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MMA Photo Tribute: Fighters and Random-Ass Celebrities

(Chuck Liddell poses with ‘Taboo’, co-host of Our Time.)

We have no idea how most of these encounters came about — but we’re sure they were all fairly awkward. Here are 21 of our favorite photos of MMA fighters rubbing shoulders with reality show stars, B-list actors, and aging rock royalty. Ah, the perks of fame…

(Cain Velasquez: The meat in a douche sandwich.)

(Chuck Liddell poses with ‘Taboo’, co-host of Our Time.)

(Cain Velasquez: The meat in a douche sandwich.)

(“…so then I snuck into Paul Walker’s trailer, put my balls on his forehead, and took a picture of it! You should have seen his face! Hahahaha! With my balls on it! Oh man!”)

(Rosie O’Donnell and her adopted son Urijah.)

(Tito Ortiz with Donnie Wahlberg, former New Kid on the Block and current brother of the guy who produces Entourage.)

(“Ay dawg, lemme use ‘Honky Cat‘ for my next walkout song.”)

(“Sure lady, I’ll sign your ti–HOLY FUCK YOU’RE CINDY CRAWFORD.”)

(“And I guess at that moment I realized that perhaps it was me that had the nasty ass stank breff the whole time.”)

(Verne Troyer actually trains jiu-jitsu. His grappling dummy is a Teddy Ruxpin.)

(Carlos Santana still needs a lot of work on that fist-pose.)

(Rashad Evans with Ice-T and his freaky wife Coco.)

(“That’s right, baby, a starring role in the next Steven Soderbergh flick. Now come on, you can trust Uncle Mickey.”)

(Jon Jones shares war stories with 50 Cent, chokes out Jay Leno.)

(Dan Hardy steals some metal essence from Pantera’s Vinnie Paul.)

(Nothing impresses LL Cool J more than a giant watch.)

(Roger Huerta and Laura Prepon, in happier times.)

(Rampage, please just read the teleprompter.)

(Forrest Griffin with Ton Jones of ‘Auction Hunters’. Now *that’s* random…)

(Fedor Emelianenko, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and their dates.)

The Top 50 Fighters in MMA: Are They on the Rise or the Decline?

The best mixed martial artists are all in a familiar spot at or near the top of their respective divisions.However, as similar as the best fighters in the sport may be in terms of talent, many of their careers are currently headed in very different dir…

The best mixed martial artists are all in a familiar spot at or near the top of their respective divisions.

However, as similar as the best fighters in the sport may be in terms of talent, many of their careers are currently headed in very different directions.

For example, Fedor Emelianenko, who may have been at the top of this list at this time last year, will now be fighting to remain relevant in his next bout, which will come against Dan Henderson in July.

Career paths can be changed with every appearance in this sport. In the minds of critics, a fighter is only as good as how he performed in his last fight.

With that being said, here are the top 50 fighters in the sport today and the direction in which their careers are currently trending.

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Official B/R MMA Rankings May 2011: Top 10 Light Heavyweights in MMA

Here is the first installment of the Bleacher Report MMA Rankings. Each month on the first and 15th of the month we will publish divisional rankings. On the first of each month we will post our pound-for-pound rankings. The rankings were voted on by nu…

The rankings were voted on by numerous writers on Bleacher Report and do not reflect any of their rankings personally. The rankings are an average of each writer’s vote for each weight class.

Special thanks to those who contributed:

Jason Schielke

Nick Caron

Nick Colon

J.P. Smith

Dale De Souza

Blake Dreisbach

Andrew Mahlmann

Michael Evans

Sean Smith

Sal DeRose

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UFC 130 Fight Card: 5 Key Questions Heading into UFC 130

There is sure to be plenty of criticism about the upcoming UFC 130 fight card.With the lightweight title rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard scrapped due to injuries, the card doesn’t really have that standout fight worthy of headlining…

There is sure to be plenty of criticism about the upcoming UFC 130 fight card.

With the lightweight title rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard scrapped due to injuries, the card doesn’t really have that standout fight worthy of headlining a UFC pay-per-view.

With that said, this is still an incredible card full of exciting style match-ups.

Critics may down the card for not boasting a significant main event, but these are usually the kind of cards that end up being the most exciting. It’s extremely rare that stacked cards like UFC 129 lives up to the monumental hype that it did.

We are less than two weeks away from UFC 130, which takes place in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here are five key questions heading into the event.

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UFC 130 Fight Card: Is Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill Main Event Worthy?

UFC 130 was to be event in which the next five rounds of the epic duel between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard took place. In terms of fighting style, both men were tailor made for one another, and the second rematch was …

Unfortunately, this bout was canceled due to both fighters being injured at nearly the same time. Because of this strange and unfavorable coincidence, the event’s co-main event—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill—was bumped up to the main event slot.

Is this fight truly main event-worthy, though?

The answer is twofold and complicated.

While Rampage has historically been a draw, he is getting up there in age and has not done anything to really “wow” MMA fans in quite some time—his recent controversial decision victory over Lyoto Machida notwithstanding.

As for Hamill, his five-fight win streak is great for marketing, but does not really hold up when scrutinized. One of those “wins” is a questionable disqualification victory over current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

So, even if the DQ is ignored, that leaves four straight victories. That means Hamill is a contender, right?

Wrong.

Out of those four victories, two came over lackluster opponents who are no longer in the UFC, and one came over a Tito Ortiz long past his prime. The only really noteworthy victory is a head-kick knockout of Mark Muñoz at UFC 96 back in 2009.

The fight may be billed as a matchup between two perennial contenders for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight crown, but such a billing is very generous; both fighters have neither the skills nor the time (Rampage is 32 and Hamill is 34) to become a force in the division.

In that sense then, the fight is not main event-worthy. However, the UFC has grown to such a size that the main itself is not as important as the UFC brand itself.

The UFC has—arguably since UFC 72—been selling cards on brand name alone and will likely continue to do so.

Is this a sordid practice? Hardly, unless you are one who believes in “Zuffa zombies.”

The UFC usually puts on quality fights regardless of the name value of the fighters. Despite the fact that Rampage will likely never own a belt again, and Hamill will likely never own one to begin with, the card will still sell because of the brand name attached to it.

For better or for worse, any main event attached to a UFC card is main event-worthy by virtue of it being the main event of a UFC-caliber card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 130 Fight Card: Is Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill Main Event Worthy?

Is this fight truly main event-worthy, though?

The answer is twofold and complicated.

So, even if the DQ is ignored, that leaves four straight victories. That means Hamill is a contender, right?

Wrong.

In that sense then, the fight is not main event-worthy. However, the UFC has grown to such a size that the main itself is not as important as the UFC brand itself.

The UFC has—arguably since UFC 72—been selling cards on brand name alone and will likely continue to do so.

Is this a sordid practice? Hardly, unless you are one who believes in “Zuffa zombies.”

For better or for worse, any main event attached to a UFC card is main event-worthy by virtue of it being the main event of a UFC-caliber card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com