFC’s featherweight division. Brookins holds his chin a little too high, but it didn’t matter tonight because he made such quick work of Vagner Rocha.

A flubbed Rocha takedown attempt turned into a dominant position for Brookins, who scored the rare top control knockout of Rocha at the 1:43 mark of the first round.

Rocha caught a Brookin kick and tried to drive forward to shoot for a double leg takedown. Brookins easily thwarted the attempt and pushed forward to get Rocha on his back. Instead of staying patient and protecting himself, the Brazilian started grasping at a leg to potentially attempt a knee bar and foot submission.

Brookins is too slick for that, so he started raining down right hands. the first three didn’t land cleanly, but the fourth did. So much so that is appeared to knockout Rocha, who ate three more shots before the ref tossed Brookins to the side.

UFC on Fuel TV 1 undercard results:

Ivan Menjivar def. John Albert via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:45

Justin Salas def. Anton Kuivanen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)

Tim Means def. Bernado Magalhaes vis unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26).

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Hardy was attacking, leaving himself open for Condit’s perfectly placed left hook. That win was Condit’s third in a row. Since moving to the UFC from the WEC, he is 3-1, and will try to improve that record against Dong Hyun Kim on Saturday.

A title shot is Condit’s goal, but do you think he will get it? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

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Two exciting new fights have been scheduled for the undercard of UFC on Fox 3 this May, as Johnny Bedford will take on Nick Denis, and Dennis Bermudez will meet Pablo Garza at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The UFC announced the two new fights on Friday afternoon.

Bedford was supposed to make his second UFC appearance in January at UFC on Fox 2, but his fight with Mitch Gagnon was scrapped at the last minute due to visa issues. Bedford entered the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter 14 last fall, and took out Louis Gaudinot in his first official UFC fight in December.

Denis made a quick impression in his own UFC debut in January, taking out Joseph Sandoval at UFC on FX 1. Denis delivered a series of short elbow strikes in the clinch that knocked Sandoval out cold in just 22 seconds.

Bermudez was the runner-up in the featherweight tournament of TUF 14, but he came very close to capturing the title himself. In a massively entertaining back and forth round against Diego Brandao, he dropped Brandao and came close to stopping him. However, he got caught in a fight-ending armbar with seconds left in the round.

Garza hopes to rebound from a submission loss himself, suffered in a bout against Dustin Poirier in November. That loss, just the second of his career, snapped a two-fight winning streak that saw him earn a flying knee “Knockout of the Night” and a flying triangle “Submission of the Night.”

UFC on Fox 3 takes place on May 5, headlined by a five-round lightweight contender bout between Jim Miller and Nate Diaz.

Penick’s Analysis: Both of these are fantastic matchups. Bedford looked great against Louis Gaudinot, and it will be great to see what he can do against another exciting 135 lb. fighter in Denis. If Denis can follow up the performance against Sandoval with something spectacular against Bedford it will be especially impressive. As for Garza-Bermudez, both suffered setbacks in their respective last fights, but both are immensely exciting to watch, and this should be a really good fight for the fans in New Jersey.

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Officials today announced the fight, which is expected to be part of the event’s preliminary card.

UFC on FOX 3 takes place May 5 at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The event’s preliminary card airs on FUEL TV while the main card airs live on FOX.

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“We trained together and we had good times, but this competition has come between our friendship, which sucks,” Jones told host Laurence Holmes. “I do miss being friends with the guy. But it’s business, and he’s coming after my championship. I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do. It might be a little awkward punching him in the face, but I’m sure the first time he swings at me, it will get reactionary.”

Though fighters quite often forget their pre-fight squabbles after bouts, Jones says a renewed friendship is unlikely. He just wants respect between the two.

“I’d like to get to a point of being cordial, but to be friends again is not necessary. There’s thousands of wonderful people in the world I can meet. After all that’s been said, we can just live our lives. Respect is all that’s necessary for me.”

Hoping for respect between the two didn’t prevent Jones from taking a few digs at Evans and how he performed in his win over Phil Davis.

“I don’t know if it’s because of changing camps, but his body looked a little softer. He couldn’t finish Phil Davis, a guy who is pretty much a rookie. [Ed. note -- Davis has 10 fights.] I got even more motivated to out-train him.”

Jones thinks that if the same Evans who fought Davis shows up in Atlanta in April for their bout, it will be another title defense.

“Rashad’s been in the game for almost 10 years now [Ed. note -- Eight years], and he didn’t really show why he’s the No. 2 ranked athlete. We didn’t see any legit boxing combinations, no kicking, no powerful double-leg dives. He was really just out there existing. If that’s the same fighter who comes out when we fight, easier day for me.”

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Dan Henderson last stepped into the Octagon in November of 2011 and has been patiently waiting for his next fight ever since. He had been jockeying for a title shot against either Jon Jones or Anderson Silva but both Champions have different challengers in front of them.<Br><br>

Henderson had been offered a fight against Alexander Gustafsson but turned in fight down in a quest for a title shot.<Br><Br>

Now, UFC President Dana White says that Henderson turned down a fight against Lyoto Machida:<br><Br>

"He doesn't want to fight Machida. He doesn't want to wait. He's going to have to wait. Who does he want to fight? I don't know what to do with Dan. Dan's either going to have to wait for (Jon) Jones or wait for (Anderson) Silva. Or fight somebody else."<Br><Br>

Props: MMAFighting.com<br><Br>

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If you tuned in on Wednesday for UFC on Fuel TV, you may have noticed something new to the broadcast – the use of live stats displayed during the fights. It was the next evolution in the UFC’s partnership with FightMetric.com, as they provided live, unofficial stats for commentators Jon Anik and Kenny Florian to muse on during fights and for fans at home to see as well.

It’s something a lot of fans have wanted to see during fights in the past, and something that’s going to continue to be ingrained into broadcasts going forward, according to UFC President Dana White.

“I told you, a lot of things in production we’re changing when we got into this new deal, and one of them is stats,” White said after UFC on FUEL TV 1 (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). “We’ve been giving tons of stats ? not only during the fight, but before the fight we give a ton of [stats] too.”

“There’s just so much more to MMA. We’re just giving more information.”

Of course, in a sport like MMA, simple striking stats don’t always tell the whole story of what’s happening in a fight. It’s a nice visual to have for fans, and does provide a little more to the broadcast, but White doesn’t believe it’s something that will have any sway with judges who may see it live as well.

“They do it in boxing,” White said. “It’s no different than boxing. But the difference between this and boxing is the amount of strikes (landed) have nothing to do with what goes on in MMA. If that’s swaying your decision, you definitely don’t [expletive] belong here. If they’re turning around (to look at the screens) and then going, ‘OK,’ and writing their score down, they don’t belong here.”

“The punch stats don’t always tell who’s winning the fight. We just need guys in there that know exactly what they’re doing and can judge. And let’s be honest – to be kind of fair to them – judging is somewhat subjective into what you think. But the bottom line is, you’ve got to go on damage. You’ve got to go on – there’s a lot of different things to score on, and judges should know what it is.”

Penick’s Analysis: Having live stats during the fights are another nice production tweak to continue bringing MMA broadcasts into the realm of mainstream sports. Stats are a huge part of other professional sport broadcasts, and being able to get in real time an idea of what each fighter is doing, from an offensive output standpoint, is great for fans. It’s impossible to provide a complete picture of things with stats, but it does give a good idea of what you’re seeing, and whether fighters are actually connecting on things or not. FightMetric does such a great job with what they do, and it’s great to see them taking on an even larger role in the UFC.

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When Jon Jones began his emergence as a serious force in the world of MMA, one super fight many began talking about was with Anderson Silva. The UFC Middleweight Champion had dipped his toes into the UFC’s light heavyweight division twice, and both times came away with spectacular victories.

As he had continued clearing out his own division, the thought of him going up to light heavyweight wasn’t a crazy one, and a fight with Jones could provide for a major, major fight for the UFC. However, according to Silva, it’s just something that’s not going to happen.

“I don’t plan on moving up in weight anymore,” Silva said in an interview with UOL Esportes (transcribed by “Orcus” at BloodyElbow.com). “He’s in a different weight [class]. I train with bigger guys, such as Lyoto Machida and Big Nog and I know how complicated it is… Every time I see Jones I tell him to keep focus, because if he does that, there’s no opponent for him. He’s better than everyone. He’d have a lot of advantages [over me], he’s much younger and it wouldn’t be something interesting [for me].”

While that super fight isn’t in the cards, Silva remains open to a fight with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

“GSP is very educated and I like him a lot,” Silva said. “A fight against him would be very, very, very big and this could actually happen.”

For now, Silva has a second fight with Chael Sonnen on the horizon, as it’s expected to take place in his home country of Brazil this June. Silva has defeated him once, but that hasn’t stopped Sonnen from continuing to spout off against Silva and several of his Brazilian teammates, among others. Silva has no respect for Sonnen’s talk, and believes it’s Sonnen is a detriment to the sport.

“A lot of people who hear the crap he says end up thinking, ‘I don’t like MMA, it’s a joke,’” Silva said. “What he does only hurts the sport in general. That’s never good. We are in a good phase with MMA and we have to capitalize on it. It looks like Chael doesn’t understand that, all he wants is for people to get angry.”

Penick’s Analysis: Silva saying Jones would have several advantages over him and that being one of the reasons he’s not interested in that fight, along with not wanting to move up in weight, could be the very same things that make a GSP fight a long shot. St-Pierre has often talked about how hard it would be for him to move up from the welterweight division, and it’s why the two have continued defending their respective titles and staying in their own weight classes. While I still would be highly intrigued by an Anderson Silva fight against either Jones or GSP, I’d also be completely content seeing all three stay atop the divisions they’re currently in. Dominant champions can be highly interesting for a lot of people, and it’s always exciting to see a different challenger try to topple the man on top. For the time being, it’s hard to imagine any of the three getting defeated anytime soon, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

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“There’s no way she can conceive the amount of pain, sacrifice, bravery, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles I’ve had to overcome to make it to this point.

In just a few weeks I’m going to be fighting Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce women’s 135lbs world championship title. It’s a match that she’s resisted since the very beginning, but has snowballed into women’s MMA’s most anticipated fight since Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg set ratings records for Showtime a few years ago. It began with me defeating Julia Budd this past November in an admittedly brutal fashion, followed by me asking for the first shot at Miesha since she won her belt from Marloes Coenen. Miesha immediately protested, and as a result we had a now infamous debate on Ariel Helwani’s show. She was obviously less prepared for the debate than I was, as I treated the debate like a fight in itself. I saw the potential and importance of this opportunity, and looked up every article I could find arguing her point of view. I then wrote a counter argument to every single point they made and took turns with my friends playing both myself and her in “practice arguments.” By the time we were on the show she sounded uneducated and unprepared in comparison, conflicting herself and falling speechless on several occasions. Several months later while doing a round table press conference with her, Scott Coker, and myself, (part 1 – and part 2) I swear I could hear an echo in the room as she completely abandoned most of her original stances o the subject and adopted mine. The only thing she hasn’t conceded on was the fact that she doesn’t think I’m a “worthy” opponent and don’t deserve to fight her. If that is the case, I encourage her and her fans to put their money where their mouths are. Because at the moment I’m favored almost 4-1 in the Vegas odds, and I would like for my friends to actually make a decent profit for once off of one of my wins. Funny isn’t it? That a challenger who isn’t deserving of a title shot is so heavily favored over the champion?

Though she’s argued that I’m less experienced than her, not able to deal with pressure, and likely to mentally break after the first minute? there’s no way she can conceive the amount of pain, sacrifice, bravery, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles I’ve had to overcome to make it to this point.

I was literally born fighting. The umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and my face was blue, everyone was scared that I died. Obviously I didn’t, but there was some damage done. I was far behind my sisters and other children my age in speech, and could not speak coherently till I was around 6. No one ever told me there was anything wrong with me, my Mom and Dad refused to let me feel abnormal. I just remember being frustrated all the time, because I knew in my head what I wanted to say, but for some reason no one could ever understand me; my words came out as gibberish. My father most of all told everyone: “Ronnie is a sleeper. Just you watch, she’s gonna show everyone and be the best of them one day.” He would always tell me that I was destined for greatness. At the time I was swimming competitively and he would constantly tell me I was going to win the Olympics and be the best in the world someday. 

Unfortunately my Dad died when I was 8 years old, and it was the most painful thing my family has ever been through?

Swimming was something me and my dad would do together, and after his death I quickly lost my motivation to swim. Though I never lost the need to honor him and fulfill every expectation he had of me.

Several years later we moved to Los Angeles, my mother remarried, and things got better. My mother was the first American to ever win the world championships in judo, something she never talked about much when I was a kid. But she used to train at Tenri Judo in East LA during her prime in the 80′s, so when we moved back to LA she went to visit her old teammates who had then opened up clubs of their own.

I took to judo right away and it soon replaced swimming as my number one passion. Swimming was very one-dimensional in comparison. You could do the breaststroke one way and the butterfly one way, but, once you’d mastered those skills, there was little room for creativity. Judo, on the other hand, really encouraged creativity and individual flair. It allowed me to create my own style and personality and play around with the textbook. You could try things out, improvise a little and think outside the box. There were just so many different things to learn and pick up on, and that really excited me. I didn’t feel I could necessarily learn how to become a better swimmer – you simply practice and practice until you hopefully one day became one. Judo was very much a learning process for me, though. It was something I could play with and make my own.

Mom was against me doing judo at first, she felt people would expect too much from me given who she was and what she had achieved in the same sport. It was actually her team-mates, who were my coaches at the time, who persuaded her to let me do it. In all honesty, I didn’t feel any additional pressure because of the fact my mother was previously involved in the sport. If anything, I’m the one that puts pressure on myself when it comes to goal-setting. I don’t feel right unless there is some element of pressure. Some people crack under it, but I’ve always thrived. Six years after starting out, I made my first Olympic team. Maybe it was genetics, destiny, or both, but I really had a knack for it.

The whole reason I focused on judo to begin with was so that I could one day reach the Olympic Games and win a gold medal. That was literally my sole aim from day one, and nothing else crossed my mind from that point. I wasn’t interested in being involved in judo to become a mere also-ran. Even after my very first practice, I remember thinking to myself, ‘Yep, this is definitely going to work out ? I’m going to win the Olympics’. It was all or nothing for me, and that same attitude carried over after transitioning to MMA.

Some people like to call me cocky or arrogant, but I just think “How dare you assume I should think less of myself? The problem isn’t me thinking I can achieve any goal I set for myself, the problem is you projecting your own self doubt onto me.”

My current goals are to revive women’s MMA and solidify its place in the sport. The first step to achieving that goal is to beat Miesha Tate in impressive fashion on March 3rd. And there isn’t a goddamn thing that can stop me.

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After a plodding victory over Joey Beltran in his debut at UFC, Miocic looked to send a message here. He came out looking to bang and paid the price in the early seconds. Just 16 seconds in, De Fries (8-1, 1-1 UFC) drilled him with a three-punch combination. The Independence, Ohio native stood his ground stuffing a weak attempt at a clinch and reset himself.

Miocic (8-0. 2-0 UFC) landed a big right of own with 4:25 left that stopped De Fries in his tracks. A submission specialist, De Fries freaked out and tried to punch his way out of trouble. It didn’t work. De Fries got pushed back into the cage when Miocic landed another big right. That was all it took. He dropped to his hands and his knees, and covered up. He didn’t want to fight anymore, so referee Dan Miragliotta saved him after seven more shots.

Miocic’s skill set is impressive. He was a high level college wrestler at 197 pounds and also played on the Cleveland State baseball team.

He’s the rare wrestler, who also boxed at a young age. He’s got a Golden Gloves title to his credit. At 29, he’s getting a little bit of a late start to his MMA career, but it’s also allowed to grow into his frame. The 6-foot-4, 240 pounder didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He continues the trend of new heavyweights, who are much more athletic than the big men of the part.

Dillashaw regains his status as a top 135-pound prospect to watch

The outcome of “The Ultimate Fighter” doesn’t  always predict who’ll be the best fighter to come off the show. T.J. Dillashaw wasn’t up to snuff at the TUF 14 Finale, but he more than made up for it tonight by putting on a clinch against Walel Watson. Dillashaw rolled with a unanimous decision victory, 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

Dillashaw, 25, destroyed Watson from the opening seconds. He scored two takedowns early and worked what appeared to be three nasty chokes.  And that was all in the first round. In the second, Watson found himself on his back just 24 seconds in. By late in the second, he’d outstruck Watson 110-2.

At 5-11, Watson is extremely long for the division, but Dillashaw did a great job staying away from any submission predicaments by working mostly from half guard. He also mounted Watson on several occasions.

At the end of the fight, Dillashaw’s advantage in the stats department was staggering. He outlanded 172-12.

TUF 12 champ Brookins looks explosive in easy victory over Rocha

If Jonathan Brookins can clean up one bugaboo in his game he has a chance to be a real player in the UFC’s featherweight division. Brookins holds his chin a little too high, but it didn’t matter tonight because he made such quick work of Vagner Rocha.

A flubbed Rocha takedown attempt turned into a dominant position for Brookins, who scored the rare top control knockout of Rocha at the 1:43 mark of the first round.

Rocha caught a Brookin kick and tried to drive forward to shoot for a double leg takedown. Brookins easily thwarted the attempt and pushed forward to get Rocha on his back. Instead of staying patient and protecting himself, the Brazilian started grasping at a leg to potentially attempt a knee bar and foot submission.

Brookins is too slick for that, so he started raining down right hands. the first three didn’t land cleanly, but the fourth did. So much so that is appeared to knockout Rocha, who ate three more shots before the ref tossed Brookins to the side.

UFC on Fuel TV 1 undercard results:

Ivan Menjivar def. John Albert via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:45

Justin Salas def. Anton Kuivanen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)

Tim Means def. Bernado Magalhaes vis unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26).

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The UFC hasn’t shied away from the Olympics in the past. UFC 110, which featured Cain Velasquez taking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round, aired against the 2010 Winter Olympics. Georges St. Pierre defended his belt against Jon Fitch at UFC 87 on the second night of the 2008 Summer Games.

[Related: Jon Fitch vs. Josh Koscheck fight could happen]

But there are two big differences here. First of all, this is network television vs. network television. The previous UFC events that took on the Olympics were pay-per-views, which generally attract a more hard-core fan base. With network television, the UFC is seeking casual fans. During the Olympics, casual sports fans tune into the Games.

Secondly, the UFC’s other Olympic-conflicted events fell on nights with with light schedules at the Games. Aug. 4 will be jam-packed with sports popular in the U.S. Swimming will award medals in four races. Basketball and beach volleyball will play early-round games. In track and field, the men’s long jump and women’s heptathlon and 100-meter events will conclude. The gold- and bronze-medal tennis matches will take place at Wimbledon.

Who will win the ratings battle? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
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Wednesday’s UFC on Fuel TV preliminary card was supposed to have one more fight for the crowd in Omaha, Neb. and watching on Facebook, but UFC newcomer Sean Loeffler suffered a nasty ankle injury while warming up for his fight with Buddy Roberts, forcing it to be a last minute scratch.

During the broadcast Loeffler was shown icing his severely swollen ankle backstage, mouthing apologies and saying he’d be back. On Thursday, Loeffler explained what happened.

“I was doing ‘tuck jumps? backstage,” Loeffler said in comments released by his camp. “My foot got caught in a crack in the warm-up mat, and it rolled over and snapped in half. Trevor Wittman and Urijah Faber were there… the whole locker room heard it pop.”

“Fortunately, the ankle?s not broken. It?s a 3rd degree fibula/tibia strain. There?s about a 50/50 chance I?ll have surgery, but we won?t know until after I get an MRI. I don?t know how long I?ll be out, but Joe Silva has told me that I am 100% a UFC fighter, and that I?ll be back with them.”

Loeffler will remain on the UFC’s roster despite not fighting on Saturday, and he’s even been paid his “show” money for Saturday’s event.

“Yes, it?s true,” Loeffler said. “I very much appreciate that. I?d like to thank Dana White, Joe Silva, and the rest of the UFC for standing by me through this. They paid me my show money even though I got injured. I appreciate that so much, and I won?t forget it. And to the fans, I will be back, better than ever, as soon as possible. I?m in the UFC to stay, and even though the ankle injury sucked, it shows that everything I do will always be memorable… ha.”

He doesn’t expect the UFC to keep Roberts on ice while he heals, so he’s planning on making a his official debut against someone else later in the year. For now, he just hopes that the injury won’t keep him out for too long.

Penick’s Analysis: Last minute scratches like this are always especially disappointing for all involved. They made weight, they were prepared to fight, and then they didn’t get the payoff of stepping into the cage. It was great of the UFC to pay Loeffler his show money, and it’s in line with what they often will do in this situation. It was a freak accident, and it’s something that could happen to anyone. Hopefully the injury doesn’t wind up being majorly serious that would keep him out of action a really long time.

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In the aftermath of the decision, and the heated debate that came with it, though, I’ve been left to wonder: On what do MMA judges base decisions, these days?

Among the several factors judges are supposed to consider under the Unified Rules is aggression. Diaz was the clear-cut aggressor in the first three rounds.

Octagon control is also supposed to be considered when judging a round. Condit seemed to spend most of the early rounds backpedaling. He even ended the third round literally scooting backwards on his butt to get out of Diaz’s way.

And yet, you never seem to hear anything about aggression and Octagon control these days when judging is dissected after the fact.

[Related: Carlos Condit faced with controversy after win over Nick Diaz]

There was a time when turning an MMA fight into a track meet was not considered a virtue. John McCarthy docked Jamie Varner a point in his UFC 62 loss to Hermes Franca for running when he employed similar tactics. Kalib Starnes was just about mocked out of the sport entirely for running sprints in his UFC 83 bout with Nate Quarry.

This is supposed to be a fight, right? With fighting for points increasingly becoming en vogue, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the actual criteria laid out for the judges when scoring a round. Aggression is supposed to be rewarded and weighted more heavily than defense. Backpedaling and sprinting is not supposed to be a point in a fighter’s favor. Let’s nip this one in the bud before MMA turns into Olympic tae kwondo.

? Much is being made of the fact that Condit outstruck Diaz in the fight. According to CompuStrike, he outlanded Diaz, 146-110. All this tells me is that MMA statistic keeping is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it’s a rock-solid method of measuring a fight. Sure, a 36-strike discrepancy could be an accurate portrayal of a fight. It could also mean the when one fighter has another cornered, he connected solidly on a single straight right, only to have his opponent throw a wild flurry of four of five punches, none of which did damage, then scamper to safety. And yet the latter fighter in that example would have a 5-1 strike advantage. Which leads us to the next stat, “significant” strikes, which Condit also took Who gets to define “significant?” That’s a subjective decision and thus has minimal value as an objective fight measure.

[Related: Plenty of outrage over Diaz-Condit decision]

? In hindsight, maybe Herb Dean should have just docked Alex Caceres after his first kill shot to Edwin Figueroa’s groin, then docked him another after the second one, rather than issue a warning after the first one and deduct two later. While Dean’s two-point deduction was certainly unusual, I can’t get too worked up about it. The first one was right up there with the nastiest groin shots I’ve seen in six years over covering MMA. Dean issued Caceres a “strong warning,” and within a matter of seconds after the fight resumed, Caceres went right back to throwing wild kicks, to the point you could tell there was going to be another foul if the fight went on for any length of time. I wouldn’t want to see referees start handing out two-point deductions left and right. But Dean, in my opinion, is one of the two best refs in the business along with Josh Rosenthal, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on the call in this instance. Hopefully Caceres, an energetic bantamweight with some upside, will use this experience to become a smarter fighter.

? Just over a year ago, Josh Koscheck looked like a fighter without many viable options. He had just lost his title challenge to Georges St-Pierre in one-sided fashion, and he suffered a cracked orbital bone in the process. It was his second loss to GSP, and the No. 2 guy in the division, Jon Fitch, was his teammate for life at the American Kickboxing Academy. But now Koscheck has a variety of intriguing options. Should he be the next opponent for Diaz (c’mon, you and I both know Nick isn’t retiring)? Should he get a hot up-and-comer like Jake Ellenberger or Rory McDonald? Or is that off-limits fight against Fitch maybe on the table now that Koscheck is no longer with AKA? Love him, hate him, or love to hate him, Josh Koscheck remains one of the UFC’s most interesting fighters.

[Related: Jon Fitch vs. Josh Koscheck is a possibility]

? Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson apparently never heard of the famed “Octagon jitters” fighters are supposed to experience in their UFC debut. The Simpsonville, S.C., native looked poised and confident from the get-go in his bout with Dan Stittgen, right up until the highlight-reel head kick that won him both the fight and a $65,000 knockout of the night bonus. Sure, one fight is far too soon to label someone a potential contender, but Thompson impressed inside the cage and was humble at the post-fight press conference, so you know he has the right attitude. Way to make a first impression, kid.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davedoylemma

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Particularly surprising about the decision was that judge Chuck Wolfe scored the bout 30-27 for Warren: Not only did Wolfe score the first and third rounds for Warren, as did his fellow judges, but Wolfe also gave Warren the second round, even though almost everyone else watching thought that round was decidedly Galvao’s.

Although Wolfe declined to go into a detailed blow-by-blow account of the second round, he defended his scorecard and his decision, saying on Tuesday morning that he thought all three rounds in the fight were close, and that in close rounds, something relatively minor can be the difference in a 10-9 score.

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—Quote—
FEBRUARY 16TH 2012
In…

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This review was originally published on February 10. We are republishing today in conjunction with the game’s release.

After the poor reception for UFC Undisputed 2010, the second MMA video game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles, THQ took 2011 off to expand upon previous ideas, fine tune the gameplay, and present a more robust MMA experience for gamers and fans. With the upcoming release of UFC Undisputed 3, it’s safe to say they got things mostly right.

UFC Undisputed 3 combines elements of the more critically lauded EA MMA with a much deeper and immersive game overall from the previous UFC Undisputed iterations, providing for the best MMA experience you can find in a video game.

Let’s start with the improvements. One of the biggest criticisms of the earlier versions of Undisputed was a daunting learning curve for the different aspects of the fighting game itself. With a ground and clinch system predicated on rotations of the right stick, and a complex striking system incorporating most of the controller, it seemed to be overly complicated in comparison to a game like EA MMA.

However, they’ve addressed it somewhat in this game with a new option, allowing for a simple flick of the right stick up or down for minor or major transitions. The striking game is similar to previous years, but feels more streamlined with additional moves and positions from which to strike. Becoming at least competent in the striking department is a must (learning how to block and counter well will do you a lot of good), but it’s not a hugely difficult thing to grasp once you begin to get a hang of things.

Another issue many had with the past two versions of the game were the frequency of flash knockouts and quick submissions. Both areas have been addressed, with the submission system getting a complete overhaul.

Flash knockouts are a lot rarer, and more difficult to pull off in the game as well. Instead of one punch knockouts happening off of just about any position, strong strikes while countering are essentially the only times a fight is going to end with a single strike. Instead, what is a lot more common is a fighter being put into a “rocked” state and given a chance to recover. If you’re able to pounce quickly onto a downed opponent, you can deliver strikes to get the TKO finish. If you are on the other end of that situation, you’ll more often than not have time to recover to get back into the game.

Another great new feature is PRIDE mode, with a roster full of familiar names modeled after their time in the now-defunct Japanese promotion. With the new mode, stomps, soccer kicks, and knees to the head of a downed opponent are allowed, and it comes complete with Lenne Hardt as the ring announcer, with Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros on commentary.

For submissions, they’re not only more difficult to pull off, they’re easier to defend, and you have a visual representation of how close or far you are from pulling one off. Much like in EA MMA, there is an on-screen graphic where you need to chase your opponent around a circle with the right stick, and as you cover their marker the submission comes closer to being locked in. However, you have a short window to attempt it before losing position. Another addition to the submission game is the ability to chain multiple attempts, but again, the window of opportunity is small.

But it’s not just in the gameplay itself that you’ll find improvement, as the career mode is much more streamlined than in past versions as well. Getting from fight to fight is a much quicker process, and to improve skills for your fighter you have a number of different options available, including training mini-games, gameplans, sparring sessions, fight camps and more. You also have the option to begin a career with a fighter already on the UFC’s roster instead of a created fighter, and you can use those same skill improvement options to change the attributes of the fighter of your choosing.

Then there’s Title Mode, in which you take a fighter and run through a division en route to capturing a title. Once you have gotten through Title Mode with a fighter, you open them up in Title Defense mode, where you defend the belt with that fighter and attempt to accomplish a number of goals as well. Throw in historical fights and an improved online game as well, and this game provides fans with hours upon hours of playability.

On top of the gameplay improvements themselves, the production is much better this time around as well. Full ring entrances (including techno and pyro-filled walkouts in PRIDE mode), improved commentary, smooth displays, and an improved replay system really bring the feel of UFC and Pride events to the screen.

There are still some issues, and it’s certainly not a perfect game. There are four difficulty settings, but if you’re not well-versed in every area of the game you may have a difficult time at anything outside of the beginner setting. The submission game, while less taxing than rotating the right stick rapidly, is very difficult to master, and there are a few glitchy moments here and there from a collision detection standpoint.

Still, the minor issues don’t overshadow what is otherwise an excellent game. It’s the best virtual MMA experience to date, and those that were overly frustrated with Undisputed 2010 should be pleased with the improvements made in this game.

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Salas shook off an early stream of low kicks before scoring some key takedowns throughout the fight.

The preliminary-card bout was part of UFC on FUEL TV 1 at Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb. It streamed live on Facebook prior to the night’s main card on FUEL TV.

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Rousey is outraged that marijuana is part of athletic commissions’ banned lists across the United States.

“The athletic commissions testing for marijuana is an invasion of privacy. I don’t think that’s constitutional at all. There’s no real reason that they should be able to test and make the athletes conform to their political ideas,” Rousey told MMAWeekly radio.

This was the second time Diaz tested positive in the state of Nevada. Due to attention deficit disorder, Diaz has a medical marijuana card in California, but that doesn’t supersede commission policy. Rousey said that’s Diaz’s personal business and state commissions are poking their beaks where they don’t belong.

“They have just as much of right to say that ‘you know what? We don’t believe that athletes should be promiscuous so we’re going to start testing for genital herpes and genital warts,’” said Rousey.

Then Rousey went completely off the rails.

“‘We’re going to start testing women for birth control because we don’t think you be having premarital sex,’” Rousey said. “They don’t have a right to do it. It has nothing to do with sports.”

Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Keith Kizer disagrees.

“The drug is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it. It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport,” Kizer told the L.A. Times in 2009.

Apparently Rousey has never seen that explanation.

“Anyone who is stupid enough to say that smoking weed enhances your performance has never fougt or never smoked weed,” Rousey said. “It actually lowers your testosterone. It doesn’t help you in anyway at all.”

Diaz is likely to appear in front of the commission in April. The normal suspension for a positive marijuana test is six months, but this is offense No. 2 for Diaz. Boxer Matt Vanda appeared for a second offense last month. He received a one-year suspension and was docked 40 percent of his purse.

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LAS VEGAS — This week has been all about Nick Diaz and George St-Pierre. There’s one problem, they’re not fighting at UFC 143. In tonight’s main event, Diaz has to beat Carlos Condit to get GSP later this year.

While many on press row may be secretly rooting for the Diaz-GSP megafight, Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal isn’t hiding his feelings.

I don’t know much about Carlos Condit. Everyone seems to think him a nice guy. Married his longtime girlfriend. Has an infant son. Great mixed martial arts fighter. His father was Chief of Staff to former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. There is nothing wacky about Condit of note.

Which is why I hope he loses tonight.

Ed may seem like a jackass, but he’s not. Outside of the Condit family and Diaz haters, it’s what most people watching UFC 143 will be rooting for tonight. Along with Chael Sonnen versus Anderson Silva, a Diaz-GSP fight will be one of the most anticipated tilts of the year.

Before you get all huffy over Graney’s opinion, read the rest of the story. He may be the only newspaper columnist in the country who actually pens real columns about the sport in the traditional, old-guard media.

He’s dubbed St-Pierre “Rain main” because the UFC star said he had demons in his head, just like Diaz. When he tried to explain those demons, he said he’s OCD. Not exactly the scariest “demons” out there.

Condit knows the deal. He’s the guy in the way of the big show.

“I feel like they’re planning that fight before this one has even happened,” Condit said (0:49 mark). “That’s fine because I have the opportunity to get in there and spoils those plans.”

It’s just not Condit’s nature to lash out or be rude about being overlooked, so he’ll have to make everyone pay for disrespecting him through his actions in the Octagon. If that happens, Graney may be hanging his head.

It’s nothing personal, but I think most would rather see Rain Man finally fight the crazy guy who talks in tongues.

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Georges St-Pierre, Jake Shields, Jose Aldo, Mark Hominick, Randy Couture and Lyoto Machida will all be in attendance for the event and will be answering questions from the media, three days before their fights.

The press conference begins at 1 p.m. ET and the video is below.

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Of course, with all the restlessness Joseph faced on his trip from California to Lebanon for Saturday’s Cage Warriors Fight Night 3 event, his name almost became a matter of public record.

“Sitting down for so long, I just had to keep getting up,” Jospeh said. “And I was drinking a ton of water at the time, so getting up and down from the seat to go to the restroom and stretching my legs. I was doing squats in between the bathroom and the hallway.”

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