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Ben vs. ReX: UFC 123 Edition

("I’m actually preparing for my next movie role right now. It’s called ‘This Muhfucka Breff Stank: The Machida Story’." Props: twitter.com/danawhite)
With Bellator on hiatus, Friday mornings have gotten a little lonely around here. So I dec…

("I’m actually preparing for my next movie role right now. It’s called ‘This Muhfucka Breff Stank: The Machida Story’." Props: twitter.com/danawhite)

With Bellator on hiatus, Friday mornings have gotten a little lonely around here. So I decided to reach out to Doug "ReX13" Richardson and see if he felt like reviving a classic feature on CagePotato, and engaging in some spirited debate on a few UFC 123-related topics that we didn’t get to cover in last week’s podcast. Will this be the beginning of a new era, or the raping of an old legacy? Read on and decide for yourself. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for our liveblog of Rampage vs. Machida!

Between Rampage, Machida, Hughes, and Penn, who would most deserve a title shot after a win on Saturday?

BG: Matt Hughes by a country mile. Hughes has already built up three-straight wins in his division — which sets him apart from the other headliners on the card who are all coming off of losses — and a win in his rubber match against Penn might generate interest in the revival of another big-money rivalry from the past: Hughes vs. GSP. (Yes, Georges would need to get past Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, but who are we kidding here?)

No matter who holds the 170-pound strap at the end of next month, it’s clear that the UFC’s welterweight division is short on exciting title challengers, while the light-heavyweight division almost has too many of them. Once the Mauricio Rua vs. Rashad Evans title scrap finally goes down, the winner of Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader could legitimately be slotted in for a shot ahead of Jackson or Machida. Meanwhile, a Hall of Famer like Matt Hughes making another unlikely title run would be a lot more compelling than Jon Fitch or Jake Shields getting their dutiful turns at bat. In fact, Fitch and Shields should have to fight each other to establish the UFC’s Alpha Blanket before either of them get a whiff of championship gold.

RX: Wow, really? Country Breakfast was the first guy I eliminated. His last win over a guy under thirty years old was five years ago, and he hasn‘t shown any interest in actually fighting top 5 fighters at 170. Both Hughes and Penn are looking to win this fight so internet assholes like ourselves don’t start saying they’re washed-up bums.

Can Strikeforce Survive in a Post-Merger World? (Yes. Here’s How.)

("Trust me, everything at Strikeforce is just fine. Say, anybody else hear those violins?")
In the wake of yesterday’s merger between the UFC and the WEC, Strikeforce’s quest to carve out an equal space in the MMA world just got even …

("Trust me, everything at Strikeforce is just fine. Say, anybody else hear those violins?")

In the wake of yesterday’s merger between the UFC and the WEC, Strikeforce’s quest to carve out an equal space in the MMA world just got even more unlikely. But if you’re Scott Coker, this is no time to despair. It’s time to fight harder — and finally fix the slew of problems that have been dragging you down. So here’s what you do…

No more "Challengers" cards until further notice
The bottom line is, your roster isn’t deep enough to pull it off, and nobody gives a fuck. We just came off of a Challengers event that was headlined — I said headlined — by Roger Bowling vs. Bobby Voelker. For God’s sake, the next Raging Wolf card is more stacked. Strikeforce should abandon their minor-league series, and stick all those prospects onto the prelims of their larger Showtime cards (more on that next). If that means fewer events, so be it. Sure, you want to develop your brand by holding regular shows around the country, but just as importantly, you want to associate your brand with excellence and excitement. And let’s be honest, Strikeforce can’t be turning a profit on those Challengers cards anyway.

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 121 Edition

(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121’s…

(Worst ‘America’s Got Talent’ audition ever. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Cain Velasquez has a date with Junior Dos Santos, and Jake Shields — God help us — is still likely to face the winner of GSP vs. Koscheck. But the fates of UFC 121‘s other winners and losers are yet to be determined. As usual, we have some brilliant suggestions…

Brock Lesnar: Assuming that nobody really wants to see a Lesnar vs. Mir rubber match, there are a surprising lack of options for the new ex-champ. If Roy Nelson beats Shane Carwin at UFC 125, Lesnar vs. Big Country would make perfect sense. (Lesnar vs. Carwin II is also an option for down the road, considering Carwin never felt like Brock beat him fair and square.) But at the moment, the best available opponent for Lesnar is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who’s coming off his own nasty loss to Velasquez. The fading Big Nog would likely take a beating, but the UFC needs to re-build their most bankable star against a credible name, and letting Lesnar whale on a legend is an effective way to do it.

Martin Kampmann: The first name that comes to mind is Dan Hardy, though the UFC probably wants to avoid the possibility of one of their British stars dropping three straight. So how ’bout this: Nate Diaz. The TUF 5 winner and moneyweight contender is facing Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125. If Diaz wins, Diaz vs. Kampmann is a great matchup between two guys who are on the same upper-middle region of the welterweight ladder. If Diaz gets outgrappled by DHK, then Kampmann gets a rebound against an "easier" opponent. Either way, it’s a scrap.

That Settles It: Cheick Kongo Is the Dirtiest Fighter in the UFC

(One of the few moments on Saturday when Travis Browne wasn’t in danger of getting his nuts demolished. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
Though many UFC fighters have gotten bad reputations for everything from eye-poking to greasing, nobody’s as co…

(One of the few moments on Saturday when Travis Browne wasn’t in danger of getting his nuts demolished. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

Though many UFC fighters have gotten bad reputations for everything from eye-poking to greasing, nobody’s as consistently rotten as heavyweight Cheick Kongo, who put on another notorious performance against Travis Browne at UFC 120. Kongo started things off in the second round by launching his trademark strike — a knee to the balls, straight up the middle — and wound up costing himself the victory in the third frame when he continued to grab Browne’s shorts despite warnings from the ref; the resulting point-deduction led to a unanimous 28-28 judges’ decision. At this point, it’s pretty much indisputable that Kongo is the dirtiest fighter currently on the UFC roster. Who could forget his other career highlights…

vs. Paul Buentello at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones: After being warned by Herb Dean for shots to the back of the head and 12-to-6 elbows in the second round, Kongo is finally deducted a point for kneeing Buentello in the head while Buentello was down. Later in the round, Kongo connects with another knee to his downed opponent’s dome, though Dean brushes it off, saying Buentello was trying to draw the foul.

Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama: Head to Head

This Saturday in London, UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will get home-court advantage in his headlining fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama. Bisping is coming off a decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 114, while Akiyama will try to rebound from his submission loss to Chris Leben. Of course, you can’t always predict a fight’s outcome just by looking at recent performances. So let’s go to the stats and see if we can figure this sum’bitch out…

UFC RECORD
Bisping: 9-3
Akiyama: 1-1
Advantage: Bisping

NICKNAME
Bisping: "The Count"
Akiyama: "Sexyama"
Advantage: Akiyama

PERFORMANCE AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS
Bisping: Defeated Denis Kang via TKO R2, defeated Chris Leben via unanimous decision
Akiyama: Defeated Denis Kang via KO R1, lost to Chris Leben by submission (triangle choke) R3
Advantage: Bisping

CAN HE SELL OUT AN ARENA WITH A MUSIC CONCERT?
Bisping: No
Akiyama: Yes
Advantage: Akiyama

Gambling Addiction Enabler: ‘Strikeforce Diaz vs. Noons II’ Edition

(Now that’s gangster. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)
Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II goes down Saturday night (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT), and it’s not too late to put some cash on the fights. If you’ve already blown your kids’ college fu…

(Now that’s gangster. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II goes down Saturday night (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT), and it’s not too late to put some cash on the fights. If you’ve already blown your kids’ college fund — hey, it happens — please swing by MMA Fightpicker and made your picks there. Otherwise, check out the Internet’s most favorable betting odds (below, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com) and let’s get to work…

MAIN CARD
Nick Diaz (-199) vs. KJ Noons (+200)
Sarah Kaufman (-290) vs. Marloes Coenen (+273)
Josh Thomson (-160) vs. Gesias "J.Z." Cavalcante (+159)
Tyron Woodley (-240) vs. Andre Galvao (+220)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Bret Bergmark (-124) vs. James Terry (+120)
Eric Lawson (-110) vs. Ron Keslar (EV)