Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

Generally speaking, when the subject of referees and mixed martial arts
officials is brought up around UFC president Dana White, one can safely
expect a profanity laced tirade to follow.

For instance, in March 2009, White openly questioned the performances of both Rick
Fike and Yves Lavigne after a pair of gaffes at UFC 96 in Ohio. And of
course, Steve Mazzagatti has entrenched himself as White’s favorite
whipping boy.

But following this past Saturday’s “UFC 109: Relentless” event in Las
Vegas, White wanted to talk about one of the night’s officials for a
very different reason.

For at least one day, one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters
was just like every MMA fan in the world: He was wondering who the UFC
would pick for him to fight next.

UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva found out on
Thursday, along with pretty much the rest of the MMA world, that title
challenger Vitor Belfort had been forced to withdraw from a planned UFC
112 bout due to a shoulder injury.

Then on Friday, Silva found out just hours before the UFC made its
official announcement that Demain Maia had agreed
to fill in. “The Spider” smiled, and his mind was immediately brought
back to the early days of the UFC.

Slugger Melvin Guillard’s (23-8-2 MMA, 6-4 UFC) tour of the UFC
lightweight division’s best submission fighters isn’t over just yet.

MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the
organization that Guillard and Brazilian Thiago Tavares (14-3-1 MMA,
4-3-1 UFC) have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 114.

While not yet officially announced by the organization, UFC 114 is
expected to take place on May 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas.

Tickets for the UFC’s first-ever outdoor event and first trip to the Middle East go on sale today.

The promotion has waived the normal UFC Fight Club and UFC.com
newsletter pre-sales for “UFC 112: Invincible,” and tickets will
instead be available to all consumers beginning today at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT).

UFC 112 takes place April 10 at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

As a reminder, submissions for the upcoming edition of “The Sunday Junkie” are due Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.

All topics are open for discussion. The person who sends in the submission we deem the best – based on timeliness of subject, clarity and overall persuasiveness – will be invited onto MMAjunkie.com Radio to discuss the topic.

Each winner will also receive a free year’s subscription to Fighters Only, the world’s leading MMA and lifestyle magazine!

At 46 years old, UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture continues to defy the odds each time he steps into the cage.

Couture fought for the third time in less than six months – one of the
busiest stretches of his illustrious career – when he defeated Mark
Coleman at this past weekend’s UFC 109 event.

But there’s no rest for the weary, and many MMA fans are already
anticipating “Captain America’s” return to the cage. UFC president Dana
White recently said Couture’s next move could depend on what transpires
shortly in two different divisions.