Author: MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff]

When entering the dawns of their careers and retirement looms, have MMA fighters learned anything from our boxing brethren?

In this week’s “Ask the Fight Doc” installment, MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin tackles the topic of fighter retirement and the many factors that can cloud a competitor’s decision to hang up the gloves for good.

As Dr. Benjamin explains, the same factors and the same people who help a fighter reach greatness can prove to be his or her downfall.

At Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Miami” event, hard-hitting K-1 kickboxer and veteran MMA fighter Melvin Manhoef makes his promotional debut when he fights fellow striker Robbie Lawler on the Showtime-televised main card.

And in this week’s edition of HDNet Fights Video Vault, we take a look at a recent “Dynamite!! 2009” fight between Manhoef and fellow middleweight Kazuo Misaki.

For those readers who haven’t seen any of Manhoef’s past fights, this one will give you a pretty good indication of what the Dutchman brings to the cage.

Hard Rock Live, a venue at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., has been selected to host season-opening events for Bellator Fighting Championship’s upcoming second and third seasons.

Season two (commencing in April) and season three (August) both air live on FOX Sports Net affiliates with weekend highlights shows on NBC and Telemundo.

In addition to the season debuts (April 8 and Aug. 12), one other event from each upcoming season (Bellator 22 on June 10 and Bellator 36 on Oct. 28) also takes place at the Orlando-area venue.

BusinessWeek today named famed Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar two of the 100 most powerful athletes in the world.

Emelianenko ranked No. 82 and Lesnar No. 96 in the “Power 100 of 2010,” which takes into account factors such as performance, marketability and earning potential.

Golfer Tiger Woods, the NBA’s LeBron James, golfer Phil Mickelson, MLB’s Albert Pujols and the NFL’s Peyton Manning took the top five spots.

A welterweight contest between former WEC champ Carlos Condit (24-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and recent Canadian UFC newcomer Rory MacDonald (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will likely be part of June’s UFC 115 card.

A source close to one of the competitors today told MMAjunkie.com verbal agreements are in place for the fight, though bout agreements have not been signed.

Although not officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

After seeing a fight vanish before his eyes, Phillipe Nover realized he was doing things the wrong way.

On Sept. 16, the day he was supposed to fight Rob Emerson at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City, state athletic commission officials scratched Nover from the card.

Commission officials said “The Ultimate Fighter 8” runner-up suffered a seizure; Nover said he merely fainted. Either way, the lightweight fighter earned medical clearance for next week’s UFC 109 event and, in light of the past incidents, said he’s been “more professional” about his training and fight prep.