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Hump Day Headlines with Stephanie Ann Cook

Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis (verbally) on tap for UFC 143 Super Bowl Weekend. Rory MacDonald pulls out of UFC 140 bout with Brian Ebersole. Claude Patrick to replace him. Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos.

Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis (verbally) on tap for UFC 143 Super Bowl Weekend.

Rory MacDonald pulls out of UFC 140 bout with Brian Ebersole. Claude Patrick to replace him.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos staredown picture for UFC on Fox 1.

In a UFC on Fox 1 press conference, it was announced UFC prelim fights will move from Facebook to Fuel TV. F***! I still don’t know what channel that is.

Zuffa is laying down $16 million for UFC on Fox 1. Lorenzo Fertitta told Sports Business Journal:

When we were on Spike TV, that was a launching pad. We look at Fox as a bigger and better platform that could elevate the brand. We’re flat out going to lose money on this fight. But that’s the investment we’re making. Those are the steps we’ve got to take to make Cain and Junior pay-per-view stars and lift up the whole thing. Maybe we think a little funny here, but that’s well worth forgoing $16 million. Take that out over the next 10 years and we get a healthy return.

Dana White admits to SI.com he is “nervous” about UFC on Fox 1. White says:

“As big as the UFC may seem, it’s not. We’re so far from mainstream still, and now we’ve been given the opportunity to do it. That’s why Saturday is so important. It feels good and I’m excited, yeah, but I’m nervous, man. I’m excited and I’m nervous, and I don’t like to be nervous.”

With all the UFC buzz in LA, some wanna be fighters got in the early swing of things and beat Avril Lavigne‘s ass last night [pic below] outside of the Roosevelt Hotel. Lavigne tweeted: ““I got attacked by 5 people last night out of nowhere. Not cool. My face is fucked.” And she’s right. That’s not cool.

UFC 143: BJ Penn Breaks Down Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

A legendary figure in the world of mixed martial arts, BJ Penn has seen and done it all.One of the pioneer’s of the lightweight division, Penn made the jump to welterweight in 2004 when he took on then pound-for-pound great Matt Hughes, who had already…

A legendary figure in the world of mixed martial arts, BJ Penn has seen and done it all.

One of the pioneer’s of the lightweight division, Penn made the jump to welterweight in 2004 when he took on then pound-for-pound great Matt Hughes, who had already defended the 170-pound title five times.

Penn deftly defeated Hughes with a first round rear-naked choke, clinching his first championship belt in the process. Since then, he has tangled with the likes of Georges St-Pierre on two separate occasions and, most recently, wrapped up a “Fight of the Night” performance against current top contender Nick Diaz, who bested the Hawaiian by decision.

Since then, “The Prodigy” has been on the sidelines licking his wounds and contemplating retirement, though he has been candid enough to apply his analysis on the impromptu blockbuster match pitting the Canadian against the brash Stockton fighter, which is said to take place this February.

The two welterweight standouts are currently rumored for UFC 143, which takes place February 4 on Super Bowl weekend.

“I think it’s going to be very, very tough for Nick Diaz to defend Georges St-Pierre’s takedowns and if Georges St-Pierre wants to turn this into a takedown type fight, I think he’s definitely going to have an advantage,” said Penn, who spoke with ‘The Voice’ Michael Schiavello this weekend for Inside MMA.

Though St-Pierre began his professional career as a mixed martial artist thanks to the strength of his Kyokushin Karate background, he has since become one of the more successful wrestlers in the sport, having taken down some of the best, including high caliber NCAA opposition in Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.

“George St-Pierre’s wrestling is his strongest thing and Nick Diaz’ wrestling is probably his weakest thing, jiu-jitsu and boxing being Diaz’ best,” continued Penn.

“Anything can happen, though, you never know what’s going to happen. People get broken mentally in fights, people break. If Nick Diaz can make GSP break somehow, the fight is his, but other than that, I think it’s going to be a long night.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Georges St-Pierre: "If There’s Anyone Who Wants to Finish Fights It’s Me"

Despite being highly ranked in numerous pound-for-pound lists, Georges St-Pierre’s recent victories are not held with the same significance as fellow pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.However, with the UFC welterweight champion set to meet Nick Diaz…

Despite being highly ranked in numerous pound-for-pound lists, Georges St-Pierre’s recent victories are not held with the same significance as fellow pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.

However, with the UFC welterweight champion set to meet Nick Diaz at UFC 143 on Super Bowl weekend, that might change.

St-Pierre has dominated the welterweight division for nearly six years, beating some of the world’s best competitors to establish himself as one of the elite fighters in mixed martial arts. But his last four wins have seen the champion easily cruise to a decision, irritating some fans, to say the least.

St-Pierre is aware of the criticism, but against Diaz, he promises to inflict damage on the former Strikeforce welterweight champion.

“I’ve had a lot of criticism about not finishing fights, but if there’s anyone who wants to finish fights it’s me,” St-Pierre told The Globe and Mail.

Fans have not seen a stoppage in the French-Canadian’s repertoire since 2009, when he earned a TKO victory over BJ Penn at UFC 94. While his latest victories have been equally impressive, there are still some fans who feel St-Pierre’s performances leave a lot to be desired.

Come February 4th, fans might just get what they want from the Saint Isadore, Quebec native.

Diaz’s post-fight comments directed at St-Pierre following UFC 137 forced the champion to request a grudge match with him to UFC President Dana White. St-Pierre got his wish and now he intends on punishing Diaz in dominant fashion.

“Everyone has a violent side,” he said. “It’s a violent sport but in real life I’m not a violent guy. I’m an athlete in a full contact sport so it requires violence to win.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA Monday Headlines with Justin Bieber’s Alleged Baby Mama

Mariah Yeater [pictured above] gave her first televised interview (which airs tonight) to tabloid talk show, The Insider. Yeater stands by her allegations that Justin Bieber had sex with her in a public bathroom following.

Mariah Yeater [pictured above] gave her first televised interview (which airs tonight) to tabloid talk show, The Insider. Yeater stands by her allegations that Justin Bieber had sex with her in a public bathroom following his performance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, then after skirting around giving her his phone number, Bieber told her to just tell him her number; he would memorize it. Needless to say, she never received a call or even a late night “what’s up?” text.

Carlos Condit vs. Josh Koscheck is set for UFC 143.

Alistair Overeem leaves Golden Glory team for Xtreme Couture.

Vox Media purchases MMAFighting.com from AOL, says it will “stay at the level if not be bigger and better”.

Bellator signs Global Distribution deal with FremantleMedia Enterprises.

Tim Sylvia beats Andreas Kraniotakes at ProElite 2: Big Guns, wants back in the UFC.

Mark Munoz welcomes a fight with Michael Bisping after UFC 138 win over Chris Leben.

Bristol Marunde wins Superior Cage Combat Middleweight Champion title in Las Vegas.

More pictures of Mariah Yeater [below] *Note: she sure does seem to like bathrooms…

Carlos Condit vs. Josh Koscheck Likely for UFC’s Super Bowl Weekend Card

(Yeah…whatever happened to that guy, anyway?)

Carlos Condit is going to have to re-earn his title shot the hard way. After his slated fight against George St. Pierre went up in smoke as quickly as it was handed to him, Condit is now likely to return at UFC 143: St. Pierre vs. Diaz (February 4th, Las Vegas) against perennial welterweight contender Josh Koscheck. UFC president Dana White discussed the matchup at the Leben vs. Munoz post-event press conference:

“Right now, Carlos wants to fight. He wants to fight on the same card as GSP and Diaz, so we’ll see what happens. Koscheck has been offered (the fight).”

(Yeah…whatever happened to that guy, anyway?)

“Right now, Carlos wants to fight. He wants to fight on the same card as GSP and Diaz, so we’ll see what happens. Koscheck has been offered (the fight).”

And by all appearances, Koscheck has accepted it, telling Twitter: “Yep, when I talk….. i get… Feb 4th weekend Vegas I will be fighting!!!!!!!!!!! Thx you DW!”

Koscheck began pre-emptively trash-talking Condit last week, saying that Condit has “0 chance” to beat him, dropping some nasty puns on Condit’s manager, and arguing that the Natural Born Killer doesn’t deserve his top ten ranking. Condit hasn’t publicly responded to the barbs yet, but we expect that to change now that he’s been booked in the co-main event of the UFC’s Super Bowl Weekend card.

As of now, the only other supporting bout reported for UFC 143 is a lightweight clash between Joe Lauzon and Anthony Pettis.

Gallery: 16 GIFS of Georges St. Pierre Being Awesome

Now that Georges St. Pierre is booked to face Nick Diaz on Super Bowl weekend, we thought it was time to put together a moving-picture tribute to the French-Canadian UFC superstar. Lots more brilliant GSP gifs are after the jump.

Previously:
Gallery: 11 GIFs of Alistair Overeem Being Awesome
Gallery: 10 GIFS of Joe Rogan Being Awesome
Hump Day Gallery: 20 GIFs of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Being Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson