Author: MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff]

A true trailblazer of MMA today joins MMAjunkie.com Radio with the booking of former UFC champ, current Strikeforce fighter and broadcaster, legendary trainer, and all-round MMA legend Pat Miletich.

Miletich joins the show to discuss his storied past, as well as future possibilities, including a potential Strikeforce fight with Frank Shamrock, which FiveOuncesofPain.com first reported as a possibility on Monday.
Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez also calls in to discuss his upcoming bout at Tachi Palace Fights with Anthony Ruiz.

MMAjunkie.com Radio begins at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. Listen to
and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Strikeforce programming is coming to Europe, Australia and Latin America.

The mixed-martial-arts promotion and Shine International have sold more than 70 hours of programming across six markets in the above regions, Strikeforce today announced.

Strikeforce’s 30 highlights shows (which first aired on NBC) and 56 hours of other fight footage that originally aired on Showtime, as well as live events through February 2012, are part of the deal.

WEC bantamweight challenger Dominick Cruz considers himself one of MMA’s true believers, no matter what worldly rewards lie in wait down the road.

Cruz (14-1 MMA, 4-1 WEC), who fights bantamweight champion Brian Bowles at WEC 47 in March, packed up his life in Tucson, Ariz., almost four years ago to become a full-time MMA fighter in San Diego, Calif. He’s built an impressive resume in the face of steep odds at making a handsome living in the 135-pound class.

He hasn’t upgraded his lifestyle much since those early days, but if he beats Bowles, he just might treat himself to one worldly comfort: a framed bed.

At this past Friday’s weigh-ins, Wes Sims was holding court and proudly showing off a T-shirt with a supposed strip club of a sponsor.

At Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Miami” event, Sims kicked off his bout against Bobby Lashley with some pro-wrestling-inspired taunting. And even after his lopsided TKO loss, Sims joked with his opponent and the media in a post-fight press conference.

And while it may be easy to write off the veteran fighter as MMA’s resident goofball, a representative for Sims said the fighter came to win and had far more riding on the line than most fans realize.

UFC newcomer Joey Beltran (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is likely to replace Mostapha Al Turk (6-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) and fight fellow octagon rookie Rolles Gracie (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC 109 event.

Beltran’s manager, Matt Stansell, today told MMAjunkie.com that the fighter agreed to the bout and is expected to replace Al Turk, who’s dealing with non-injury-related issues.

Although waiting for final word on Al Turk’s status, Beltran tomorrow leaves for Las Vegas, which hosts UFC 109 on Feb. 6.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan on Sunday issued an apology after flipping off some fans at this past weekend’s “Strikeforce: Miami” event.

Ryan, one of many NFL fighters and players in Florida for this weekend’s Pro Bowl activities, did in-arena interview while being booed by most of the event’s 8,156 attendees.

Ryan, who went 0-2 against the Miami Dolphins this year, promised to make it 2-0 next year during the interview. He later flipped off some fans, and a cellphone photo of the coach (and his middle finger) were sent to and distributed by ESPN.