Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

A welterweight grudge match between Anthony Johnson (8-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC)
and John Howard (13-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has been put on indefinite hold as
“Rumble” was forced to bow out of the contest due to a knee injury.

The pair was scheduled to meet on the main card of “UFC on Versus 1:
Vera vs. Jones,” which takes place March 21 in Broomfield, Colo.

The injury was first reported by ProMMANow.com and has subsequently been verified by multiple outlets.

American Kickboxing Academy fighter Luke Rockhold (6-1 MMA, 5-0 SF) has
quickly made a name for himself in Strikeforce’s middleweight division.

Rightfully so. With five submission wins in five Strikeforce outings,
Rockhold’s grappling skills have already earned him a solid reputation.

But as Rockhold prepares to take on “The Ultimate Fighter 7” competitor
Paul Bradley (12-1 MMA, 1-0 SF) at “Strikeforce Challengers VI” on Feb.
26 in San Jose, Calif., he has a message for his opponent: Let’s stand
and bang.

Never one to refrain from speaking his mind when asked to give his
opinion, MMA manger Ed Soares has been frequently criticized as of late
for trying to manipulate the UFC’s matchmaking process or hand-select
opponents for his clients, such as UFC middleweight champ Anderson
Silva.

Soares once again became a focal point of attention this past week when
he suggested middleweight contender Chael Sonnen needed to avenge his
February 2009 loss to Demian Maia before being considered for a title
shot.

When Silva’s UFC 112 opponent, Vitor Belfort, was forced to withdraw
from the contest. Maia was named as the replacement. Several observers
cried, “Foul,” but Soares insists he had nothing to do with the
replacement choice.

DaMarques Johnson (10-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) announced in late January that he
would be fighting in Abu Dhabi, and now his opponent has been revealed.

Johnson has agreed to meet Brad Blackburn (15-10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC
112, which takes place April 10 in Abi Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The bout was first reported by MMAFighting.com, and MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed that verbal agreements are in
place and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

Few mixed martial artists just five fights into their careers seem to
be such the lightning rod for attention that former WWE star Bobby
Lashley (5-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) has quickly become.

Nearly every MMA fans has an opinion on the career progress of Lashley,
and it seems to range from “the sky’s the limit” to “he’ll never make
it.”

In our most recent MMAjunkie.com/”Inside MMA” weekly poll, we
asked readers to play matchmaker and decide which current Strikeforce
heavyweight Lashley should fight next.

Few mixed martial artists just five fights into their careers seem to
be such the lightning rod for attention that former WWE star Bobby
Lashley (5-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) has quickly become.

Nearly every MMA fans has an opinion on the career progress of Lashley,
and it seems to range from “the sky’s the limit” to “he’ll never make
it.”

In our most recent MMAjunkie.com/”Inside MMA” weekly poll, we
asked readers to play matchmaker and decide which current Strikeforce
heavyweight Lashley should fight next.