Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

Matt Lindland, 39, considers Chael Sonnen a friend and brother as well as a training partner.
 
The two middleweights have sweat and bled together for many years,
beginning in the days when Team Quest was a used-car lot with a gym in
the back.

While Lindland has shared in Sonnen’s successes, he –
along with many fans – has also seen his friend fall short of his
potential and lose out on several opportunities. At this past Saturday’s UFC 109 event, that finally changed.

“Crazy” and “Filthy” are about to collide in the octagon.
 
Middleweights Tim “Crazy” Credeur (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Tom “The
Filthy Mauler” Lawlor (6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) are expected to clash at UFC
113.
 
The news was first reported Tuesday by the Underground, a popular mixed
martial arts forum, and subsequently confirmed to MMAjunkie.com by sources close to the fight. Verbal agreements
are in place between the fighters, and bout agreements are expected to
be signed shortly.

Welterweight prospect Charlie Brenneman (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has joined
his AMA Fight Club teammates Dan and Jim Miller on the UFC’s official
roster.

Brenneman’s trainer and manager, Mike Constantino, today announced the
new deal, though he declined to comment on the specifics of the
contract.

“Charlie is one of the hardest working fighters here at AMA Fight Club
and has a ton of raw talent and athleticism,” Constantino stated in
the release. “He continues to improve each and every day, and I am
looking forward to introducing his skills to the world.”

UFC welterweight contender Martin Kampmann (16-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has
withdrawn from a UFC 111 bout with Ben Saunders (8-1-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC),
and Jake Ellenberger (22-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has agreed to take the fight
with a little less than seven-weeks’ notice.

MMAjunkie.com learned of the change from sources
close to the bout, though the UFC has yet to make an official
announcement.

The Kampmann vs. Saunders bout was slated for the main card of UFC 111,
which takes place March 27 in Newark, N.J. It’s currently unknown if
the organization will adjust the bout order following the change.

UFC training partners throughout the organization can breathe a sigh of
relief: The Lauzon brothers have all but ruled out a potential future
matchup.

Had the two siblings eventually squared off in the cage, the whole “I
don’t want to fight a friend” pitch would have lost a lot of steam in
UFC officials’ eyes.

But after Joe and Dan made history at January’s UFC 108 event as the
first brothers to fight on a UFC card, the Lauzon’s decided it will be
the last time the two are ever featured on the same event.

Another busy week of mixed-martial-arts action is in the books, and
much of the past few days’ discussion centered on the business side of
the sport rather than what happened inside the cage.

The official announcement of the WEC’s first-ever pay-per-view event
caused a stir in the MMA community, and the lion’s share of submissions
to this week’s edition of The Sunday Junkie, MMAjunkie.com’s weekly
reader-feedback feature, centered on the WEC 48 event.

But this week’s winner, “Khanman,” took a look at Chael Sonnen as a viable contender for the UFC’s middleweight title.