ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

LAS VEGAS -- There is no doubt about it: Chris Weidman believes he’ll beat Anderson Silva on July 6.

I had the opportunity to eat lunch with Weidman on the Las Vegas Strip this week. We sat directly down the street from the MGM Grand, where he and Silva will fight for the middleweight title in less than two months at UFC 162.

The biggest thing I took away from the interview is that Weidman is sincerely convinced that, basically, he’s got this. He discussed the possibility of defeating the greatest fighter of all time as though he were describing doing his laundry.

Not that he did it disrespectfully. He acknowledged the enormousness of the opportunity. He admitted that Silva is “great at everything.”

But listening to Weidman talk, you get the sense he’s never watched a Silva fight, sat back and said, “Wow,” like the rest of us. He’s snapped his fingers, pointed at the screen and said, “Right there. That’s where I’d beat him.”

“I just always saw what I could do to him,” Weidman said. “Not really weaknesses. I just always thought I had better wrestling. I thought I had the length and the athleticism to be aware on the feet and strike with my takedowns.”

“

People say he's being cocky and it's bad for the sport. I look at it as he's mentally breaking that guy. He's making him think, 'This guy is so relaxed he has his hands down.' When you're in the cage and you're very structured and tense and the guy you're in with is doing that, it can blow your mind.

” -- Chris Weidman on Anderson Silva's skills

Confidence can be a hard thing to gauge in professional sports. I was fortunate enough to cover Floyd Mayweather’s welterweight title fight last week against Robert Guerrero, and I heard plenty of positive reviews on Guerrero’s confidence.

When I was around Guerrero personally, though, there was something forced about it. It seemed a little too rah-rah. Guerrero never really said (calmly), “I’m ready.” It was always more of an excited, clichéd “we’re gonna beat him down” kind of thing.

Weidman’s confidence is different, tangible -- and that shouldn’t be surprising. This is the same guy who entered the Abu Dhabi World Championships in 2009 with just eight months of jiu-jitsu experience.

He faced world-renowned grappler Andre Galvao in the second round in Barcelona, Spain -- and he didn’t flinch.

“I refuse to believe in people’s hype,” Weidman said. “I go to Abu Dhabi and was matched up against Andre Galvao, and I went after him. I had a broken hand and I didn’t understand the rules, but it was a great experience.

“I was very confident I could beat Andre Galvao. He ended up beating me, but I did not beat myself in that match.”

Silva celebrated his 38th birthday in April. He’s shown no sign of slowing down, but if the Spider is in fact human, eventually he won’t be able to keep up athletically.

Throughout his career, though, and especially in recent years, he’s dominated opponents mentally. Weidman, who majored in psychology while he wrestled at Hofstra University, believes that everything Silva does in the cage has purpose.

“I think that’s the best trait he has,” Weidman said. “He’s earned a certain mystique about him where people fear him before they even get in the cage. He does a great job of making you feel like, ‘I’m that much better than you.’

“People say he’s being cocky and it’s bad for the sport. I look at it as he’s mentally breaking that guy. He’s making him think, ‘This guy is so relaxed he has his hands down.’ When you’re in the cage and you’re very structured and tense and the guy you’re in with is doing that, it can blow your mind.”

After getting to spend time with him, I’m pretty convinced Weidman’s mind is not easily blown.

That can always change in the course of a fight, but when Weidman says things like he wanted this title fight in Brazil so there would be no excuses when he won, I believe he’s being genuine.

Whether he’s able to pull it off we won’t know that until the fight. But I can tell you that on July 6, a middleweight contender is going to go after Silva with the firm belief in his mind it’s his fight to lose. You don’t always get that in a Silva fight.

So let's get this straight.

Anderson Silva no-shows UFC media obligations in Los Angeles on Tuesday and gets fined $50,000 by the UFC. After returning to Brazil, the middleweight champion tells the press he was unaware of being on the hook for a media day.

I'm not alone here, right? This is a really strange sequence of events.

How could Silva, the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, be in the dark about a full day's worth of media events designed to get the word out about ticket sales for UFC 162? Can you imagine? I can't, but maybe I'm not trying hard enough.

Say what you will about the "Spider" lacking as a promoter and showman, the man does not have a reputation for skipping out on the media. It's true as years have past he's become less accessible, but that can just as easily be a result of the natural course of things. Silva is a star in Brazil. He has major sponsorship endorsements. The strain on his time must be severe. And hey, he never enjoyed doing interviews to begin with. How many times can he say he wants to fight his clone? He wasn't the kind of fighter who made much noise, preferring, always, to do his talking in the cage. And aren’t we thankful for that?

Still, consider his numerous achievements over the years, his time spent atop the highest peak in this sport. It shouldn't be so shocking, then, if success got to his head. Hey, I'm not saying that was the cause of what happened in L.A. I don't know what was, and Silva's management isn't talking.

Well, the fighter himself claimed no knowledge, which needs to be respected for now. But I will say I've heard more than once, even from people who know him very well, that Silva isn't above acting like a diva. He can be impossible to handle if that's where his mind's at.

Alvarez not going anywhere anytime soon

Not so long ago I wrote about a conversation between Eddie Alvarez and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in a production truck during an event in Atlantic City, N.J. Rebney thought it was positive, though he never suggested that any of the issues between the two were close to being resolved. A legal battle over the fate of the lightweight's career was ongoing and pleasantries probably weren't going to change that. Turns out, it didn't mean a thing. If Rebney had an inkling of hope that Alvarez would come back into the fold without a fuss, he can forget it. Alvarez went off over the weekend on his Twitter page, criticizing Bellator's majority owner, Viacom, for not playing fair.

It should be that Alvarez doesn't want to remain with Bellator. He has his reasons, and they're basically all that matter at this stage. Lawyers will determine whether Viacom and Bellator legally matched terms laid out by UFC, but that issue sounds settled to Alvarez. He doesn't think so, and probably never will based on where things stand today.

This raises a question: Why would Bellator battle over a guy like Alvarez if he has no desire to be there? If Viacom/Bellator feel the need to scratch and claw like this to keep Alvarez (who, remember, is not a champion in the organization), is this a preview of how other future UFC crossovers will be treated?

Bellator wants to promote a pay-per-view. Internally it's making moves in this direction, but there's no doubt that the pay model is tricky territory. And there isn't anyone who's watched MMA over the last few years who believes a promoter outside of the UFC can sell major numbers on pay-per-view. There's just no track record to suggest otherwise. It's no wonder why Alvarez would want to be tied to UFC when it comes to selling fights this way.

Unfortunately, this has all the earmarks of a protracted legal fight. Don't expect Alvarez to fight in the ring for a while.

On Carwin's retirement

Heavyweight Shane Carwin announced his retirement from MMA on Tuesday night, closing the book on an entertaining and fruitful journey that sputtered to a halt because of injuries.

On the "entertaining" and "fruitful" fronts, I couldn't have been more wrong about the guy. In late 2007 a talent scout/fight booker asked for my take on Carwin. The powerhouse had destroyed everyone in front of him to that point, but based on the level of opposition, that's what he should have done. So despite covering his pro debut in 2005 and seeing firsthand how destructive he could be, I found a way not to be impressed with Carwin. Because he shared a similar build and friendship with Ron Waterman, I made the mistake of conflating the two.

Turns out Carwin was nothing like Waterman, whose slow, safe style made him one of the least enjoyable heavyweights to watch in MMA.

In reality, Carwin's power turned out to be a defining trait of the heavyweight division during a period in which bigger was better. Carwin was in the class of monsters who dominated the UFC for a stretch, especially because when he laid his hands on someone, they went down, regardless if the shot was clean or not. Such was the force of Carwin's concussive power that he didn't need more than four minutes to stop any of his first 12 opponents, including Frank Mir for a UFC interim title. Then he ran into a defiant Brock Lesnar -- prompting one of the best heavyweight fights in the UFC -- and young soon-to-be-champion Junior dos Santos. Carwin hadn't returned since losing a decision to dos Santos in June 2011, enduring neck and back surgeries, as well as a knee injury along the way.

It should be noted that in 2010 a U.S. Attorney in Mobile, Ala., connected Carwin to an illegal anabolic steroid ring, a situation he has not fully addressed.

The first time I saw Anderson Silva in action live was the week he fought Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in August 2009.

I had seen him on tape previously, but it’s different in person. You see the fluidity of his motion firsthand and hear the crack of his punches -- and subconsciously cradle your own ribs as he throws knees from the Thai clinch.

I felt all of that while just watching him hit the heavy bag, by the way.

As far as the fight went, well, it was maybe the most tailor-made matchup I’ve ever seen for Silva’s skill set, but still. It was awesome.

That was nearly four years ago. Back then, there wasn't a great pool of talent to challenge Silva for the middleweight title, and he wasn’t interested in fighting for the 205-pound belt because his buddy Lyoto Machida was wearing it. The feeling was Silva would just hang on to that 185-pound strap, which he did.

What has changed? The main thing hasn’t. Sitting here, writing this today, I still say there is no middleweight in the UFC who beats Silva if the two fight tomorrow.

Looking ahead, though, Silva celebrated his 38th birthday last month. If UFC president Dana White was correct in comments made last month in New York, Silva has signed a new deal that keeps him around another 10 fights.

If Silva (33-4) enters the Octagon another 10 times, even if a superfight against Jon Jones never happens, that’s a lot of fights. Could a middleweight beat him?

With that, let’s get into our third installment of "Contenders and Pretenders." The question: Who will become the first middleweight other than Silva to hold the UFC title since Rich Franklin in 2006?

The Honorable Mentions: Alan Belcher, Tim Boetsch, Tim Kennedy, Hector Lombard, Mark Munoz, Yushin Okami, Costa Philippou

Lombard may be the honorable mention of the honorable mentions. If he could consistently fight the always confusing Rousimar Palhares, he might rattle off 18 knockouts in a row. A move to welterweight might help, but the problem is that he’s a bit of a one-trick pony -- along with most of the middles on this list.

Belcher is the pound-for-pound champ of “jumping into the camera with a crazy, happy look on your face for future promo reels.” He has perfected it. Skills-wise, he’s a bit one-dimensional like Lombard. We saw that in the Michael Bisping fight, with no adjustments round to round. It will forever be difficult to forget the frightened cat look Okami wore in the cage with Silva in 2011. Kennedy struggles when he can’t outgrapple his opponent. Boetsch is the definition of solid, but he lacks athleticism. Philippou would have lost to Boetsch if it weren’t for early injuries. Munoz, although 35, has the most upside of this group, but the clock is ticking.

The Reality Star: Uriah Hall

Take a second before blasting me for even mentioning Hall. Let’s make this argument in baby steps, because I feel I’m already close to losing you.

Even though Kelvin Gastelum upset Hall in the TUF Finale, we still walked away from this season thinking Hall has the most potential in terms of winning a title. With his potential, unlimited resources await him. He seems loyal to his East Coast team, but if he wants to travel and practice his craft, any gym or trainer will welcome him with open arms.

He’s got nothing but time. Let’s say he fights four times between now and December 2014. The UFC feeds him a couple stand-up fights and allows him to progress. Is it crazy to think Silva would still hold the belt by December 2014? No. That Hall would work into title contention in that same amount of time (19 months)? No. That Hall, turning 30, could actually stand with Silva, who would be pushing 40, by then? No.

The Old Lion and The Count: Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping

Let’s keep this simple. Discussions on these two could take up a lot of room, but the topic of the day is the middleweight title and who holds it next. I don’t see either of these guys, as talented as they are, as the answer. Maybe if Silva loses to a guy like Chris Weidman and then Belfort or Bisping get their shot, they could hold the belt. But if Silva is still there when these two arrive, it’s a nightmare matchup.

Belfort is a stationary, (at times) inactive target, and questions about his gas tank remain. Bisping probably can’t outwrestle Silva for five rounds and doesn’t have enough power to scare you on the feet.

Right Place, Right Time: Luke Rockhold

Rockhold really didn’t get any favors in his first UFC fight. Vitor Belfort? On TRT? In Brazil? The reigning Strikeforce champ has taken it in stride, and should he win, it really sets him up.

If Silva defeats Weidman in July, Rockhold looks like the No. 1 contender. He would either get Silva next or (maybe even better) take one more fight while Silva deals with the superfight business. Here’s the potential scenario: Rockhold, in his third UFC fight, gets Silva fresh off a megafight that’s been years in the making. If that were to happen, it would be a potential letdown spot for Silva and a great opportunity for Rockhold.

Right Place, Wrong Time: Chris Weidman

In many ways, Weidman feels like the UFC middleweight to finally beat Silva -- but the timing is off.

Weidman will be battling the effects of a year off when he fights Silva in July. Not the end of the world, but to a fighter still developing and heading into the biggest fight of his life, that layoff works against him.

He has earned the No. 1 contender tag, but he hasn’t had that one performance yet, the one where fans in the arena and at home are looking at each other saying, “Yeah, this is the guy.” Jon Jones didn’t have a long résumé when he fought for the title, but he had those performances. Weidman did what he had to in tough circumstances against Demian Maia. He caught Munoz with the elbow. He’s done enough to get here and get us thinking, but he hasn’t Jon Jones’d it along the way.

At 28, the chances of Weidman holding UFC gold during his career are very good. Does he do it now, against Silva? I don’t think he does, and it will take him some time to get back in that position.

The Teammate: Ronaldo Souza

It’s risky to put Souza atop this list, for many reasons. First off, he and Silva are teammates and may shoot down the idea of a fight between them. Second, and less concerning, he’s never fought in the UFC. Sometimes, martial artists find the going rather difficult in the Octagon, but I’m not worried too much about that with Souza. Last, he’s 33 -- not old, but if he refuses to fight Silva and waits for a vacated belt, time will work against him.

Souza is made of champion material. The fact he and Silva are teammates is truly awful, because their styles would make for a terrific fight. Souza’s stand-up is improving, and he’s dedicating himself heavily to wrestling. The athleticism and fearlessness is there to create a dynamic takedown artist, and we know how brilliant he is once his opponent is on the mat.

The final word on this is that even as Silva approaches 40 and the middleweight division adds depth, it’s difficult to find the next champion at 185 pounds. I don’t know if Silva will retire with the belt around his waist, especially if he signed a 10-fight deal, but I kind of feel the same way I did the first time I saw him live in Philadelphia. I can't point to any middleweight who is beating this guy.

Olympic champion Henry Cejudo planned for a smooth and quiet transition from amateur wrestling to professional mixed martial arts.

But stepping into his fourth fight after three months as a pro, Cejudo’s manager is threatening to pull the 2008 gold medalist from a Gladiator Challenge fight May 18 outside Sacramento, Calif., against little-known Miguelito “Darkness” Marti -- unless the promoter provides clear proof of Marti’s history.

“His record, as conveyed by Gladiator Challenge, changes as much as a parent changes a baby's wet diaper,” said Cejudo’s representative, Bill McFarlane, who contacted ESPN.com to express numerous concerns about the contest.

Marti was the matchup proposed on April 20 by Gladiator Challenge founder and COO Tedd Williams when featherweight Kevin Montejano, whose name appears opposite Cejudo’s on the event poster, had problems trying to make a catch weight of 128 pounds.

Williams told McFarlane that Marti’s record was 3-2, but the official online record keepers for MMA offered no proof. Type “Miguelito Marti Darkness” into Google and you’ll see three videos. He goes after it during a Pepsi dance off. A training session pops up and it looks like he has some idea what he’s doing. And then there’s an XARM contest during a Gladiator Challenge event (XARM, the brainchild of UFC co-creator Art Davie, pits competitors who are linked as if arm wrestling, all the while being allowed to punch, kick and submit the other man). Prior to having one of his arms tied to his opponent’s, Marti was announced as 7-2 in MMA.

“Marti's record continues to evolve and that is not normal and should not be the case,” McFarlane wrote in an email.

Cejudo’s manager went back to Williams “for clarification on Marti given the lack of information on Sherdog.com and mixedmartialarts.com, and the XARM exhibition inconsistency.”

The next time they spoke, Williams said Marti’s 3-2 record was in XARM and Marti had no MMA fights. Then Williams “came back with an email saying his real MMA record was 4-2.”

Williams, a retired UFC veteran, told ESPN.com that as far as he knows, Marti’s record stands at 4-2, and that “one or two” bouts should have been reported to MMA’s official record keepers, “but I can’t find them on Sherdog, so I don’t know.” Williams suggested the sport’s unregulated past makes it impossible to keep accurate ledgers.

“Marti's a good fighter,” said the promoter. “He's that undercard type fight that they asked for.

“The guy is tough and small. It's hard to find those kind of guys. Obviously he's much more of an upright fighter, but he's a stud on the feet.”

After McFarlane voiced concerns, Williams said Gladiator Challenge offered up 35-year-old Stephen Abas, a 2004 silver medal winning wrestler from the U.S. He’s 2-0 in MMA but hasn’t fought since 2010.

“Stephen Abas really wants to fight [Cejudo] badly,” Williams said. “They refused.

“It would be a compelling fight, a gold medalist versus a silver medalist, they've competed before and Henry's beat him in wrestling. It's a great story.”

McFarlane, a self-described politically savvy and connected ex-venture capitalist, “brought up all kinds of stuff” about Abas outside the cage, Williams said, “and none of it matters.”

McFarlane confirmed that Abas was offered up as an opponent. He said there wasn’t nearly enough time for either man to prepare properly, but didn’t rule out a fight down the road. However, he declined to address his conversation about Abas with Williams.

"It's inevitable, I see those two fighting one another,” said the promoter, who believes McFarlane is “fabricating reasons why they don't want to fight” Abas.

In February, a multi-fight deal between Cejudo and the 13-year-old California-based promotion was announced. The idea was for Cejudo to cut his teeth off the beaten track, gain experience without much media attention -- though McFarlane said ESPN and Fox are doing pieces on the politically engaged fighter -- and for six fights at least, build on his skills prior to moving onto bigger and better things.

At some point soon, Cejudo’s competition will improve. His first three fights, including two inside Arizona’s World Fighting Federation, resulted in opening-round wins against opponents offering a combined and verified 6-19 record.

Gladiator Challenge conducts 90 percent of its events on tribal lands, Williams said. Urijah Faber, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Travis Browne and Robbie Peralta all did the sovereign nation circuit, and since MMA isn’t under federal legislation like boxing, many fights go unregulated and unreported.

California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster doesn’t wake up nights thinking about it, but "any time we have unregulated events happening, it's a problem."

Foster, an affable Georgian who took over the struggling commission late last year, held several discussions with Williams about bringing the cash-strapped regulator onto tribal lands for Gladiator Challenge events. If this happens it would elicit new fees for the promoter, create new standards for the commission, such as allowing more than 20 bouts on one card (a regular practice for Gladiator Challenge that could cost the state additional money to oversee), and require a wider range of medical examinations for the fighters.

Foster also mentioned one of the key reasons for regulation is to ensure proper matchups.

Besides four guaranteed fights plus the option of two more, Cejudo and McFarlane knew what they signed up for with Gladiator Challenge. According McFarlane, Williams promised the promotion’s new owner, billionaire Bruce Kopitar, would deliver “higher production value, there would be larger venues, and there would be sanctioned fights.”

"He knew what he was getting into when he signed the contract,” Williams countered. “He knew where he was fighting, these casinos and under what terms. Why it's an issue now, this is the first time I'm hearing it."

Williams said he has plans for his promotion, and wants to “modernize MMA,” but wouldn’t expound. It’s yet to happen, McFarlane noted. And while he isn’t sorry Cejudo signed the deal, he’s not far off.

"It was a mistake to rely on those representations,” McFarlane said. “The first fight was very poorly organized. This fight will be the same thing.”

McFarlane didn’t like that fighters could use their own gloves, or that hand wrapping wasn’t being closely watched. He has concerns over the level of medical testing that is required of combantants. This was expressed to Williams, the manager said.

“Had the CSAC been involved in lieu of Gladiator Challenge pretending to be the CSAC stand-in, the vetting process would have been done and there would be no uncertainty” about Marti or Cejudo’s participation on the 18th, McFarlane said.

With half the year already mapped out, Cejudo’s schedule is mostly locked in. On one side of the event poster for May 18, Cejudo is pictured with the gold medal draped around his neck, his right hand over his heart. The name of the event is “American Dream.” He’ll take a break from fighting during a two- to three-month trip to Brazil this summer.

Cejudo is quite clearly a significant selling point for the unregulated card. If the situation with his opponent can’t be ironed out, and Cejudo is pulled from the fight, Williams made it sound like a bump in the road could quickly become a roadblock.

"Of course if they end up pulling out, we have a long-term, multifight contract with them,” Williams said. “I'd hate to have to see this thing get put in court, and him not fight at all, you know?"

They don’t look alike. They don’t act alike. They don’t think alike. And they don’t fight alike.

When Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald step into the Octagon on July 27 in Seattle for the co-main event at UFC on Fox 8, it will be very easy to tell them apart. They’re cut from two very different cloths.

“We’re two different species,” Ellenberger recently told ESPN.com. “He’s a Cro-Magnon; I’m a Neanderthal. We have different bone density, power, pure instinct, savagery.

“He’d be better at painting caves; I’d be better at killing mastodons.”

There is, however, a tie that binds them. Both are highly-ranked contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Ellenberger is ranked fourth by ESPN.com; MacDonald sits at No. 6. UFC.com places Ellenberger fourth, while MacDonald occupies the three-spot.

“

Everybody in UFC is tough. But I've been building up, especially in my last fight. I have a new boxing coach [Carlos Ruffo] who focuses on my strengths and what I need to do to get better.

” -- Jake Ellenberger on his improved boxing skills

The winner of their showdown is likely to land a 170-pound title shot if champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Johny Hendricks settle their issues in the foreseeable future. But if a St-Pierre-Hendricks fight doesn’t materialize, Ellenberger envisions participating in a welterweight title eliminator.

“If [St-Pierre] and Hendricks doesn’t happen next, then I think Hendricks and me are going to decide who’s going to be the next No. 1 contender,” Ellenberger said.

In either case, Ellenberger knows his title shot isn’t far away. And when it arrives, he plans to be more than ready to secure the gold.

Since a second-round TKO loss to Martin Kampmann in June 2012 (a bout Ellenberger was in control of before a knee took him down and snapped his six-fight win streak), he has rebounded with two victories in a row. The Kampmann loss still stings, but Ellenberger doesn’t dwell on it.

Instead, that loss serves as motivation. Ellenberger has always worked to improve his fighting techniques. But the man who dons the Octagon these days is a complete fighter.

Because Ellenberger is a physically strong, highly skilled wrestler, no one has controlled him on the ground. But he is now equally dangerous standing.

Ellenberger has settled in as a proficient boxer. His skills in that discipline were on full display during his most recent fight, a first-round knockout of former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate Marquardt at UFC 158 in March.

“My whole time in UFC has been about working my way up,” Ellenberger said. “It’s the hardest sport to be consistent at. But I’m focused on the big picture.

“Everybody in UFC is tough. But I’ve been building up, especially in my last fight. I have a new boxing coach [Carlos Ruffo] who focuses on my strengths and what I need to do to get better.

“I’m also in Las Vegas from time to time. Actually I’m there quite a bit; I only live about four hours from Vegas. And when I’m there I’m working with [renowned boxing trainer] Jeff Mayweather.”

Not a single stone has gone unturned in Ellenberger’s boxing development -- footwork, head movement, rolling with punches, jabs, you name it. And through it all, Ellenberger has not compromised his wrestling in the least.

Ellenberger has combined wrestling and boxing in a way that has onlookers shaking their heads. By the way, his jiu-jitsu, especially defensively, hasn’t suffered, either. He can accurately be labeled a full-fledged mixed martial artist.

So when Ellenberger speaks of being the Neanderthal to MacDonald’s Cro-Magnon, it’s not a slight at his opponent; it’s the description that best describes the action that will take place on fight night.

“I feel great about the fight,” Ellenberger said. “[MacDonald] is a guy who really motivated me to work harder.”

Ellenberger intends to be the more dominant man inside the cage in Seattle. He intends to put a vicious beating on MacDonald: Whether it’s on the ground or standing doesn’t matter.

When the result is announced, Ellenberger will lift his hands briefly if he wins -- a friendly acknowledgement to the fans -- then turn his attention to claiming the title. Ellenberger is all about becoming UFC welterweight champion. He won’t accept anything less.

The timing is perfect for Ellenberger to realize his goal: His skills are at peak levels, and his confidence couldn’t be stronger. Everything is in place, even his willingness to savagely pummel an opponent inside the cage -- and he possesses the tools to do just that, if need be.

Maybe Ellenberger’s description of himself as a Neanderthal isn’t too far off. But let’s be clear on one thing: Ellenberger remains a highly intelligent fighter. No one is going to catch him by surprise with a knee anymore -- he’s too smart to fall for that again.

“The timing is perfect for me,” Ellenberger said. “I’m in a good place mentally and physically. I couldn't be better.”

Seven years ago, Mike Tyson did what prizefighters are rarely willing or able to do: recognize when their time is up.

A mercurial figure of the ‘80s and ‘90s who often courted as much trouble outside the ring as he did inside of it, Tyson walked away from boxing after consecutive losses, telling spectators he refused to disgrace the sport with subpar performances.

“

That'd be an awesome fight from the fans' standpoint. All the fans want to see two invincible fighters from two different weight divisions. It would be very interesting.

” -- Mike Tyson on a possible Jon Jones-Anderson Silva matchup.

Based on his past indiscretions, many expected him to implode. Retirement, however, had a strange effect on Tyson: Instead of feeling cast adrift, he appeared ecstatic at the prospect of leaving the fight business behind. Cameos in "The Hangover" films and viral videos turned public perception around; removed from the mindset of having to try to tear a man down with his fists, there was little trace of the savage behavior that made him famous.

The story of that transformation is part of "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth," a one-man stage show Tyson is currently touring. As he prepares for his final dates in Atlanta, Newark, New York and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Tyson -- an unabashed fight fan who recently appeared on "The Ultimate Fighter" -- spoke with ESPN.com about the past, present and future of mixed martial arts.

Jake Rossen: You’ve been touring the show for a few months now. When you started, was the idea of public speaking more nerve-wracking than fighting?

Tyson: Absolutely. I’m not the most didactic guy when it comes to my linguistics skills. Spike [Lee, the show’s director] hired a voice coach, a speech teacher, so I could pronounce the words in a proper fashion. I still sometimes garble my G's and R's, though.

They’re ready to film this for television, it’s gotten so good. Spike has hinted at it. Though I might talk too much and then he’ll say, "Hell, no, we’re not going to do it now."

Rossen: You were one of the first boxers to acknowledge mixed martial arts as a legitimate combat sport. Do you remember when you first watched the UFC?

Tyson: My friends were all at my house one day, and we see these guys promoting these cage fights, right? When everybody was over, people were normally inebriated, so we said, “We’re putting this on. We’re gonna watch this!” Next thing you know, we’re watching Ken Shamrock and someone fight. Bang! I’m saying, “This is real, man. This is on!”

We started watching it every time we got the chance. We’ve been following the guys since [Royce] Gracie, Shamrock, [Dan] Severn. It just kept evolving and evolving.

Rossen: At those early shows, sometimes people in the crowd would hold up signs saying, “Tyson vs. Gracie.” What would you think when you saw that?

Tyson: Yeah! That was so awesome. I love all kinds of fighting. To say I only love two guys putting on gloves and only punching, I would be a moron to say that.

Rossen: Did you ever seriously consider an offer to fight MMA when you were active as an athlete?

Tyson: Not really, because by the time it took off, I was already doing boxing. This is something you have to start when you’re 12 or 13. It has to be a passion. That’s the problem with boxing: There’s no passion. People want to be record producers, rappers. In MMA, you see that passion. Georges St-Pierre, this is all he wants to do. That’s why he’s so successful.

Rossen: But back in those days, it wasn’t so refined. I know it’s a hypothetical, but what do you think would’ve happened if someone had put up enough money for you to fight Royce Gracie? He was a much smaller man.

Tyson: It doesn’t matter. If I hit him with a good punch, OK, but if he gets hold of me and in a position I’m not familiar with, I’m not going to win the fight. I would have to be equipped with grappling skills as well. Gracie changed the whole game around. To be involved in this kind of fight, you have to know that style right off the bat.

Everyone learned his style of fighting. Everything we have now is because of the Gracies taking it to the next level. Their name isn’t on it, but that’s what it is. It’s Gracie Fighting.

Rossen: Have you ever grappled?

Tyson: Never in my life, no. Unless I had a street fight where I had to grab someone and slam them. [Laughs]

Rossen: There’s always talk MMA is set to “replace” boxing. Do you think the two will continue to coexist?

Tyson: I think there’s room for both [MMA] and boxing, but boxing just has too many black eyes. It doesn’t have a good image. In MMA, even though people are fighting, they have a good image. Very few of them get into tragic troubles where they’re beating people up and stuff.

Rossen: Do you see Jon Jones versus Anderson Silva as MMA’s version of Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

Tyson: That’d be an awesome fight from the fans’ standpoint. All the fans want to see two invincible fighters from two different weight divisions. It would be very interesting.

Rossen: As a fighter, though, when you have a lucrative win streak going, do you think it makes either of those guys reluctant to do it?

Tyson: The essence of fighting is this: to push yourself to the limit. Say you get defeated. Do you push yourself to another limit to overcome that defeat? This is what fighting is about. That’s why it’s such a metaphor for life. Even though you’re going to lose and you know you’re going to lose, you still have to fight and fight to win.

Rossen: Are you more of a boxing or MMA fan now?

Tyson: I love MMA and love boxing, but I’m always watching the MMA stuff. With boxing, you don’t know if the guy’s going to get a [good] decision, you know? In UFC, there’s the Ultimate Fighter house -- you cultivate the fighters spiritually, work with them, it’s a team effort. In boxing, it’s like, “The hell with you.” The fighters dislike everybody. The MMA fighters are killing each other and they’re friends!

Rossen: You seem to have a good relationship with the UFC. Would you ever consider doing commentary for them if asked?

Tyson: Absolutely. I would also work in boxing if I could get a chance to clean it up, get it organized and government-operated. It has to be. Look at all the atrocities that have happened in the history of boxing.

Rossen: You’ve spoken before about being a huge fan of Fedor Emelianenko. Is there one fighter in the UFC you love to watch compete?

Tyson: It has to be Jon Jones. But I like Anderson Silva, too. And Cain Velasquez! He showed what a champion is. He took a humiliating defeat, came back focused and beat Junior dos Santos [in the rematch].

I look at MMA totally differently from how the fans look at it. I look at people overcoming adversities. Most guys being knocked out the way Cain was would’ve lost all of their spirit. He could’ve come back for a payday and gotten knocked out in one round. Instead, he examined his loss and changed the outcome.

Rossen: There are some parallels there to your own life. You have a charity now, Mike Tyson Cares. What gave you that initiative?

Tyson: My wife and I were piggybacking on other established charities. We were so happy we were able to put smiles on so many faces, get medication into hospitals, get people educated. We’ve gotten 7,000 homeless kids medical supplies, school supplies, by piggybacking with these other organizations. It gave us great satisfaction.

I just want to continue to be of service, continue to help people, and do good things in life. I want to have moral achievements more than tangible, physical ones.

At some point during Jon Jones’ fifth UFC title defense (which nearly cost him a big toe) Saturday, a reader posted a great question to the ESPN.com live chat.

“Is it weird,” he wrote, “that I rank Anderson Silva pound-for-pound above Jon Jones, but think he would lose if they fought?”

In a word: yes. That’s weird. It basically goes against the definition of what a pound-for-pound list is.

The list exists because all fighters don’t weigh the same and thus can’t fight each other. A pound-for-pound list (to me anyway) is a way of saying, “OK, if they were all in the same division, this is how they would line up.”

Even weirder then, is that so many agree with the reader. In the latest installment of ESPN.com rankings, five of six staff members voted Silva ahead of Jones pound-for-pound -- yet five of the same six predicted Jones would win if they fought.

Rankings are a guilty pleasure in martial arts. Everyone -- media, fans and fighters -- downplays them as insignificant but is typically aware of who’s where. Even UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, the last person you would envision sitting at a computer looking up rankings, recently referenced Georges St-Pierre’s pound-for-pound mark before they fought.

The case for Silva as pound-for-pound champ looks like this: He’s 16-0 in the UFC. He has been perfect for years in a sport where perfection is seemingly unattainable. Skills-wise, regardless of weight class, he has no equal.

Case for Jones: Silva’s case sounds more like we’re talking greatest fighter of all time. In the here and now, Jones’ wins in the past three years stack up favorably to Silva’s and if the two fought, Jones would be the significant favorite.

Here’s what is great about this entire discussion: It exists. And it might be an important catalyst in making the Silva-Jones fight -- should Silva defeat Chris Weidman at UFC 162 this summer.

It was disappointing when both UFC champs initially scoffed at the idea of fighting each other in 2012. Both said they respected each other too much, didn’t want to get in the way of each other’s greatness. Jones didn’t want to be “the guy to beat him.”

Those comments stood directly against Jones’ dream of becoming the greatest ever. Silva, who once expressed interest in everything from the 170-pound title to a test at heavyweight, could arguably cement his legacy over Jones with a win against him.

In one short year, we’re made to believe circumstances have changed. UFC president Dana White said immediately after Jones’ win last weekend, Silva called him to talk about a future opponent. Most assumed he was referring to Jones.

If that’s true, it’s an interesting (and welcome) development in the super fight saga. As much interest as there has been and still is in a Silva-St-Pierre fight, it has always been clear St-Pierre doesn’t want to move up. The entire idea feels somewhat forced.

That’s not the case with Jones. Even though Jones hasn’t surpassed Silva on most pound-for-pound lists, the fact is he has gotten close despite having a fraction of the fights. Eventually, he will pass Silva.

Unless, of course, Silva seizes an opportunity to put this whole debate to rest and takes on Jones in the cage. Hopefully, that’s what that phone call was all about.

At the age of 31, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has accomplished so much that rumors of a two-fight retirement plan shouldn't come as a shock.

St-Pierre (24-2) holds the record for total UFC wins (along with Matt Hughes) at 18 and is second in title defenses with eight. He ranks No. 1 in the UFC in career takedowns, takedown accuracy and total strikes.

From August 2007 to April 2011, St-Pierre won a record 33 consecutive rounds.

Prior to his recent title defense over Nick Diaz at UFC 158, St-Pierre's former manager Stephane Patry penned a column for a Canadian website that outlined St-Pierre's plan of two more fights -- a title defense against Johny Hendricks and a "super fight" against Anderson Silva -- and then retirement.

Whether or not that comes to fruition, ESPN.com decided to speak with some of the brightest minds in the sport on what has fueled St-Pierre's historic career, what it will take to disrupt his success and whether or not he's still at his peak.

"We kind of always knew he would eventually become a champion ... "

Pat Miletich, former UFC champion, longtime trainer, analyst: I used to go up to Tristar Gym years and years ago because my wife is from Montreal. I would teach a bit here and there when those guys were younger. Georges was always very respectful. He actually came into one of my seminars and sat in and watched when I was teaching up there at different spots in Montreal. We kind of always knew he would eventually become a champion. It was just something you could tell. Before Matt [Hughes] even fought him the first time, Matt and I both publicly said in interviews, "Georges is going to be the world champ. Just not yet."

Matt Hume, trainer, matchmaker, ambassador: The moment I recognized he was a very special martial artist was when he did Abu Dhabi (Submission Wrestling championships). He went against a guy named Otto Olsen. Otto Olsen, the first time he did Abu Dhabi, he went all the way to the finals against Marcelo Garcia with only six months training. Otto was great. He got really good at head control and started destroying people. The next Abu Dhabi, his first match was against Georges St-Pierre, who wasn't known as a great grappler, and he beat Otto that day. He shot a double on him, which is something he's very well known for now and escaped what a lot of people call the D'Arce now. Georges' posture on his shots was perfect and his explosiveness and awareness of where his head was when he got to the ground. That was the moment that told me this guy really gets out of his element. He really learns.

Matt Hughes, former UFC champion, went 1-2 in three fights against St-Pierre: Usually when I tie up with somebody, I feel I'm stronger than the other person and with Georges, I can't say I was stronger than him. I'm a big welterweight. I probably cut more weight than Georges does, which you think would give me a strength advantage but I didn't feel I had that advantage against Georges.

Miletich: After the first time Matt fought him and beat him, I asked Matt, "He's pretty strong isn't he?" We were walking through the tunnel back to the locker room and he looked at me and said, "You're damn right he's strong."

Hughes: I don't think he's a great wrestler. I think if you put him on a wrestling mat against Josh Koscheck, Josh would beat him up. What Georges does so well is mixes everything up and camouflages his takedowns with his striking. When you're out there against Georges, you don't know if he's going to kick, punch, close the distance and gets his hands on you or take a shot. He's pretty one-dimensional on the ground. You don't see him going for many submissions. He is really there to keep people down. But he's effective at his striking. He likes to stand up in people's guard and that gives him power in his punches. But his No. 1 thing is to keep people down.

Marc Laimon, grappling coach, trains Hendricks: One of my black belts and I were talking about this and he was saying St-Pierre kind of reminds him of a guy who pushes to half-guard, does enough to get the advantage to win and stalls the rest of the match. Against Nick Diaz, for somebody to talk so much trash, I didn't see that killer instinct. I saw a guy win and stay busy and active and do enough to win, but not a scary, killer, bloodthirsty guy wanting to kill you. I see a pro athlete doing his job very well.

Mark Munoz, UFC middleweight, NCAA wrestling champion: Pure wrestling is a totally different sport than MMA wrestling. In MMA wrestling, you can't shoot to your knees anymore. If you shoot to your knees, you're being stopped because there's too much distance to cover when you change levels. You've just got to explode and run through them in a power double and that's what Georges St-Pierre does. He is such a gifted athlete at first-step explosion and he's got long arms.

Hughes: He does everything pretty well. His lead strike, I believe, is his left leg. Usually, it's people's rear leg but I figured out real quick his left leg in the front of his stance is what he has all his power with.

Hume (on St-Pierre's intimidation factor): It's not the same extent as [an Anderson Silva.] Anderson put Rich Franklin's nose on the other side of his face and what he did to Forrest Griffin, making him miss the punches and dropping him with the jab -- it's the striking aspects, getting the bones broke in your face from an unprotected knee bone, those things scare people. I think with Georges, people don't look at him the same way as Anderson. They see it more as, "I don't know how to beat this guy." Not so much, "This guy is really going to hurt me bad."

Laimon: He still does things very well. The timing on his double leg is impeccable. He's still very fun to watch but when he was going for the title and he murdered [Frank] Trigg and murdered Hughes -- oh man. That guy is a killer and I don't see that guy anymore.

"What's going to beat Georges, is a hit ... "

Hume: You don't make a game plan for Georges St-Pierre. You make a game plan to be the best you can be. You have to try to be better than him at every aspect of the game, which includes the mental aspect, conditioning and technical aspects. If you're better than him at every aspect, then you can beat him.

Munoz: The guy that beats St-Pierre is the guy that is able to counter the jab. Able to circle, have good footwork, and counter while moving his feet. Not countering in front of him, because that's where GSP is able to capitalize -- when he jabs or throws punches, the other guy counter punches and then he drops down and shoots.

Miletich: You have to take him out of his comfort zone. It's not like there are a lot of guys out there who are going to take him down and submit him, but a guy who can actually take Georges down and make him nervous on his back a little bit is certainly going to help. In terms of striking, guys that use feints and fakes very well and they've got to be able to do that better than him. When somebody is throwing feints and fakes at you, they're trying to make you guess on what's real and what's not. When you're not able to do that (as good as St-Pierre), he is sticking you with the jab. Then he's able to progressively chips away at you because he feints the jab and throws the cross. Then feints the cross and throws the hook. It goes a lot deeper than that, but a guy who can do that better than Georges and throw it back in his face and has the power to hurt him standing, plus the technique to take him down, is pretty much what it's going to take.

Hughes: That's a very easy question for me to answer. What's going to beat Georges is a hit. You can tell it in the way he fights. He does not want to get hit. You see what happens when he gets hit. Any big hit is going to hurt Georges. My speculation would be that Georges has been hit in practice and he don't like it. This is all my speculation -- that he's been hit, knows his body doesn't like it and he's not going to get hit anymore.

"Johny is a different breed of cat ..."

Miletich: Hendricks is just a mean guy. His mentality is he's just a rough cat. Very good wrestling, very powerful and his left hand can kill a bull. After I saw him slide Martin Kampmann across the canvas like a sheet of ice, you realize how hard he hits. That's a guy I think to a certain extent just says, "I don't give a s--- what you're doing. I'm just going to hit you." Those guys can be tough to fight because they don't bite a lot on your feints and fakes. They don't necessarily move the way they're supposed to. What we're going to see is when Georges starts putting feints and fakes on him, we may see a totally different Johny Hendricks who gets confused. That's very possible.

Munoz: St-Pierre is not going to want it to be a brawl. He's going to want to execute that jab, circle around him, stop shots, drag behind him and take his back. I don't think he's going to be able to hold Johny down. Everybody who wrestled him [in college] had trouble holding him down. What you're going to see Johny do is knee slide -- which is, shoot his knee forward and stand up to his feet. He's not going to stay turtled up. He's going to hand fight, look for wrist control and get up.

Hughes: Being the best wrestler doesn't mean that Georges can't take him down. He disguises things so well that he can get in on somebody by throwing punches, but Georges is going to have to work for it. He's going to have to spend more energy and that's a good thing in a fight -- to make somebody spend energy and take punishment along the way. I think if you look at who Georges has fought, Johny is a bad matchup compared to everybody else.

Laimon: I really think I've got a guy who matches up very well with him and is going to present problems. Johny is a different breed of cat. He operates on a different frequency. He's hungry and I think Georges is ripe for the picking. I think Johny Hendricks is coming into his prime and I see St-Pierre as an unbelievable LaDainian Tomlinson-type guy who is kind of at the [New York] Jets now. He was so dominant, the premiere guy, but if you look recently ... how many guys defend his takedowns? How many guys have been able to get back to his feet? Every time I see Georges, his face is busted up. These guys are putting their hands on him. Georges is hittable and being hittable against a guy like Johny Hendricks isn't good.

"I actually think the [Silva] fight will be pretty close ..."

Hughes: I actually think the fight will be pretty close because of Georges' takedowns. He's going to take him down and control him on the ground. It might not be the most exciting fight because it's going to be a lot of ground game. I don't think Anderson can beat him on the ground, especially with Georges on top. If I had to pick a winner, I might say Georges gets his hand raised.

Hume: Anybody who stands with Anderson is risking what he does to everybody. Anderson has been taken down. He's been mounted. He has been armbarred, but he has survived those things. He has a great ground game, too. Georges has great takedowns. He knows how to put people at their weakness. If you're going to try and fight Anderson at his weakness, it's going to have to be on his back.

Munoz: I think it's a bad matchup for Georges. Anderson is a big 185-pounder. I wouldn't say St-Pierre is a big welterweight. I've seen Anderson upwards of 215 pounds. At the same time, St-Pierre has double leg takedowns, which Anderson has trouble defending at times. I would give Anderson the nod because of his movement on his feet, elusiveness and precise punching.

Miletich: Georges is not going to win that standup fight at all. Anderson will shut down his feints. The victory is going to lie in Georges' ability to take down Anderson, which I think he certainly can. He could take him down and control him all five rounds because he's strong enough to do it. Anderson's takedown defense has gotten better over the years, but I still think Georges could take him down.

Assuming the story is true, the most heinous villain in MMA history may have been born via innocuous text message during the summer of 2009.

That’s when a previously unremarkable middleweight named Chael Sonnen contacted Joe Silva, offering to move up in weight to fight on short notice at UFC 102. Brandon Vera’s opponent had just dropped out of a scheduled light heavyweight bout in Sonnen’s hometown of Portland, Ore., and Sonnen was cooling his heels after a win over Dan Miller three months earlier. To him, the timing must have felt serendipitous.

No harm in asking, right?

Silva replied in three words: Who is this?

It seemed the UFC matchmaker had lost his number.

Perhaps it’s a stretch to blame the full extent of what came later on a single text, but it’s clear that around this same time Sonnen vowed that nobody in the fight game would ever again forget his name. The ensuing three-and-a-half years saw him craft one of the most improbable second acts the sport has ever seen, marching to three separate title shots while simultaneously launching a campaign of verbal scorched earth against whomever crossed his path.

He became, in his own words from last week’s UFC 159 weigh-in, the bad guy. The act (by turns hilarious and infuriating, cavalier and pitiful, innovative and rote) pushed him to heights far beyond what was expected from the unheralded, middle-of-the-pack fighter he’d been for much of his career.

And now it’s over. For all intents and purposes, Sonnen’s run among MMA’s elite reached its inevitable conclusion Saturday, when Jon Jones pounded him out inside the first round of their absurd light heavyweight title bout.

Its usefulness had likely ended weeks or months earlier, as Sonnen appeared to coast into this fight on promotional fumes. He did what he could to spread the hype, running his usual patter and deploying his best prepared material whenever anyone put a microphone in his face, but you could kind of tell his heart wasn’t in it. Or maybe hard-core fans just weren’t buying his shtick anymore; not against Jones, and not after watching him fumble two previous championship opportunities at middleweight.

This time the bad guy got outwrestled and out-struck and, maybe above all else, outfoxed when Jones thoroughly beat him at his own game. Somehow, he still almost won, though the fight only really got interesting after it was over. When referee Keith Peterson jumped in to call a stop to things just 27 seconds before the end of the opening stanza, he did it to save Sonnen from further punishment, but soon it became clear what he’d really saved was Jones’ title reign.

The champ’s toe was obviously broken and leaking blood and had Sonnen been able to survive until the end of the round there was a good chance some ringside doctor would’ve made him the champion. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and now Sonnen finds himself at loose ends for what must feel like the umpteenth time in his circuitous 16-year career. He was hesitant to discuss his future in the immediate aftermath, but the few words he shared with us inside the cage following the fight sounded eerily like a retirement speech.

“I'm not going to be one of the guys to hang around,” Sonnen said. “If there’s not a road to the title, then this sport isn’t for me. I believe that was probably my last opportunity.”

The high-minded thing to do, of course, would be to call it a career and transition to the next phase of life as a color commentator and television personality. Sonnen could certainly still be a viable member of the active roster, but he’s right to think he’s done as a championship contender and if we’re ever going to believe anything he says, it should be that he would never be happy going back to mediocrity.

No, far better for him to go out on top, or at least as close to the top as he was able to claw and scratch on the power of his wits and his wrestling, and maybe with some help from modern medicine. The trip back down would be too sad an end for Sonnen, as it would effectively signal a return to the forgettable first act of his career, when he was plagued by inconsistency and poor submission defense and appeared doomed to finish up as one of the biggest fighters on the smallest shows.

In the end, he turned that perception on its head, winning 10 of 12 fights from 2006-10 and using his unparalleled gift of gab to transform himself into one of the UFC’s most unique pay-per-view draws. At times it was fun, at others it was pure drudgery, but it was interesting more often than not.

Consciously remaking himself as arguably the most despised figure his sport has ever produced proved to be a terrific marketing strategy for Sonnen, but it was never one with a tremendous shelf life. An integral part of his antics was that he was performing them at the highest level. Somehow it just wouldn’t be the same leading up to fights against the Wanderlei Silvas, Rich Franklins or Cung Les of the world.

From here out the paydays would only be smaller and the spotlight dimmer. Most future matchups would be anticlimactic for a guy whose entire strategy was to tell an epic story.

Sonnen’s place in MMA history is as secure as it is likely to get. In other words, his work here is done.

We’ll never forget his name now, and that means the bad guy has already won.

It never matters to Roy Nelson who UFC officials offer as an opponent. He always accepts.

Nelson will fight any heavyweight, anywhere, anytime. He is a throwback: the type who loves mixing it up. He also enjoys putting on exciting fights, which was evident Saturday night in Newark, N.J.

At UFC 159, Nelson delivered a performance fight fans will remember for a long time -- knocking out Cheick Kongo in the first round with a beautifully placed overhand right.

Kongo immediately went down and was unconscious. Nelson delivered one more punch for good measure, but he didn’t throw it with much force. He didn’t want Kongo getting back to his feet, but was compassionate enough to consider the serious damage that might have been done with a very powerful punch.

That’s Nelson, always thinking of others, be it the fighters or fans -- especially fans. Whenever he steps in the cage, Nelson wants his fans to be entertained, which is exactly what he did at Prudential Center.

And the sellout crowd of 15,227 showed Nelson its appreciation by giving him the evening’s loudest ovation. Nelson responded to the cheers by jumping atop the Octagon at several different locations to directly address fans in every section of the arena.

It was a great night for Nelson, but the fun wasn’t quite over with his victory.

In addition to his pleasing fight, Nelson also wants a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. And he figured the best way to put his name in the title conversation was with an impressive performance against Kongo.

Nelson came through big time, which got the attention UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva.

“Me and Joe never talk about next fights on nights of the fights, but we talked tonight,” White said Saturday night. “And we like Roy Nelson versus [Daniel] Cormier, or Roy Nelson, if Mark Hunt wins [at UFC 160], Roy and Mark.

“If [Roy] wants to get close to the title, those are the guys he has to fight. I know he wants a title shot, and I honestly think he deserves to get a fight with one of the top guys to get him closer to that or get him a title shot.”

The words were music to Nelson’s ears. He had a huge smile on his face each time White made reference to his immediate fighting future. Now he’s at least one bout from realizing his goal of fighting for the UFC heavyweight title.

But here’s the kicker: If Nelson is serious about landing his title shot sooner rather than later -- and sooner is always better, because title shots are very hard to come by -- he must do whatever is necessary to make certain that Cormier is his next opponent. A victory over Cormier, especially if it is impressive, will place him among the top three contenders in the heavyweight rankings. No doubt about it.

Both ESPN.com and UFC.com currently rank Cormier as the No. 2 heavyweight contender, right behind former titleholder Junior dos Santos, who faces Hunt at UFC 160 on May 25 in Las Vegas.

“

... if he gets past [Junior dos Santos], that would be great. If he doesn't, I'd still fight Mark Hunt because the fans want to see that one.

” -- Roy Nelson

An upset of dos Santos won’t catapult Hunt into the top contender spot. Hunt will not surpass Cormier in the rankings, nor is he likely to jump ahead of Alistair Overeem or Fabricio Werdum.

As of Monday, Nelson was ahead of Hunt in the UFC.com heavyweight rankings -- Nos. 6 and 9, respectively. Hunt could move ahead of Nelson with an upset of dos Santos, making a showdown between them more intriguing.

The winner of that fight, however, will have a hard sell convincing UFC officials he deserves an immediate title shot. But a win over Cormier and Nelson is right there knocking at the champion’s door.

“I want to fight the best in the world. And fighting Daniel, you know, he’s an Olympian, I’d like to welcome him to UFC,” Nelson said after his win Saturday night. “As for Mark Hunt, if he gets past [dos Santos] that would be great. If he doesn’t, I’d still fight Mark Hunt because the fans want to see that one.

“I’m all about making everybody happy.”

It’s very noble of Nelson to consider the fans, but it would be a mistake on his part to bypass a shot at Cormier. The risk is greater, but so is the reward. And knowledgeable fight fans would be more interested in witnessing this high-profile bout than a slugfest between him and Hunt.

Besides, Cormier has already endorsed the idea of facing Nelson.

“Hey Dana you’re right, Roy Nelson and I would be a damn good fight,” Cormier said on Twitter after hearing White’s fight proposal. “How about it [Roy]?”

White and Silva are likely to put the ball in Nelson’s court in the next few weeks. And it is in Nelson’s best interest not to drop it.

Heading into UFC 159, figuring out ways that Chael Sonnen could compete with Jon Jones required an active imagination. The leading idea on how to get it done was for Sonnen to put his chin down, stick the crown of his head into Jones’ chest and drive him through the cage floor. Once there, things would become adventurous for all parties.

It didn’t get there.

In fact, Jones turned the tables on Sonnen and shot in for a takedown of his own just a few seconds into the fight. It was Sonnen staring up at the lights, fending off oncoming elbows. He was able to get up, but Jones, out of a sense of pride and civic duty, became the kind of insistent wrestler who only Sonnen could appreciate. With half a minute to go in the first round, Sonnen’s face battered and wits scattered, Jones was pried off of the "West Linn Gangsta" in what was ultimately the most predictable stoppage in the history of ground and pound.

But in a bizarre night where Ovince St. Preux won an abrupt technical decision with an eye poke of Gian Villante, Michael Bisping won a technical decision for an eye poke of the one man whose phobia is eye pokes, Alan Belcher, and Yancy Medeiros’ thumb was rearranged into something from Picasso’s brush, it was par for the course that Jones broke his toe somewhere along the way. By the end of the night, appendages at odd angles were all but the norm.

Now we can focus on “what does it all mean,” which is one of MMA’s favorite pastimes. Let’s try to sort it out.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

How does Sonnen compete?
Turns out our hunches were right -- he doesn’t, not when fighting a stylistic nightmare who has the wingspan of a Cessna and a chip on his shoulder.

Last time we see Jones at 205?
Because he only tied Tito Ortiz’s record of five title defenses, here’s guessing no. Lyoto Machida has been promised a rematch, and Alexander Gustafsson still has a modicum of appeal on his way up. And if Jones fights Daniel Cormier, the likeliest scenario is it happens at light heavyweight.

Can Phil Davis break through?
Davis showed improved stand-up ability from that awkward version of himself a couple of years ago. But this was a one-sided beatdown of Vinny Magalhaes, a static fighter whose own stand-up won’t swell the orchestra. Davis might be ready for a step up in competition, but he still seems light years away from challenging Jon Jones.

Is Cheick Kongo showing his 37 years?
Kongo is a dapper gentle giant outside the cage, and in his fight with Roy Nelson, he became one inside the cage, too. We didn’t see any urgency or head-hunting or even any of that rare joie de vivre. What we did see was Roy Nelson go into his windup, as if from the pitcher’s mound, and deliver a heater of an overhand right that dropped Kongo like a curtain sliding off the rod. In other words, yes, Kongo’s days appear numbered.

NEW QUESTIONS

Does Sonnen retire?
Through the last three-year odyssey in which Sonnen has captivated the world of MMA and fought for the belt three times, he made it plain that winning a championship was his singular motivation. Does he want to stick around in a grudge-match capacity to fight the Vitor Belforts and Wanderlei Silvas of the world? (Answer: Hope so. Too many delicious vendettas lingering out there for Sonnen to just walk away.)

Is Pat Healy a top-10 lightweight?
If you subscribe to the theory that divisions are essentially a Netflix queue, where you can drag a title up from the bottom and replace something already in line near the top, then yes (and I know that speaks to more than half a dozen of you). Beating Jim Miller in Miller’s native New Jersey was enough of a feat, but Healy’s pressure game is starting to look scary. At nearly 30 years old, and with 46 professional fights, Healy is just now really coming into his own.

Is Nelson a heavyweight contender?
His right hand says "yes." His surprising agility to climb the fence and do the two-handed Buddha belly rub after victories says "yes." His popularity among fans and mullet connoisseurs says "yes." And realistically, yes. Now everybody is imagining Nelson against Mark Hunt, and Nelson against Daniel Cormier, and Nelson against Alistair Overeem, and that’s a good thing.

What’s next for Michael Bisping?
In hockey patois, Bisping was clutching his stick a little tight early against Belcher, but he began to get into a groove with his striking early in the second round. It was a victory that staves off ugly circumstances and gets him rolling toward something again. Bisping has mentioned fighting in October in Manchester, and here’s thinking Cung Le would be a big draw.

THE FUTURE

For Sara McMann -- Right now it’s wide open, with the Armageddon she brought on Sheila Gaff. We know about the Olympic wrestling, but there’s something about the delight she took in the elbows she was dropping from the crucifix position that has you wondering about how she’d fare against Ronda Rousey (and that’s where McMann’s headed -- but she’ll have to stay busy with another fight or two).

For Jim Miller -- Technically, getting put to sleep isn’t a submission so much as a loss of consciousness, but losing a second time in New Jersey (the first to Nate Diaz) hurts Miller. Though he’s flirted with the idea of moving up to 170 pounds in the past, he might consider a move down to 145. Pastures are always greener in other divisions after losses like the one to Healy.

For Jon Jones -- He needs to get that toe better, but when that’s all said and done, he can officially break Tito Ortiz’s record of five light heavyweight title defenses. The dust has to settle, but the forerunners to become his next victim appear to be down to Alexander Gustafsson or Lyoto Machida (particularly if they fight each other while Jones heals to form a super-definitive, no-questions-asked No. 1 contender).

For Chael Sonnen -- The television booth, at first. But eventually Wanderlei. And Belfort. And the whole block of peeved Brazilians who are smashing their fists in their hands waiting by their phones for Joe Silva to call.

For Roy Nelson -- Daniel Cormier and great balls of fire!

Matches to make

Jon Jones versus Alexander Gustafsson -- If you're an all-or-nothing fan, Jones should heal up and wait on Anderson Silva. But more realistically, dial up the Swede.

Chael Sonnen versus Wanderlei Silva -- Sonnen's already dropping the subliminal tracks toward this fight.

Michael Bisping versus Cung Le -- The two greatest verbs in MMA are "Cung Le."

Alan Belcher versus Hector Lombard -- If 170 is too condensed for the Cuban, a run-in with Belcher at 185 might be fun.

Roy Nelson versus Daniel Cormier -- Twitter wants it. Twitter is all that matters in matchmaking.

STOCK UP/STOCK DOWN

Up
Bryan Caraway -- Only seven weeks removed from his split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki, Caraway took out Johnny Bedford on a week’s notice with poise and strength.

Phil Davis -- He made it through the rebound portion of his career (the Wagner Prado series and now Vinny Magalhaes), and it’s right back into the kitchen fire of light heavyweight elites.

Cody McKenzie -- Hey, kudos to McKenzie for not engaging Leonard Garcia in a “Leonard Garcia” fight. His restraint was admirable.

Steven Siler -- This would have been fight of the night had Healy/Miller not turned things into Grappler’s Quest Gone Wild. Siler was too much for Kurt Holobaugh, and he weathered a big second-round storm to get the job done.

Down
Leonard Garcia -- Five losses in a row, the latest coming against a fighter who was tailor-made for getting off the schneid? Not good.

Vinny Magalhaes -- Here’s yet another lesson of “be careful what you wish for.” It was Magalhaes who called out Davis, but he had nothing for him.

Alan Belcher -- The eye poke was scary, particularly after having surgery on that same eye not all that long ago. But when you’re likely down 2-0 on the scorecards and you come out in the third with smiles instead of flurries? Not the way his corner drew it up.

The reality show is wrapped. The spring break title defense against Chael Sonnen is in the books.

It's time, is it not, for Jon Jones to get back to business?

The 25-year-old UFC light heavyweight champion spun his wheels over the last seven months, and all he had to show for it was a busted up arm and horribly mangled toe. If "Bones" is going to pay a price for stepping in the cage, let it come against a legitimate threat (perceptually, at least) to his title.

Recognizing that fights with Vitor Belfort and Sonnen weren't intended, that they were the product of the craziness of the fight promotion business, and that Jones was simply doing what was required of him as champion by taking on these contests, opponents exist who appear capable of forcing the immeasurable talents of such a dynamic fighter to the surface.

Alexander Gustafsson, the confident Swede, seems to rank at the top of Jones' list.

Anderson Silva, of course, leads everyone else's.

The last thing Jones has done is clean out his division, though many believe he will, and it's hard to argue otherwise. But there are others: a rematch with Lyoto Machida; the ageless wonder Dan Henderson; a surging Glover Teixeira; an improving Phil Davis.

Then there's Daniel Cormier, the heavyweight. Maybe Jones meets him there. Maybe Cormier cuts to 205. But this is a bout that seems destined to happen, and can you say with certainty that Jones will walk away with a win? I can't, which at this point is all I'm looking for.

There's no time to waste with frivolous, meaningless contests like Saturday's, which featured Jones pelting a guy that didn't stand a chance. Think of the hysteria that would have ensued had referee Keith Peterson allowed Jones to wail on Sonnen for 30 more seconds; had he deferred to Sonnen's considerable experience, recognized a title fight was ongoing, and given the man a chance to get out of the first.

Just imagine Jones in his corner, his left big toe pointing east while the rest of his piggies looked north, a New Jersey ringside physician seeing this, doing what was required and calling the fight. Sonnen, hands raised, belt around his waist. Bye-bye, consecutive title defense record-tying result. For what? A fluke. Against a guy that didn't belong anywhere near Jones' belt. There's too much that can go wrong in an MMA bout for the UFC to waste Jones on a scenario like that.

No more, thank you.

Thankfully, Jones seems to get it. Look at what he did in 2011, running a gauntlet against Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Machida. Look at how much he improved over that span. He did this while he wasn't nearly the fighter he is today, which isn't remotely close to the predator he'll be in 12 months time. He needs more of that. More challenges. More pressure. More threats. This is the only way Jones will know how good he can be, and this is the only way we'll get to see him at his best.

Jones comes across like a redemptive fellow. He should wish to save himself and his fans from having to pay to watch contests like Belfort and Sonnen.

Give us Gustafasson. Give us Silva. Give us a stud heavyweight. Give us someone whose justification for getting a shot isn't their speaking ability. Give us Jones against a man who might beat him on paper.

That's a start. The rest will take care of itself.

The truth is Jones could turn out to be so good it wouldn't matter if Sonnen or Silva were standing opposite him in the Octagon. And that's why it's high time Bones gets back to business, because there's business to be done.

We're watching, and we're not interested in waiting.

NEWARK, N.J. -- In a night of strange happenings, perhaps the strangest was saved for last.

As most thought he would, Jon Jones (18-1) defended his light heavyweight title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 at Newark's Prudential Center, yet he did it in a prideful way -- by outwrestling the wrestler. Coming into the fight, the one bit of intrigue for the heavy favorite Jones was how he would respond to Sonnen’s constant pressure.

Instead, the 25-year old Jones took Sonnen down in the first 10 seconds of the fight, and repeated the process a couple more times before finishing him via TKO with 27 seconds left.

It was a dominant performance by the champion, who tied Tito Ortiz’s record for most 205-pound title defenses at five.

Then the revelation: In his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, Jones made a gruesome discovery -- his toe appeared broken.

Jones’ left foot was shown on the arean's Jumbotron and it dawned on him and the crowd at the same time that he had a mangled toe. It seemed that Jones broke the toe while pushing off the mat on a takedown attempt.

“I felt it pop,” he told ESPN.com afterward. “But I didn’t let it slow me down.”

Just how long he’ll be out, and what this means for the 205-pound division, remains to be seen. Coming into the fight, UFC president Dana White had mentioned that heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier might be a possibility for an automatic title shot in the lower weight class. And then there was Lyoto Machida, who was in attendance on Saturday night. Machida has also been pinky sworn by White to get a rematch against Jones. But with the injury, everything goes back up in the air.

And as far as Jones is concerned, Cormier isn’t on his mind yet.

“I don’t want to give Daniel Cormier any hype right now,” he said during a postfight interview with MMA Live. “That guy ... I won’t even make a comment.”

As for Sonnen, who coached opposite Jones on "The Ultimate Fighter" and took a lot of flak for not having the credentials to get the shot to begin with, he was gracious in defeat.

“He’s an excellent fighter, I have no problem with the stoppage,” he said. “[Jones] is very powerful. When he went for the kill, he never stopped. I thought I was all right, but he is the better fighter.”

Sonnen intimated that he may contemplate retiring now that it appeared that he had his last shot at winning a title. But he wasn’t definitive on that. Coming in, the thought was that Sonnen’s only chance against Jones was to use his wrestling to put Jones on his back, like he did with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

Instead, Jones turned the tables out of defiance.

“[Coach] Greg Jackson, he always teaches me to have a philosophy of ‘screw them,’” Jones said. “If people want to say you can’t do something, you say, ‘screw them.’ That’s the way I looked at the critics. Screw you guys.

“My wrestling coach told me that that they’re going to be watching, they want to see who’s the better wrestler, and everyone thinks that you can’t wrestle. I said, screw them. Let me show you guys I can wrestle. I take wrestling very seriously.”

On a night where two bouts ended in technical decisions for accidental eye-pokes, and another ended when Yancy Medeiros dislocated his thumb against Rustam Khabilov, Jones’ injury felt par for the course. It was yet another “what if” for Sonnen. Though the Jones fight was the polar opposite of Sonnen’s first fight with Anderson Silva, he once again came close to becoming the champion.

Had Sonnen survived the first round, it’s possible that Jones wouldn’t have been able to continue with the injury to his foot. In that case, Sonnen would have backed his way into a title. That would have been different from the Silva fight -- which he dominated for 4½ rounds before getting caught in a triangle/armbar with under two minutes left -- even if the nearness to the gold was the same.

For as close as that might have seemed, it was a million miles away. Jones was his usual dominant self, and he showed he can beat opponents at their own game. UFC 159’s main event was never in doubt. The only thing that is in doubt becomes what exactly happens next.

“We’ll see what happens with Jones’ [injury], and we’ll go from there,” Dana White said. But, before letting it go at that, he also dropped a bomb in the post-fight news conference. He said that Anderson Silva called -- and was asking for a fight. Was he calling out Jon Jones?

White left it for everyone to speculate, but added that it doesn't really matter right now, with Silva slated to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

How’s that for timing?

Fans of the UFC who perhaps didn’t paid attention to female martial arts before have all learned a little something in 2013 -- women fight pretty hard.

Two female bouts have taken place in the Octagon this year, and both stole the show.

Ronda Rousey’s armbar victory over Liz Carmouche proved vital after a rather dull co-main event at UFC 157. Earlier this month, Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate claimed Fight of the Night bonuses at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in Las Vegas.

It may be hard to believe that all-female fights can be that entertaining. Sara McMann, who meets Sheila Gaff this weekend at UFC 159, says actually, yeah. They can.

“I think that is what women bring to the fight world,” McMann told ESPN.com. “Everybody is like, ‘Oh, I’m so surprised. They stole the show.’ Every woman fight on the smaller cards I’ve fought on, they all do it.

“These girls will fight from the first bell to the last, and they are going 100 percent of their pace. You can’t help but like that kind of fight. The UFC fan base is just now seeing why people have been saying women need to be in the UFC for years.”

McMann (6-0) has made it clear she’s not in the UFC to provide a good headline. When it comes to interviews, she’ll only be herself. Turns out she’s pretty interesting that way. Check out her conversation with ESPN.com below.

Seems like you’re enjoying your first UFC fight week?
I am. I think that before, I kind of told myself there would be a lot of media and it would get on my nerves, and I thought I was going to have a tougher weight cut than I’m having. I just expected it to be a lot more horrible. Most of the media stuff has just been casual conversations.

What else were you expecting the media conversations to be?
I thought there would be more charged questions. A lot of them have talked to me about UFC jitters. That one kind of got to me a little. I thought, is this going to be like the Olympics? No, not a chance in the world. I probably will feel nervous, but I think these guys are trying to plant it in my head. Six interviews in one day and every one of them talked about it. I was like, ‘Did you guys form a group that meets on Wednesdays? The UFC jitter group? Maybe the fight will be more nerve-racking than I think, but whatever it is, I’ll work through it.

Have you thought about what media obligations would be like if you won the title?
I’ve considered it. Now, I just view it as part of my job. It would start to get difficult if it really interfered with my training. Having a 4-year old daughter [Bella] and having gyms farther away from me, I’ve had to do a lot of working around different schedules, so, I think I would be able to do it for quite a while without it being that bad. Then again, I don’t know. I don’t know if Ronda’s [Rousey] schedule is more horrible than I think. Maybe I’d hate it, and if I do, I guess they’ll have to find a new champion.

The UFC fan base has now gotten to see the aggressive style women fight with. Why do you think women are geared toward those types of fights?
I think it is a little instinctual. The women I wrestle against, these girls are mean. Some of them are dirty. They will smash your face into the mat and not bat an eye. They just have a natural meanness. I think for a lot of the women, it’s not personal, but we’ll do whatever it takes. Women have a very strong, combative survival instinct.

How has the financial aspect of being a female fighter been?
It’s been tough, and I think some of that is because it’s been nine months since I’ve fought. I wish I would have been able to fight once for Strikeforce and that would have bridged the gap more. It’s growing. It’s going to take time. The UFC is offering the pay people were getting with their Strikeforce contract. Strikeforce was a different beast. It had different viewership and different sponsors. All those contracts rolled over. When we renegotiate, once we’ve shown we are a brand to fans and that we’re entertaining, I think the money will follow.

Are you able to not have a second job and train full time?
Yes. I also stay at home and take care of my daughter, and I have an awesome boyfriend who helps support my dreams. When I was first trying to get a pro fight, I had to work at Starbucks, and that was also for the health insurance. I couldn’t get anybody to accept a pro fight, and the people who they would fight me had 13 fights, so no commission would approve it. I know other girls work at gyms or are personal trainers to make ends meet. Anybody thinks of fighter pay and they think of Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre. The reality is, there are other guys fighting for a lot less than that. It’s very difficult to make it on just a fighter salary, but it’s getting better, I think.

There are those out there who say, “Sara McMann will be the one to beat Ronda Rousey.” Do you feel that pressure at all?
I don’t really feel that pressure because since I started MMA, I automatically wanted to be No. 1. I’ve already been working to be No. 1 since the beginning. I don’t do sports any other way.

If you fight Rousey tomorrow, do you beat her?
I don’t know when that fight’s going to be put together, but I wouldn’t even be where I am now if I didn’t think, 'Yes, you tell me tomorrow my next fight is Ronda, I will train for her and I will beat her.' That’s just the way I operate.

NEW YORK -- The decision to lift heavyweight Matt Mitrione’s suspension in less than three weeks has raised many eyebrows, so promotion president Dana White didn’t hesitate to answer questions Thursday about the matter during UFC 159 media day at Madison Square Garden.

“They [fighters] can be suspended for as long as we want them to be,” White said. “He was suspended for three weeks, but what does that really mean?

“In other sports a suspension means you lose games. He’s not fighting right now anyway. We didn’t suspend him for three fights, two fights. He was fined and put on suspension.

“Suspension meant we were going to look into this thing; we were going to talk to him.”

White then made it clear he agrees with Mitrione that transgender female mixed martial artist Fallon Fox should not be allowed to fight women. White doesn’t, however, embrace the harsh wording Mitrione used to make his point.

And White won’t force Mitrione to apologize.

“You can’t make somebody apologize,” White said. “If I have to make him do it, it’s not real. He’s not really apologizing.

“If that’s his opinion on the situation: He doesn’t like that somebody who used to be a man and became a woman can fight other women. I don’t disagree with him on that. I don’t disagree."

Jones comfortable being himself these days

The past year has been quite memorable for light heavyweight champion Jon Jones: He was labeled "fake" by former friend and sparring partner Rashad Evans before their title bout, had his faith in Christ questioned and got a DWI conviction.

Jones revisited those experiences and concluded that trying to be what others expect of him is a losing battle. So Jones has decided to just be himself.

“I was pretending a lot to be the perfect person, to be super articulate when I’m talking,” Jones said. “I tried to be clean-cut and clean-shaven, be the perfect guy to be sponsored by Nike. And be the perfect, perfect poster boy for UFC.

“Now that I’ve had that whole situation happen to me I’m totally free. I can say what I want; I can be who I want. I’m still trying to be a good person and a good role model. But I’m doing it a little more authentically now.

“And it feels good. It feels good to just be me.”

Bisping learns with age, mistakes

Michael Bisping has a bad habit of coming up short in title eliminators. But it's Bisping's most recent setback, when a title shot was not on the line, that forced him to take a serious look at his approach to being a professional fighter.

Bisping still has images of fighting for the middleweight title and knows that he can no longer allow his weight to become an issue.

“You have to learn from your mistakes,” Bisping said. “You have to be honest with yourself. And there were things I was doing wrong between fights. I was putting on too much weight.

“I’m 34 now, the weight is harder to lose. I’m a professional sportsman, I got away with it in the past, but you’ve got to treat your body with the respect it deserves, especially in this sport.”

Nelson poised for a crack at the title?

Roy Nelson is a top-10 ranked heavyweight, but his name doesn’t come up in title conversations. He believes the timing is right to change that with a win Saturday night over Cheick Kongo.

“It really comes down to the fans,” Nelson said. “And it’s about the timing. After UFC 160, which is only a month [following UFC 159], I could definitely get a title shot.

“They’re talking about Hunt fighting for a title after he knocked out Struve, and I knocked out Struve a little bit easier.”