ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

A majority of fans watching live Saturday at London's Wembley Arena, or on television sets around the world, are eager to see Renan Barao, Michael McDonald, Cub Swanson and Dustin Poirier show off their talents inside the Octagon at UFC on Fuel TV 7.

Each of them is known to the most casual mixed martial arts enthusiast. All are established main card-caliber fighters, deserving of such attention.

But you'll probably need just one hand to count the number of people not directly associated with Gunnar Nelson that will be knocking over chairs to watch him face Jorge Santiago.

After the fight, however, Nelson will no longer be an unfamiliar entity to the general public. He will join UFC's list of must-see fighters. That's how high expectations are for the Icelandic welterweight, who sports a career record of 10-0-1.

Nelson will be making his second appearance inside the Octagon. He submitted DaMarques Johnson via rear-naked choke at 3:34 of the first round during his UFC debut on Sept. 29.

It was an impressive showing, but it came in the second bout on the UFC on FUEL TV 5 card from Nottingham, England, meaning not very many people saw Nelson's special talents that evening.

But UFC officials saw it, and were greatly impressed. Now they want everyone else to get a glimpse of what Nelson can do inside the cage.

Both Nelson and Santiago will test each other's skills Saturday on the main card. Just one UFC fight under his belt and already Nelson is on the promotion's main card; yes, he has high expectations to meet.

No problem. Nelson has been in this situation before -- maybe not to the degree of satisfying officials who run MMA's biggest promotion, but all who know of him continue to expect greatness at every level.

"He absolutely will win the UFC [170-pound] title," Nelson's trainer Renzo Gracie said. "I have no doubt he can beat the very best in the division. How fast he wants to win it is up to him, but I think he will beat everyone in the division within the next two years."

Nelson takes it all in stride. Why not? He's always prepared to be at his best on fight night.

"I don't think about expectations too much," Nelson said. "I need to stay focused on what I'm doing. People expect you to do great, but I can’t think about that. You can get energy from people rooting for you, but it comes down to what you do in the gym every day."

The training regimen Nelson goes through and skills he displays at Gracie's New York City-based gym are legendary among those privileged to witness it. Whether on the ground or standing, Nelson dominates.

And it's no different on fight night.

Aside from a split draw in his MMA debut on May 5, 2007, (most who saw the fight say Nelson was robbed) he hasn't allowed judges to decide his fate. Nelson has finished every fighter put before him either by submission or knockout and not one of his past 10 bouts has gone into the third round.

It's the result of always being prepared for whatever might arise in the cage.

"If I can get my opponent to the ground and move into positions that are solid, I like that plan," Nelson said. "But I also like to strike; I like to stand. You have to be great at everything. You have to expect and react to all situations. Sometimes you have to strike and sometimes you have to grapple.”

Wherever the fight goes, Nelson believes he will have an advantage -- he’s always confident of leaving the cage victorious.

On Saturday, Nelson will take that attitude into the cage against Santiago, a veteran with good submission and standup techniques who has finished each of his two most recent opponents in the first round.

Based on his recent success, Santiago (25-10) will walk into the cage on an emotional high. He, too, isn't lacking confidence despite taking this fight with Nelson on short notice.

Two very confident fighters should make for an action-filled encounter and Nelson wouldn't have it any other way. He's prepared for whatever happens and expects to walk away victorious again.

"It doesn't matter [that Santiago is a late replacement]," Nelson said. “There are some things you control and some things you don't. There is nothing I can do about it. Besides, I don't get too attached to my opponents.

"[Opponents] change all the time, so I just focus on what I'm supposed to do: train to be better and a more complete fighter. And that means focusing on the big picture, not one specific opponent."

Right now, that picture shows a fighter expected to make a lot of noise in the UFC welterweight division. Nelson will be heard Saturday.

And many more fans will knock over chairs to get a good look at him the next time he is scheduled to enter the Octagon.

She will walk into the Honda Center arena in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 23 to defend a title belt she neither asked for nor wanted.

Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey makes her Octagon debut in the main event at UFC 157. She will face Liz Carmouche in the first women’s bout in UFC history.

Rousey is the defending champion. It’s a designation she isn’t yet comfortable embracing. And who can blame her? The title was practically thrust upon her.

“When they [UFC] brought in the guys from WEC they gave (featherweight champion) Jose Aldo and (bantamweight champion) Dominick Cruz their belts,” Rousey told ESPN.com. “They did that to me as well when they brought the women’s division over. But I don’t feel like I’ve really earned it.

“When [UFC president] Dana [White] gave me the belt, I told him I didn’t want it, I wanted to fight for it. But he said, ‘I’m going to give it to you anyway and you can think whatever you want.’”

“

When [UFC president] Dana [White] gave me the belt I told him I didn't want it, I wanted to fight for it. But he said, 'I'm going to give it to you anyway and you can think whatever you want.'

” -- Ronda Rousey, on receiving the UFC belt

No disrespect to White or anyone else, but Rousey, who was the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight titleholder before that promotion officially folded in January, believes no one can be called UFC champion until they compete and win inside the Octagon.

But UFC is the largest and most successful promotion in mixed martial arts, so when White issues a directive, fighters usually go along with it. Rousey saw no need to engage White on this issue.

While Rousey remains uncomfortable with being labeled UFC champion now, she deals with it. Besides, she has a bigger matter to address on Feb. 23 -- beating Carmouche and keeping women’s mixed martial arts viable.

Unlike any other fighter, mixed martial artist or boxer, Rousey finds herself in a truly must-win situation. If she fails to defeat Carmouche, it’s very likely that every female mixed martial artist will suffer.

UFC created a women’s bantamweight division solely because of Rousey’s success and star power. There is no other women’s division in UFC, and there isn't any talk of creating others.

For now, the presence of women fighters in UFC depends on Rousey’s continued success. She needs to beat every fighter placed in front of her for the foreseeable future to ensure that women mixed martial artists remain employed by the promotion.

Carmouche, and every other female fighter, is determined to dethrone Rousey. But if they succeed, they do so at their own peril – and that of every woman on UFC’s roster.

It’s that simple.

Rousey is very much aware of the precarious situation women’s MMA finds itself in at the moment. But she is up to the task of fighting to keep women’s MMA relevant in UFC -- even if it is just the 135-pound division.

“I don’t mind having that kind of pressure on me,” Rousey said. “I feel that the more pressure there is, the more I fight above myself.

“And I like to pretend like it’s going to be the end of the world, the end of the world depends on whether or not I win the fight, because it is the end of the world for me.

“I’m fighting to win, and I’m fighting to keep women in UFC. And I’m not entertaining the idea about what will happen if I lose because I’m not going to lose.”

Rousey’s confidence is infectious. Despite such a heavy burden on her shoulders, she accepts the ordeal with a big smile on her face. She will not be deterred.

How can anyone not support this fighter who carries the weight of so many others on her shoulders?

Confidence, however, isn’t the only thing Rousey that is relying on to get her pass Carmouche. She remains humble. Despite being a gifted athlete, Rousey never takes an opponent for granted. She isn’t looking past Carmouche (8-2).

“[Carmouche] is a very dangerous fighter,” Rousey said. “My last opponent, Sarah Kaufman, was also a former champion in Strikeforce. And was a very good striker, very disciplined. But she was very predictable and very easy to prepare for.

“Whereas with Liz, there are fights when she comes out with flying knees, or fights when she comes in with spinning back fists, or fights when she comes in throwing a right kick followed by a right hook right away. She’s very unorthodox and very unpredictable.

“There are girls who’ve underestimated her before. She fought for the Strikeforce title against Marloes Coenen and dominated [Coenen] for four rounds and made one mistake and got caught in a triangle sent from God and lost the fight.

“She is just the type of person you don’t underestimate, and I haven’t been in the least. I don’t care what people are saying or what oddsmakers are saying, I still consider myself an underdog in every single fight.”

That’s Rousey: never one to rest on her impressive laurels. No wonder she seems to become more dominant with each fight.

Rousey has won all six of her professional bouts by arm-bar submission. She also used the technique to finish all three of her amateur opponents in the opening round.

Her proficiency on the ground might cause some to question whether she is a one-trick pony. What will happen if Rousey finds herself in a standup battle or has to venture into the second round?

“I’m prepared for everything,” Rousey said. “I train to be a mixed martial artist, not to be an arm-bar specialist. I train to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

“The first round actually was always my worst. I used to call it first-rounditis when I was doing judo.

“It’s so funny to hear all these girls say, ‘If I get her out of the first round, I’m going to see the defeat in her eyes.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m just opening up. You don’t want to see what the second round looks like.’”

Maybe we’ll get to see the post-first-round Rousey on Feb. 23. But be prepared; it could get frightening.

Tuesday morning was sparring time at Alliance MMA in Chula Vista, Calif., prompting Dominick Cruz to tweet that he felt ready.

"[Too] bad I can only watch," he lamented.

With the UFC bantamweight champion a couple weeks away from being cleared to jog, Cruz's recovery from a pair of ACL surgeries since May of last year is noticeably far from complete.

"I wanted to start sparring the day I got out of surgery,” he said. “It's just one of those things where you have to bide your time and be patient."

Cruz (19-1) last stepped into the cage on Oct. 1, 2011, when he bested Demetrious Johnson on points. Since then there's been a shuffle at the weight. Johnson and Joseph Benavidez dropped to 125. Older threats like Miguel Torres disappeared in place of new ones like Michael McDonald (15-1). And Renan Barao (29-1) stepped up after Cruz was injured, winning an interim title against Urijah Faber.

"Hopefully this summer the kid is back," UFC president Dana White said. "He's going to have to get back to training. If he gets hurt again like that I don't know what to do."

So far Cruz claims to be able to keep his mind sharp by wearing several hats -- learning what he could; improving where he could. His top priority, of course, remains fighting, and the 27-year-old bantamweight is "ready to have my life back. That's what I do. That's what I love. That's the life I chose."

Perhaps he's mentally ready, but we know for sure his body isn't. So McDonald and Barao will tangle Saturday in London at UFC on Fuel TV 7 with the Brazilian's interim belt up for grabs. White said it's his intention to put the winner in with Cruz if all goes well with his recovery. The Octagon has hosted some tremendous bantamweight bouts while Cruz was sidelined, and 135 is delivering quality contests outside the UFC as well, such as Thursday's Bellator MMA title fight between Eduardo Dantas and Marcos Galvao.

"I tip my hat to them," Cruz said of his fellow bantamweights. "Keep doing work, because everyone is trying to do the same thing, and that's be the best. Good luck to 35ers, but when I come back, I'm going to have to whoop you."

Cruz said while it feels like "I'm watching the division continue to go on" in my absence, he doesn't carry a sense of living in purgatory.

Lacking a timetable for his return (doctors "have no clue and neither do I," he said) the UFC champion has spent much of his time watching film, working as he will this Saturday as an analyst for Fuel TV, and serving as a coach and corner for teammates at Alliance MMA.

A "cornerman for everyone on my team," Cruz declared himself.

Based upon on a breakdown of Saturday’s main event from London, that could go for both bantamweights, too.

Cruz believes Barao will retain the interim belt because of experience, confidence and, most notably, his defense. If McDonald has a shot, said Cruz, it will come if he can force Barao to move backward, take away range-finding straight punches and mix in takedowns.

The shelved champion has thought a lot about the matchup, because the winner will likely be his next top challenger. That depends mostly on when he'll be able to return to the cage. Also, this type of in-depth analysis of fighters is something Cruz says he simply enjoys doing.

Cruz is a natural -- perfectly willing to drop a lengthy, insightful breakdown of a fight and its participants when asked. While some champions don't pay attention to kids coming up the ranks, or even emerging top contenders, Cruz said he's infatuated with knowing all he can about mixed martial artists moving up behind him.

"I'm curious about the division from the very beginning," Cruz said. "What's the main thing that's happening in the sport right now? I feel like it's evolving. What does the sport evolve from? The sport evolves from the guys that are new to the division, new to the UFC period. Those guys are the future of the sport.

"Why wouldn't you be watching those guys to see what new stuff is being brought to the cage? Experienced champion or not, you gotta be watching these new guys coming in because they're bringing new tools that people haven't seen. That's why they're in UFC. They're going to bring different dynamics to the sport. You have to keep an eye out for that stuff."

Joining Barao and McDonald at the top of the heap, Cruz tabbed Eddie Wineland as a serious threat at 135. Considering the champion's extended absence, chances are the gap between himself and men vying for the title will close enough so that ESPN.com's No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter won't make it look so one-sided all the time.

Those two weeks until Cruz gets a chance to run again can't go by fast enough. Then it's on through the next barrier until finally he'll be healthy enough to fight again.

"When I come back, I'll be ready to jump right back into it," Cruz promised.

Until then, he'll keep his raptorlike vision smartly trained on the bantamweights. They've been worth watching.

Ryan Jimmo does things a little differently. He says on his UFC profile that one of his heroes is Albert Einstein, and that he worked as a “ninja” before fighting. He can quote the philosophies of bodybuilder Dorian Yates as easily as he can mimic Bruce Lee’s moves.

There’s a wide range of things going on with Jimmo; he’s one of the fight game’s interesting characters. And yet, to this point he has made a career to this point on the UFC’s periphery.

Jimmo did have that brief moment on the “Ultimate Fighter 8,” but lost the entryway fight to the house against Antwain Britt. That might have been a blessing in disguise, he says. And while fighting in Canada’s Maximum Fighting Championship, where he was the light heavyweight champion, he feasted on UFC veterans -- Sokoudjou, Marvin Eastman, Jesse Forbes and Wilson Gouveia.

That was 14 rounds of hard toil, but he won them all.

Yet, when the Canadian finally did debut in the Octagon at UFC 149 in Calgary last July, the fight didn’t even last long enough to satisfy the bull riders who’d gathered into the Saddledome. It was over in seven seconds. One big right hand and boom. Down went Anthony Perosh.

Jimmo picked up an extra $50,000 by earning knockout of the night. His $50K per-punch-thrown is the best average in the UFC heading into 2013. It was so fast, that you wonder if it counts as experience.

“

He likes to throw his hands. I think he's been boxing since he was 14. He did some wrestling, so I can see him coming out and wanting to mix it up with some hands and some stand up. If he wants to wrestle that's okay, too, but I see this primarily as a stand-up fight.

” -- Ryan Jimmo, on fighting Anthony Perosh

“You don’t gain a ton of experience being in the ring for seven seconds, but every organization does things differently -- their pageantry is different,” Jimmo told ESPN.com. “And when I say that, I mean all the build up -- the video interviews, getting comfortable with the staff who are going to be handling you and seeing how they do things. So I guess I gained that experience. And afterward all the media attention, I gained some experience there as well.”

Now that he’s dealt with the process and gained a few fans, he can move on to headier things -- like encores. This is where things get tricky. Jimmo faces James Te-Huna on Saturday night in London at UFC on Fuel 7. The New Zealander Te-Huna has quietly (and violently) strung together a three-fight win streak in the 205-pound division, with a couple of first round knockouts. In fact, seven of his last eight victories have come via KO or TKO.

So though a flash knockout isn’t out of the question for a guy like Jimmo who likes to stand and trade, there’s always the chance a flash knockout could work the other way, as well. Jimmo could end up being the one with smelling salts in his nostrils. This is something he’s thought about.

“James Te-Huna is a big strong aggressive guy,” Jimmo says. “He likes to throw his hands. I think he’s been boxing since he was 14. He did some wrestling, so I can see him coming out and wanting to mix it up with some hands and some stand up. If he wants to wrestle that’s okay, too, but I see this primarily as a stand-up fight. If it happens to go to the ground I’m one 100 percent comfortable there. And if it’s stays on the feet? I’m okay with that, too.”

Jimmo originally hails from Saint John, New Brunswick, but spent his training camp with the Blackzilians in Delmar Beach, Florida. He endured a tough weekend watching teammates Rashad Evans and Alistair Overeem lose fights they were favored to win at UFC 156 (“you know, this is the sport it is -- anyone can win, anyone can lose,” he says), but has been so wrapped up in training that holidays have come and went without his notice.

“I’ve been training since October,” he says. “There’s no snow down here, you know, and my mother had to call me and she said, ‘Merry Christmas, Ryan!’ and I said, ‘Is it Christmas, Mom? I need to go back to the gym, I need to take my nap and there’s a chicken breast cooking. Merry Christmas to you, mom. How are things?’”


Though he may have missed out on the holiday cheer in the great White North, Jimmo is finally getting his chance to shine in the UFC riding a 17-fight winning streak. And the Jimmo you see on Saturday night isn’t necessarily the one who fought in the MFC and defended his 205-pound belt twice.

This is a guy who feels he can finally align himself with the stakes.

“I kind of held back and fought a little more conservatively in smaller shows because I didn’t have as much to gain and I had more to lose,” he says. “If I lost in a lower league, well, you know you’re not going to the UFC now.

“Also for me, [UFC 149] was a time to shine and I trained very hard to have that kind of power and aggressiveness in training. So when it came time, it was over and it wasn’t anti-climactic at all. It was the time for me to go in there and really use my skills like I knew I could and not be conservative with it.”

That’s true. It’s near impossible to be conservative on the delivering end of a seven-second knockout.

Dennis Siver and Dustin Poirier are nothing alike. Siver is shaped like a fire hydrant with spring-loaded legs; Poirier is sleek and aerodynamic.

Cub Swanson understands these obvious differences better than anybody right about now. He first had Siver in his sights for Saturday’s fight in London. Then Siver got injured and morphed into Poirier, which required Swanson to reconfigure his settings on the fly.

Yet if anybody’s been through the fight game’s most active pun of “rolling with the punches,” it’s Swanson. He’s had fights tailored, altered and scotched as much as the next guy.

“I had just gotten back from Albuquerque training with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, and they said, ‘OK, this is the way we’re going to fight this fight [with Siver], these are the things we like,’” Swanson told ESPN.com. “Then I get back my gym in California [Tru MMA], and I get on the same page with my boxing coach and then they go 'Siver’s out, here’s a new guy.'

“The other guy [Siver] was a short, stocky, standard fighter, and the new guy [Poirier] is a tall, lanky southpaw. I just kind of laughed. I had a feeling something was going to happen, so I said, let’s do it. I was excited because I like fighting guys who are a little bit different every time, and I feel like it shows depth in my game.”

The Poirier-Swanson co-main event at UFC on Fuel TV 7 looks good on paper. Poirier rebounded from his loss to Chan Sung Jung in a No. 1 contender spot by choking out Jonathan Brookins in December. Swanson is coming off of a knockout victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 152, which will always be remembered for Oliveira’s delayed shutdown process after absorbing a couple of body shots and then the big overhand.

In fact, it was the third knockout win in a row for Swanson, who re-emerged in 2012 as a contender at 145 pounds. Just like that, there’s power in his game again.

“I thought about dropping down to 135, started dieting down, but I didn’t feel very good and started to get weak,” Swanson says. “I decided to give weightlifting and strength training another shot. The first few times I tried lifting weights I didn’t like the way I felt, and we finally developed a way of working out where I wouldn’t lose my speed.

“I walk around about 175-180 pounds, and get up to about 185. I was 185 when I got the phone call for this fight. I put on a lot of size, and I don’t feel like I’ve lost any of my speed. I have my accuracy and my speed and finally have some power behind it. I’m not worried about breaking my hands anymore. It’s all coming together.”

Suddenly the featherweight division -- which has always been a popular destination for resurrectionists and transplants such as Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida and Nik Lentz -- is strong. So strong, in fact, that the “Korean Zombie” and Ricardo Lamas are waiting on title shots while Jose Aldo defends his belt in August against Anthony Pettis. Figure in Chad Mendes and up-and-comers such as Poirier and Swanson, and 145 begins to look like one of the deeper divisions in the UFC.

So where would a win stack Swanson in the grand scheme of things?

“I know I’m right up there,” he says. “I’m not afraid of anybody. I have a pretty good record and my losses are to the top guys. I want to get back in that mix, and be mentioned in the top featherweights. As far as title fight talk, I just want to be mentioned -- I don’t really care about it right now, I’m just enjoying the ride and enjoying winning fights.”

Swanson refers to his rough patch between 2009 and 2011 as “growing pains,” mixed with a little bad luck. In that stretch he went 2-3, with losses to Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas. In other words, he lost to the division’s elite. At some point, he says, “I’d love to get those losses back,” but heading into Saturday’s fight there’s a renaissance going on with Swanson. It’s in his voice. It’s a kind of emphasis that comes with experience and prioritizing. What it says is that wins and losses and pecking orders are all fun conversations.

But his emphasis is on remembering why he’s in the fight game to begin with.

“I’m finally enjoying what I do,” he says. “I don’t do a whole lot of interviews usually. I just like training hard, fighting, and getting back to my normal life.”

And the wiser Swanson feels he’s looking at his past when he sizes up Poirier.

“I think he’s a tough kid,” he says. “He’s gotten this far off of being well-conditioned, having a lot of heart and being well-rounded. He kind of reminds me of myself a couple of years ago. I just don’t feel like he’s turned that corner yet and I feel very good about this fight.

“I feel like he plays into my style very well and it’s going to make for a good fight.”

The desire to land a featherweight title shot is strong in a division with no clear-cut No. 1 contender. And there isn’t a 145-pound fighter more determined to be the top guy at this point in time than Dustin Poirier.

The Louisiana native, who trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., faces veteran Cub Swanson on Saturday in London. Poirier agreed last month to replace injured Dennis Siver, and if accepting a showdown with Swanson weeks before the fight isn’t evidence of a fighter’s determination to become champion, nothing is.

Poirier didn’t hesitate to accept UFC’s fight offer -- he knows the rewards far exceeded the risk.

“

I took this fight on such short notice because it's an exciting fight. It's the kind of fight I want to be in. Not only does this fight get me a step closer to my goal of being a world champion, to fight a top-10 guy who puts on a show every time is a fight I couldn't refuse.

” -- Dustin Poirier, on fighting Cub Swanson

“There are a lot of guys at the top right now,” Poirier told ESPN.com. “The division is top-heavy. I feel that where I am in the featherweight division, if I go out there and beat Cub Swanson, then I will be 6-1 in the UFC featherweight division and I believe I will be at the top.

“I took this fight on such short notice because it’s an exciting fight. It’s the kind of fight I want to be in. Not only does this fight get me a step closer to my goal of being a world champion, to fight a top-10 guy who puts on a show every time is a fight I couldn’t refuse.”

Poirier is currently ranked seventh among featherweights by UFC.com, while Swanson is sixth (ESPN.com has them eight and nine, respectively).

Knocking off a fellow top-10 featherweight could prove highly beneficial for Poirier, who is still smarting from a fourth-round submission loss against Chan Sung Jung on May 22. It was a hotly contested bout, with each fighter landing vicious strikes throughout. But in the fourth round of their seesaw affair, Jung locked in a D’Arce choke and Poirier was forced to tap.

Rather than sulk over the loss, the now 24-year-old Poirier has relied on it as a learning experience. No longer does he fret over the possibility of venturing into the championship rounds, and Poirier finds himself at ease in the spotlight.

Most important, when Poirier has his opponent on the ropes he doesn’t hesitate to deliver the finishing touch. Poirier has graduated to a higher level of fighting as a result of his loss to Jung.

The revised version of Poirier was on display in his most recent outing as he wasted no time attacking Jonathan Brookins during their Dec. 15 fight. An aggressive Poirier would use a D’Arce choke -- the same submission hold he fell victim to against Jung -- to finish Brookins at 4:15 of the first round.

“Any fight I go into now I am taking those lessons [from the Jung loss] with me,” said Poirier, who will carry a 13-2 professional record into the Octagon against Swanson.

Being a more seasoned fighter, however, isn’t necessarily enough to secure a victory over Swanson, who looks to extend his win streak to four. The 29-year-old Swanson is expected to be physically at his best on fight night, after finishing each of his three recent opponents in the first or second round.

But Poirier is confident he too will be in tiptop shape. Though he was in the cage just two months ago, Poirier did not sustain any physical damage, nor did he extend himself against Brookins. Besides, he knows exactly what he has gotten himself into -- Swanson is a tough opponent. Poirier is prepared to walk away victorious under these less-than-ideal circumstances.

“I have no injuries,” Poirier said. “I was training at the time; I’m in good shape. There was no reason for me not to take the fight.

“I was still in decent shape from the fight with Brookins. I jumped right in to full-steam training, just like I would do at the end of a normal camp. So, I’m finishing off this camp like I would do any other camp -- hard. It’s a dangerous fight to take on three months’ notice, when I’d have had a full camp, but that’s just the type of fighter I am.”

No question about it, Poirier is taking a big risk fighting Swanson on short notice, but the rewards are potentially too great should he prevail.

Poirier envisions returning at or near the top of the featherweight rankings with a victory Saturday night. And who can question his optimism?


“[Jung] can come back and fight Ricardo Lamas or maybe even Chad Mendes or somebody like that. Like I said, it’s a top-heavy division.

“[Jung] has been off for a while. You don’t come back for like a year, year and a half [and be No. 1 in the division].

Poirier makes a good point. While other top-rated featherweights have been stepping in the cage against one another, Jung has not fought since defeating Poirier because of a shoulder surgery. It’s a tough break for Jung, especially when lightweights are dropping to featherweight for a shot at Aldo.

Out of sight, out of mind -- Poirier intends for that not to happen to him. A victory Saturday over Swanson might be enough to put him back in the featherweight contender spotlight.

It’s surely worth the risk.

With less than two weeks before UFC 157, the promotion has scratched Chad Mendes from the bill due to lack of a viable opponent.


Mendes initially expressed his doubts as to his participation on the Feb. 23 card via Twitter on Sunday.

“Well guys it looks like I’m off the Anaheim card," Mendes announced via Twitter. “Sucks pretty bad. I’ll keep everyone updated with what I find out. Sorry.”

Mendes’ status on the card became questionable on Feb. 8 when his original opponent, Manny Gamburyan, suffered an injury while training.

In the crowded featherweight contender race, being removed from UFC 157 could prove to be a big setback for Mendes. Currently ranked No. 1 among featherweights by UFC and third by ESPN.com, Mendes was seeking to secure his standing in the division with a victory over the hard-hitting Gamburyan. A win at UFC 157 would have been Mendes’ third in a row since his first-round knockout loss to champion Jose Aldo in January 2012.

Other featherweights currently jockeying to supplant Mendes for top-contender status include Ricardo Lamas and Chan Sung Jung.

Meanwhile, Aldo is scheduled to defend his title Aug. 3 against lightweight contender Anthony Pettis. Aldo recently defeated former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision at UFC 156.

Chael Sonnen has highlighted the almighty task facing him at UFC 159, insisting light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is "considerably better" than Anderson Silva. More »

Don’t expect to satisfy that craving you have for a super fight between UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and former Strikeforce featherweight titleholder Cristiane Santos.

"Cyborg" Santos’ manager, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, said Friday that his client has requested her release from UFC.

“Right now we’re actually waiting for UFC to release her,” Ortiz said during an appearance on "Inside MMA."

“[UFC] gave an offer; I went to Cyborg and she didn’t want to do it, so we asked for her release. Since they’re not having a 145-pound weight class, what else can they do?”

Ortiz claims that UFC will release Santos, but the promotion has yet to publicly reveal its decision on the matter. During her time as Strikeforce featherweight champion, Santos was regarded as the world’s best female mixed martial artist. Her bout with fan favorite Gina Carano in August 2009 for the inaugural Strikeforce women's featherweight title was the most anticipated fight in women’s mixed martial arts history. Santos defeated Carano by first-round TKO.

She would successfully defend the 145-pound belt three times, but after her final defense against Hiroko Yamanaka on Dec. 17, 2011, Santos tested positive for a banned substance. Santos, who beat Yamanaka by first-round TKO, was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for one year.

While Santos was sidelined, Rousey was supplanting her as the best female fighter on the planet. Strikeforce was also in the process of going out of business.

After Strikeforce’s final event on Jan. 12, all of its fighter contracts were picked up by UFC -- including Santos’ contract. UFC, under the Zuffa regime, had never promoted a women’s bout. But the promotion opted to create a women’s bantamweight division, based primarily on the growing popularity of Rousey, who is 6-0 as a professional. Rousey is scheduled to defend her title on Feb. 23 against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif.

With Rousey expected to survive Carmouche, UFC president Dana White has talked openly of a potential high-profile fight between his bantamweight champion and Santos. But Santos has repeatedly balked at the idea of dropping 10 pounds to face Rousey. The UFC does not have a featherweight division or any other weight class for women, besides bantamweight.

And White has stated a fight between Rousey and Santos must be for the 135-pound title; he isn’t interested in a catch-weight bout. But during a UFC 156 prefight Q&A session with media members on Jan. 31, White softened his stance on the issue.

“It’s not a title fight,” White said. “If that’s what [Santos] is willing to do, go to 140, let Ronda defend her title a few times and see if Ronda wants to go to 140.

“If I know Ronda, she probably will anyway. Let’s see what happens.”

It’s been more than a week since White made that comment, but Santos has yet to be convinced that a 140-pound fight with Rousey is in the cards anytime soon. So she wants out of UFC.

“For her to get down to 135 pounds is physically impossible,” Ortiz said. “For a man, it’s different because we have a lot more water weight to take off.

“For Cris Cyborg to get down to that weight, she’s going to be 3 to 4 percent body fat. She wants to start a family later on, she wants to have kids.”

A month ago, prior to knocking out Michael Bisping in Brazil, Vitor Belfort was asked a direct question by ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto: Had the 34-year-old Brazilian ever applied for or considered using testosterone replacement therapy?

Belfort rambled through a winding nonanswer. Something about public and private information that's all so controversial it's not worth saying anything at all. Well, it didn't take a genius to figure out what the deal was because odds are if you're not on TRT, you'd probably say so.

On Wednesday, UFC officials cleared the fog (at least a layer of it) by confirming Belfort was "diagnosed with hypogonadism, or low testosterone" and "had been on medically approved testosterone replacement therapy under the supervision of a medical doctor from the state of Nevada."

In the face of rumors that he either tested positive or was using a therapeutic use exemption for TRT, Belfort's display last weekend in Las Vegas to reporters now borders on ridiculous.

Responding to anyone that might have wondered what was up, Belfort said: "I think people get jealous when a guy of my age is destroying these people getting title shots.”


A guy his age -- taking shots. Or rubbing in a cream. Or whatever.

We know now that Belfort -- challenged by anabolic steroid rumors even during his earliest days in the UFC, which were confirmed in 2006 by a nine-month suspension and a $10,000 fine payable to the state of Nevada after too much testosterone was found in his system (he blamed not knowing what a doctor had injected into him) -- is allowed to boost up his levels.

This raises questions.

For instance, how does a guy who tested positive for steroids remain eligible for a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone?

It turns out this is possible. The Nevada State Athletic Commission, for instance, does not prohibit fighters who tested positive for PEDs from getting a script for testosterone.

"The issue would be if an applicant's condition was caused by PED usage," said NSAC executive director Keith Kizer. "The applicant's burden would be much higher."

One could also say the same about the body responsible for setting and enforcing that burden. It's unclear how it was handled by Zuffa, which essentially ran the event while reportedly showing a new Brazilian athletic commission the ropes.

"The purpose of a medically administered TRT regimen is to allow patients with hypogonadism to maintain testosterone levels within a range that is normal for an adult male," the promotion said in a statement.

The potential for abuse seems obvious, so it's fair to wonder whether or not Belfort was monitored during his camp. It doesn't seem adequate to only test TRT patients around the fight.

What role did the UFC have in monitoring Belfort, particularly for an overseas event in which it essentially acts as a regulator?

Should Michael Bisping, at 33 just a year younger than Belfort, have been notified that his opponent was under the care of a medical doctor for low testosterone? And that this care allowed him to inject testosterone?

As pointed out in different places, three of Bisping’s last four losses have come against guys under the TRT therapy.

Does the public have a right to know before the fact? There is wagering happening. I imagine it would be helpful to know which fighters are augmented and which aren’t.

TRT isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s a fact of life in the UFC, and needs to be managed the right way.

Cornered

Would dictating who works a corner during a fight be a step too far for the UFC?

Dana White, of course, recently banished Randy Couture to what the UFC president sees as the hinterlands of the MMA world. “The Natural” can’t come close to the Octagon again, according to White. Maybe not even inside the building the cage is set up. And he can absolutely forget acting as the chief second for his son Ryan.

Seriously? There’s no good reason one Couture shouldn’t be allowed to help another, never mind some personal beef over business.

White should (re)read an article written by Lorenzo Fertitta for the Las Vegas Sun
that was published the night of Couture’s final fight.

If that doesn’t make White back off, Fertitta should put his foot down and stand by comments like:

“To me, the term ‘legend’ applies to a good friend, mixed martial arts pioneer Randy Couture,” whom the UFC chairman dubbed a “cornerstone” of their growth.

“Few people represent the sport better than Randy Couture.”

“I’m sure through many endeavors, Randy will remain connected to the UFC and the sport for many years to come.”

The connection, if it’s to exist right now, can’t be about business. But that also has to mean Couture can’t work his son’s corner?

That can’t stand.

Middle-wait

Anderson Silva has guys to fight at middleweight. He just needs to get going.

Chris Weidman appears on deck, and the 9-0 fighter from New Jersey is doing his part to call out the Brazilian icon.

The bout makes sense. It seems competitive, or at least as competitive as one can imagine a Silva fight to be. But don’t get carried away by the idea that 185 pounds has nothing left to offer Silva if he disposes of yet another challenger.

Underneath the champion, middleweight is as wide open as any class in the sport right now.

Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold’s athleticism and hunger are promising. Hector Lombard could do something crazy on a good day. Ronaldo Souza just comes across as a tough test for “The Spider.”

The division is producing worthy heirs, yet the king continues to comfortably do his thing.

Heavy heart

»The heavyweight division just got strange. What was setting up to be a monster stretch of fights has lost its direction some following UFC 156. Word from MMAFighting.com that Josh Barnett turned down a deal to fight in the Octagon doesn’t come off as the best timing.
»UFC Primetime: Rousey vs. Carmouche was as heartfelt a half an hour of programming as the promotion has ever put together. It’ll be shown a million times leading up to Feb. 23, so find it and watch it. Women fighters can turn into stars so much faster than men. That’s been an amazing phenomenon to watch over the years. Rousey has all the makings of a superstar, so long as she continues to beat women perceived as real contenders and isn’t driven bonkers by the cameras.

It’s easy to sympathize with highly ranked featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas. In his two most recent fights, he handily defeated two of the division’s better fighters -- Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch.

But on Monday, when the UFC announced who would be featherweight champion Jose Aldo’s next opponent, Lamas’ name wasn’t mentioned. That honor went to a man who’d never competed professionally in the weight class -- lightweight contender Anthony Pettis.

Aldo and Pettis, the former WEC lightweight titleholder, will fight Aug. 3. The only uncertainty is where the bout will take place -- venues in Texas, Chicago, Las Vegas and Rio de Janeiro are being considered. If the fight lands in Chicago it will add salt to Lamas’ already painful wound, which isn’t expected to heal for quite a while. But that’s not an issue of concern to Lamas at this time. Right now, Lamas is struggling to make sense of UFC brass' decision to bypass him in favor of Pettis -- especially on the heels of his impressive second-round TKO victory Jan. 26 over former top featherweight contender Koch.

“I feel like I stand in that No. 1 contender spot now,” Lamas told ESPN.com. “Erik Koch is the second guy that I beat who was supposed to fight for the featherweight title; Hatsu Hioki was offered the fight and he turned it down.

“What do I need to do to get that shot?”

“

What do I need to do to get that shot?

” -- Ricardo Lamas, on being overlooked as a challenger to Jose Aldo

Lamas defeated Hioki by lopsided unanimous decision June 22 in Atlantic City, N.J. It was a fight casual fans expected Hioki to win. Hioki entered the UFC two fights previously amid high expectations. He was a mixed martial arts star before ever setting foot inside the Octagon and talk was starting to brew that a 145-pound title shot might be a few wins away.

Though he was not a newcomer to the Octagon, Lamas was relatively unknown to fight fans. Sure, he’d submitted Cub Swanson in November 2011, but that could be chalked up to the one-time WEC top 145-pound contender having an off night.

But Lamas raised many eyebrows in Atlantic City after running circles around Hioki. He took Hioki to the ground, literally at will, and landed several significant strikes while down there. After three rounds of fighting there was no question in any observer’s mind that Lamas had earned the victory. Lamas wasn’t a stranger anymore after that fight, but he wasn’t a must-see attraction, either.

Even his dominant win over Koch failed to accomplish that feat. And therein lies the problem for Lamas: He has proven himself to be a solid contender, arguably the No. 1 guy at 145 -- strong cases also can be made for Chad Mendes and Chan Sung Jung -- but the paying public is not yet clamoring to see him in the cage against Aldo.

That’s why Pettis was given the shot. He’s a must-see fighter. And while the UFC is the top mixed martial arts promotion in the world, it’s first and foremost a business.

Nothing personal against Lamas, but Aldo-Pettis is a bigger financial draw at this day and time.

“Everyone steps on everyone’s toes in this business,” Pettis’ trainer, Duke Roufus, told ESPN.com. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Erik Koch’s toes were stepped on when Frankie stepped in [to fight Aldo].

"Unfortunately in fighting, to take a page from Muhammad Ali: 'It’s not always the best guy; it’s the best guy who can sell a fight.'"

And right now Pettis can sell this fight, especially when visions of him competing against Aldo come to mind. These are two of the most athletic, acrobatic strikers in mixed martial arts.

Aldo is likely to be favored to retain his title, but a large fan contingent will back Pettis. This is a must-see fight, which is already being billed as the UFC’s next superfight. Meanwhile, Lamas will just have to wait a little while longer. He could start running his mouth and become a bad guy in an effort to land a title shot -- that seems to be working for several fighters these days. But that goes against everything Lamas stands for -- he’s not a loudmouth.

“I’ve been in UFC for some time; [the Koch bout] was my 10th fight with Zuffa,” Lamas said. “A lot of people don’t know who I am because I’ve been fighting on the undercards.

“I’ve been flying under the radar, and I’m the type of guy who doesn’t talk trash so that kind of holds me back a little bit. That’s just who I am.”

Lamas should not pretend to be someone he’s not. As recently retired featherweight contender Mark Hominick told ESPN.com, the Aldo-Pettis fight might be a blessing for Lamas.

“What people have to understand is this is not the fight game, it’s the fight business,” said Hominick, who is now a full-time trainer at Ontario, Canada-based Team Tompkins. “By having these guys with big names, it brings credibility to the [145-pound] division.

“People are now starting to understand who Jose Aldo is. By getting him fights against big-name fighters brings credibility to the division and people will understand the excitement and level of competition in the division.

“Beating Frankie Edgar, a former lightweight champion, brings credibility. And with another super fight against Pettis that will open the doors for the next guy in line to headline a pay-per-view card.”

All this might be difficult for Lamas to digest at this moment, but he’s a smart man. What he must do now is regroup and focus on winning his next fight.

Lamas said that his goal is to fight for the featherweight title and win it. If that is truly the case then a comment he made recently should be taken seriously.

“When I go out there I will continue to fight,” Lamas said. “If you want to beat me you will have to put me away. The longer the fight goes the more confidence I gain.

“I don’t give up; I’m stubborn as hell.

“And if I want to get something done, I’m going to get it done come hell or high water.”

Being stubborn in this sport is good; Lamas just needs to be patient as well.

Anthony Pettis is a man of action. He could have voluntarily waited for his chance at the 155-pound belt. Or he could do what he did, which was text UFC president Dana White to embark on an expedition.

Pettis asked for a chance to fight Jose Aldo, the 145-pound champion who just defended his title against Frankie Edgar on Saturday night. He wasted no time. His text came just minutes after UFC 156 concluded, as Aldo’s feet were still smarting from so many thwacking leg kicks. Pettis knew what he wanted to do, and he went after it.

You know what this is, don’t you? This is one of those "match made in heaven" deals -- the explosive Aldo, who at the end of his five-round war with Edgar sprung himself off the fence for one last sally. And Pettis. The Original Matrix. The WEC champion. Mister Ricochet. The Liver Kicka.

The fight will happen Aug. 3, and it’s a win-win for everybody. Pettis gets his title shot, and therefore the UFC keeps him rolling. Aldo gets the toughest next challenge. Gilbert Melendez and Benson Henderson can go about things in focus, rather than have a looming presence. Ricardo Lamas can fight Chan Jung Sung for the true No. 1 contender bout. And the UFC gets a fight that is filled with thrill, frill and thrall.

Pettis/Aldo will sit on the calendar until August like a new Ang Lee action movie.

But the greatest part about this isn’t the way the fight was made, or even that it was made -- it’s that the champion, Jose Aldo, never hesitated. It took him less than 48 hours to agree to fight Pettis, who by all accounts represents a very true and live threat to take his belt.

Isn’t this how it’s supposed to work? The champion seeing no man as an obstruction to his cause? The champion saying, “bring on all comers,” not in words by in decisive action? Aldo did what we want our champions to do, which is simply say "yes." This translates a lot better than airing their druthers.

Not that other champions haven’t acted the same. Benson Henderson truly doesn’t seem to care whom they stack in front of him. Neither does Cain Velasquez. But in recent times, we’ve seen Georges St-Pierre insist on Nick Diaz (at the omission of Johny Hendricks), and Anderson Silva request everyone from Cung Le to Luke Rockhold (at the very conspicuous expense of Chris Weidman).

Maybe after absorbing so much finicky behavior in recent months, Aldo’s "why hesitate?" attitude shows the right kind of eagerness. Here’s what he’s saying: If you want the belt, come try to take it. If the UFC wants the fight, so do I. If the fans want it, bring it on. Right on, Jose Aldo.

And right on to Anthony Pettis.

Not that there isn’t some logical curiosity in play. Obviously, Pettis fighting in August isn’t exactly expediting anything. Had he waited out Melendez/Henderson, which happens in April, August would have been around the time he’d have fought anyway. That’s just math.

But that's just nitpicking. Bottom line is he wanted a guarantee and to have the fight lined up in front of him. He wanted to zero in on a belt, and this thing played out like an epiphany. He knew there wasn’t a definitive contender at featherweight, and he acted on it. And Pettis -- who goes by “Showtime” -- knows a showstopper when he sees one. Think he can’t bring the house down in a bout with Aldo?

He can. And kudos to Aldo for inviting him to just go ahead and try it.

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva seemed to take particular joy in knocking out Alistair Overeem on Saturday at UFC 156.

Even though the official stoppage came less than 30 seconds into the third round, it somehow looked like Silva took his sweet time once he had Overeem hurt, as if he wanted to savor the moment. By the time referee Herb Dean jumped in to physically restrain him, Bigfoot had already given the erstwhile No. 1 contender to the UFC heavyweight title a few shots for good measure, including one where he appeared to prop Overeem up with his left hand in order to slip in one final right. Even after Dean pulled him off, the Brazilian wanted more, charging back at his prone opponent and shouting things we can only assume were not compliments.

Was it a tad over the line? Maybe, but put yourself in Silva's size-16s, and it's easy to understand the outpouring of emotion.

For years he's been shortchanged as too slow, too plodding and too predictable to compete with the best in MMA. In the wake of his UFC 156 booking, it's even starting to feel like he's the fighter promoters like to call when they need a fall guy for one of their stars. Take a look at his five most recent fights, and it's hard to find one that Bigfoot was actually "supposed" to win.

He fought Fedor Emelianenko in the opening round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, when "The Last Emperor" was coming off his first loss in 10 years and the pre-fight hype mostly concerned the company's efforts to set up a pay-per-view pitting Fedor against Overeem. Then, after the tournament bracket went kablooey, Bigfoot was tabbed to face Daniel Cormier, the hotshot late entry who went on to win the whole thing.

Silva's UFC appearances have been even less auspicious: facing Cain Velasquez in the heavyweight champion's first fight after initially losing the title to Junior dos Santos; taking on Travis Browne in a bout that was supposed to put the Hawaiian on the heavyweight map; and finally, getting the call to serve as the 6-foot-4, 280-pound appetizer to Overeem's run at the title.

For a guy as tough and proud as Silva, his perennial underdog status must sting a bit, and the Overeem situation was likely the most difficult of all. The two were originally slated to fight in the semifinals of the Strikeforce tournament, but then Overeem withdrew (because of a toe injury or because of scheduling conflicts -- it was never clear) and somehow vaulted directly into the Octagon, while Silva was left to languish with the rest in San Jose.

More recently, Overeem displaced him from his normal training camp with Florida's Blackzilians, characterized him as "a big target" during pre-fight interviews and showed him no respect once the bell rang, hanging his hands around his waist as if daring him to take his best shot. None of the six ESPN analysts on our panel picked Silva to win this fight, and after opening as a 2-to-1 underdog, he dropped to 3-to-1 by fight night because nobody else was betting on him, either.

Overeem had been all but preordained as Velasquez's next challenger, the UFC likely already salivating over a big money showdown between the two later this year. Yet, on Saturday night, when the time did come for everybody to throw their best shots, it turned out to be Overeem who couldn't take them.

Hence, Bigfoot losing his cool a little bit there at the end.

Still, we all got the message: Go ahead, shortchange him all you want due to his ponderous style, his recent back-to-back losses or his physical appearance, but you know what he's really bad at?

Being a patsy.

Turns out Silva is a really terrible fall guy.

All those fights Silva was "supposed" to lose during the last couple of years? He won more than he lost. He's 5-3 in his combined UFC/Strikeforce career dating back to 2009 and now has the same number of wins in the Octagon as were going to fetch Overeem a title shot had things gone according to plan.

Silva won't get one, obviously. Somehow, we're still not buying him as one of the UFC's best heavyweights and, anyway, he just lost a bloody, lopsided bout with Velasquez last May.

A rematch certainly wouldn't go any differently. Just like Silva certainly wasn't going to beat Overeem, Browne or Emelianenko.

Maybe it was a heat-of-the-moment thing for lightweight contender Anthony Pettis. Yeah; that’s it. He just got caught up in the excitement Saturday night, as many of us did, while watching UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo defend against former 155-pound titleholder Frankie Edgar.

That would explain Pettis’ decision to send UFC president Dana White a text immediately after the bout stating that he wants to drop 10 pounds and fight Aldo, who defeated Edgar by unanimous decision. Otherwise, Pettis’ action would not make sense, right? He's already the next in line for a UFC lightweight title shot once champion Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez settle their dispute April 20 in San Jose, Calif.

On the surface, this would seem to be enough to keep Pettis satisfied for a while. Well, come to find out, waiting around for a lightweight title shot just doesn’t cut it for him. While Pettis remains fully committed to becoming lightweight champion, he has been in this holding-pattern position before -- remember when he entered UFC as WEC lightweight champion and was promised a title fight against the Edgar-Gray Maynard winner in 2011?

Things didn’t work out as planned back then.

“What if the guy who wins the Henderson-Melendez fight gets hurt or it’s a close decision, when does [Pettis] fight?” Pettis’ trainer Duke Roufus told ESPN.com Monday. “He’s been in that situation before. So, he’s a little gun shy about that.

“

What if the guy who wins the [Benson] Henderson-[Gilbert] Melendez fight gets hurt or it's a close decision, when does [Anthony Pettis] fight?

” -- Anthony Pettis' trainer Duke Roufus, on the reason his charge, lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, called out featherweight champion Jose Aldo

“Besides, he’s coming into the prime of his life. He wants to fight now. He’d fight next week if [the UFC] gives him a body; that’s his attitude. He’d fight three more times this year if you could.”

But there’s a greater factor at play in Pettis’ eagerness to fight for the 145-pound belt as soon as possible. He is bent on winning titles in two weight classes -- lightweight and featherweight.

“He wants both,” Roufus said. “He wants to fight Aldo and then fight for the lightweight title. I’m all for it if he wants to do it. I think he matches up great with Aldo.”

This has been Pettis' plan for a while; it’s just that he has decided to go public with his agenda at this time -- plus, the timing is perfect for him to face Aldo, who has nearly cleared the featherweight contender landscape.

Pettis is 100 percent physically; the injuries he battled the past year have completely healed. And his performance in the cage has been second to none -- Pettis finishes the opposition in exciting fashion.

He knocked out each of his two most recent opponents -- Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon -- in the first round.

“The crazy thing is that in his past few fights, Anthony has been at 25 percent of his potential but he’s been able to finish his opponents early,” Roufus said. “The guy is on a mission.”

Making 145 pounds won’t be difficult whatsoever for Pettis. Nor will the weight cut hinder his speed or strength. Aldo would not be fighting a dehydrated lightweight.

“In his last three [lightweight] fights, he hasn’t had to go into the sauna to make weight,” Roufus said. “He’s very meticulous about his nutrition as well as his strength and conditioning. Anthony is a very disciplined individual.”

Not to mention that stepping in the cage against Aldo is a fight Pettis deeply wants. There is also no reason to assume that fight fans would be critical of the matchup.

“He has reached that stage of his career and life where he realizes what gets him up are big challenges,” Roufus said. “I see the hunger in his attitude and performance daily in training, his lifestyle. He wants big things and he wants them now.

“He wants to put himself up there with guys like [middleweight champion] Anderson Silva, who go out there and win big fights.”

Pettis has thrown down the gauntlet and, according to Roufus, he has no intention of withdrawing his featherweight title-shot request.

UFC has received the memo, and White is on record expressing interest in the bout.

“It didn’t cross my mind until he texted me, but it’s crossing my mind now,” White said Saturday night. “I like it, and I like Pettis.”

Aldo hasn’t indicated being reluctant about accepting the challenge. He’s a champion in every sense, no way he’s turning this fight down.

“It’s an interesting fight,” Aldo said Saturday night. “I train to fight the best.”

Aldo-Pettis: It sounds good. Come on UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, get the deal done. Make this fight a reality.

LAS VEGAS -- Ricardo Lamas was in Las Vegas for UFC 156 Saturday night. He was the first upset. By the time the smoke cleared and everything we presumed to be the case no longer was, he tweeted out a simple statement.

“What am I, a mirage?”

Lamas was on hand presumably to challenge the winner of the featherweight title bout between Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo. But was Lamas really ever there? Aldo earned the decision, yet before Dana White could hit the microphone at the postfight news conference, the UFC president had received a tantalizing text from Anthony Pettis saying he wants to come down to 145 pounds and challenge Aldo next.

Boom. The UFC owes Pettis a title shot. Bells went off in White’s head. We know this because he shared the text with the media. What a sick fight that would be. ... We all thought it. Benson Henderson is busy with Gilbert Melendez; so, Pettis versus Aldo solves conundrums. Pettis and Aldo turns the neat trick of having last week’s UFC on Fox 6 winner, Lamas -- who triumphed over former contender Erik Koch -- vanish before our eyes.

And you know what? This was the most normal thing that happened Saturday night.

All the other scenarios, dangling carrots and conditional promises didn’t go according to plan. In fact, the underdogs and Strikeforce refugees made things downright chaotic.

Let's start with Alistair Overeem. He just got too comfortable in there with Antonio Silva, just too incautious. A couple of times, "The Reem" exposed his chin and dropped his hands altogether. At the end of the second round he gave Silva a smile and a casual nod. He did everything but blow him a kiss. Minutes later he was converted into a Monday morning GIF, getting chopped down early in the third round by Silva’s unmistakable cinderblock hands.

And now matchmaker Joe Silva has to prove that he’s good in a scramble.

Just like the middleweight division a couple of weeks ago, when it was Michael Bisping’s title shot to lose against Vitor Belfort, the scenario was simple: Once Overeem takes care of Silva, he gets to fight Cain Velasquez for the title.

Then, like Bisping, he loses (spectacularly), and the question becomes: Who’s next for Velasquez? "Bigfoot" Silva again? He lost to Velasquez nine months ago while floating in a warm pool of his own blood. That isn’t a rematch that people will be (or should be) pining for. But neither does it make complete sense to roll out Velasquez/Junior dos Santos III. Too soon. Daniel Cormier won’t fight his AKA teammate Velasquez. Fabricio Werdum is tied up with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Josh Barnett isn’t here or there yet.

Who does that leave? Roy Nelson?

Then there is the ongoing Anderson Silva sweepstakes, in which Rashad Evans figured he was in the bag. Should he take care of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he would be considered for a title shot at 185 pounds against Silva. We wondered all week: Can he make the weight to fight Silva? Turns out we should have been wondering if he could make it past Lil Nog.

Nogueira did his Nogueira magic and kept Evans at bay with jabs and straight lefts. He thwarted, he stuck, he toiled. Meanwhile, Evans kept roaring his engine in the garage, yet never came peeling out of it. He was setting up for something that never happened. He was tentative, and he lost. White wondered out loud whether Evans had “lost that hunger.”

So, no Evans-Silva. Which means we’re looking at contender Chris Weidman against Silva by way of attrition. Weidman was the original mirage, but it looks like he’s finally materialized as the guy to next face Anderson Silva.

Then again, it’s hazardous to take too much for granted. Bobby Green choked out Jacob Volkmann. Yves Edwards lost to Isaac Vallie-Flagg. Demian Maia “out-Fitched” Jon Fitch. This is a volatile, ever-changing, rarely predictable game.

And if UFC 156 taught us anything, it was that Lamas wasn’t the only mirage on Saturday night -- turns out everything we expected to be on Sunday was a mirage, too.