ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Stream-of-consciousness-style thoughts on Jon Jones versus Alexander Gustafsson, followed by a light heavyweight edition of Pretenders and Contenders. Let’s go.

I scored the title fight in favor of Gustafsson 48-47. I gave him the first three rounds, Jones the final two.

After the fight, I posted on Twitter that Jones was being packed in a stretcher for the hospital, while Gustafsson was good enough to conduct interviews. Many followers jumped on that as an opportunity to point out Gustafsson had been robbed, since Jones was in far worse shape. I get it, but that’s not how you score a fight.

Even though I had it for Gustafsson, I’m happy Jones won -- if I’m allowed to say that. The most conclusive rounds of the bout, I thought, were the fourth and fifth for Jones, which also happen to be the “championship” rounds. Jones basically refused to lose when it really mattered.

The best moments were in the fourth round. That has to be Round of the Year. I remember seeing, literally, blood from Jones’ facial cut flying in the air when Gustafsson hit him. Midway through the round, it almost looked like Jones was about to go down. The crowd was going nuts.

Then Jones looked at the clock. And maybe I’m totally wrong on this, but I bet if you asked him about it today he might not even remember doing it. It was just built in -- the way some ninja spy might subconsciously, without knowing it, remember the exits of a building or something. Busted up, swollen, exhausted -- something inside Jones said “Look at the clock; OK, 90 seconds left in a must-win round, throw the spinning elbow, stay on him.” I don’t want to get too dramatic, but come on. That’s crazy.

I haven’t watched it a second time, but sitting here days later, I’m willing to say that was the best fight in UFC history -- surpassing Mauricio Rua versus Dan Henderson and Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard II.

I also see it as the one that solidifies Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He sort of inherited the spot (in my eyes) after Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman, but he really owned it here. Had Silva knocked out Weidman in the first round this year, I think I would still rank Jones ahead of him after the Gustafsson fight. He went to the brink of defeat against a very good opponent who basically forced him to fight his fight, and still left with his arms raised.

We knew about his skills, but now that we know about his heart, it’s virtually impossible to pick against him. But let’s look at the division real close and see.

Really talented fighters with no chance: Ryan Bader, Rashad Evans, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Rua. All four have long roads to even get to Jones. Three of them have already lost to him. Rua appears to me, at 31, pretty much done when it comes to winning elite-level fights. A hard realization, but a realization nevertheless. Bader has plenty of career left, but there’s really no reason to think a second fight against Jones would go any different than the first. On Evans, I know he was the only title contender to go the distance before Gustafsson did, but that grudge match was every bit as one-sided as the fights Jones has finished and Evans hasn’t looked great since.

The athlete: Phil Davis. Davis is more than just an athlete, but I call him this because it’s still his best quality -- at least in a fight against Jones. The problem is, he won’t outwrestle Jones for five rounds. It won’t happen. Jones is a good enough wrestler with good enough intelligence to not let that kind of game plan beat him. You hear this sometimes about great fighters; it’s not really a game plan that will necessarily beat them. You have to be capable of beating them in every area on that one given night. Gustafsson almost did that. Davis, even on his best night, can’t be better than Jones.

The old man and the right hand: Dan Henderson. I would not count Henderson out completely in a Jones fight for three reasons. It’s possible he could defend the takedowns, at least early. He’s crafty at getting inside. His right hand can kill a mule. But yes, I will admit it’s a long, long, looooong shot. It’s going to be very difficult for him to get to Jones and if he did, Jones could probably wear him out pretty quickly, take the right hand out of the equation, and finish him before the end of the second round.

The Olympian: Daniel Cormier. Everyone seems to be putting all eggs in the Daniel Cormier basket, completely ignoring the fact that (A) we don’t know whether he can make the weight; (B) we don’t know what he’ll look like if he can make the weight. You can also add in (C) we don’t know whether he’ll beat Roy Nelson. As much as the UFC’s “Height and Reach” marketing ploy was poked fun at heading into UFC 165, truth is, we saw that having size sure doesn’t hurt in a fight against Jones. Cormier is 5-foot-11, with a 72.5 reach. He’s the only real hope at holding Jones down, but he’s at a huge disadvantage on the feet.

The only two, but the best two: Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira. Everyone basically acted like the hardest part was over for Jones at 205 pounds. He beat all the former champs, after all. What challenge could the lesser-known Swede and Brazilian possibly pose? After the whole Silva-Weidman fiasco we really should have known better. Confident, hungry, well-rounded challengers can’t be dismissed. These two have never held the belt, like most of the other men Jones already fought. They are in their athletic primes. They are true light heavyweights. As awesome as Jones has been, he’s never really shown one-punch knockout power. These two are big and athletic enough to stay upright, take a Jones elbow and respond with effective offense. Jones really is impossible to pick against right now, but if you’re willing to do it at 205 pounds, these are your only options.

Middleweight contender Chael Sonnen has been pursuing Wanderlei Silva for several months. As is common when Sonnen targets a fighter, especially a Brazilian, the verbal assault can turn vicious.

Silva has received some of the best trash talk in Sonnen’s repertoire, making a potential showdown between them enticing. A Sonnen-Wanderlei matchup has main event written all over it, especially if held in Brazil. But this fight, which seemed certain a week ago, lost a bit of its luster Saturday night in Boston.

When Sonnen submitted Mauricio Rua in the first round of their light heavyweight bout, he quickly became UFC’s most sought-after non-titleholder. Middleweights and light heavyweights alike began jostling for position to secure a fight with him.

Normally the hunter, Sonnen now finds himself being hunted. This comes as no surprise, really: Sonnen, once he starts yapping, becomes one of the biggest attractions in UFC.

Within minutes of Rua’s demise, fellow Brazilian title contenders Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida went public with their eagerness to be Sonnen’s next Octagon dance partner. Sonnen became such a hot commodity that even American light heavyweight contender Phil Davis announced that he wants in.

Overwhelmed by his newfound popularity, an excited Sonnen refused to reject any of his suitors, except Davis. That’s because Sonnen has a thing for Brazilians.

“I will beat up Vitor on the way to the ring to kick Wanderlei’s a--,” Sonnen said Saturday night. “And I will take care of that third guy [Machida], whose name I’ve already forgotten, in the parking lot on my way to my after-party. I would take all three.”

If given the opportunity, Sonnen would fight all three in one night. But let’s get back to reality. He can pick only one for his next date and that person should be Machida.

While Silva has been harassed by Sonnen for a while, and his overall career accomplishments are impressive, the former Pride middleweight champion has struggled since returning to UFC in December 2007. In his nine most recent UFC bouts, Silva is 4-5. As a result of his inconsistency, Silva hasn’t received 185-pound contender consideration in well more than a year. Silva just isn’t as attractive as he once was.

Belfort seems poised to fight Dan Henderson at an as-of-yet unannounced event in Brazil, according to a report on “UFC Tonight.”

That leaves Sonnen against Machida, which would be huge. Their contrasting fighting styles would be fun to watch. Transferring hostility from Silva to Machida will be a piece of cake for Sonnen. He’s been tossing verbal darts at Machida for a while, anyway. And it’s clearly gotten under Machida’s skin -- he is itching to get his hands on "The American Gangster.”

Despite a disputed unanimous decision loss to Davis on Aug. 3, Machida remains among the top contenders at light heavyweight; Sonnen is a contender at 185 pounds. But weight won’t be an issue for either -- Machida has hinted at dropping to middleweight, while Sonnen is comfortable at 205 as he proved Saturday night.

This fight makes the most sense. Dana White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva need to make it happen.

Unbeaten Chris Weidman did what some thought to have been the unthinkable by knocking out middleweight champion Anderson Silva on Saturday at UFC 162 in Las Vegas.

Weidman, 29, caught Silva, who had defended his title a UFC-record 11 times, leaning back with a short left hook and finished the job on the ground to score a stunning second-round knockout.

The Baldwin, N.Y., native and former two-time Division I All-American wrestler at Hofstra University visited ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., Thursday and took some time to answer our questions:

What did you do to celebrate after getting home from Saturday’s victory in Las Vegas?
I didn’t get to celebrate yet when I got home from Vegas -- it was right into media stuff for the UFC. I was in Vegas until Monday, but I got back early Tuesday morning and tried to get some sleep, which did not happen. It’s just been rock 'n' roll with the media. I can’t wait to get home and just lie down in my bed, hang out with the family and let it absorb a little bit.

Going back to your initial takedown of Anderson Silva in the first round, was that something you practiced countless hours specifically for him, or was it just muscle memory in the moment?
Yeah, muscle memory. It just happened. That specific takedown and the way I finished it, I don’t think I’ve done that once in sparring. I’ve wrestled my whole life and done that takedown a million times, but never in sparring [for this fight.] It was just natural feel.

Was there any one of Silva’s antics inside the Octagon that irritated you the most?
Just the excessiveness of it. I was just like, yo, you’re not punching me and I don’t know, like, bro … I mean if you could do all that, punch me in the face. I actually let him punch me in the face; there was one time where I just said, "hit me." He punched me [Weidman points to his chin] and I said, "hit me again." He punched me, and then I could hear my coaches yelling, “Wideman! Stop! Stop!” I’m like, all right, and I circled out. I was just like, bro, what are you doing? I’m laughing inside and saying, I’m winning the fight. It got to the point where I wanted to hit him, so it motivated me to put my hands on him.

Silva has long been considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. But who do you now consider to be No. 1 in the world?
I’m not a big rankings guy, to be honest with you. But I would say Georges St-Pierre or Jon Jones. One of those two, I think.

You debuted this week on our ESPN.com P4P list at No. 5 with Silva right ahead of you at No. 4. Do you feel like you have to beat him another time to disprove all the naysayers?
I expected that when I took this fight. I said I would beat him and that after I finish him, we’re going to have an immediate rematch at Madison Square Garden. That was the only part that I got wrong, the Madison Square Garden. So we are having a rematch and I understood that, no matter what I did to him. I did the impossible and knocked him out and there’s more naysayers than anything. But if I would have submitted him it probably would have been worse. No matter what I did out there, if I had decisioned him, no matter what I did, he’s known as the greatest of all time and people think that he’s unbeatable and are shocked that anyone could actually beat him. So they are going to come up with excuses.

You have probably already heard a lot of excuses since Saturday not giving you a lot of credit. So how motivated are you for a rematch?
I’m very motivated. I’m motivated without that. I get to fight him again, and I want to put on an even better performance.

There are obviously a lot of other athletes and entertainers that follow the UFC. Has there been any celebrity who has shocked you by coming out of the woodwork and contacting you?
Stone Cold Steve Austin. I thought that was cool. He direct messaged me on Twitter. First he wished me good luck. I had never met him before. But I thought that was pretty cool. He thinks I’m a badass apparently. So, I’m a big fan of his now.

We’ve read that your home was severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy and about the nonprofit work you have done to help rebuild the area. Tell us about that and about how you and your family have recovered?
We are about nine months out from Hurricane Sandy. The house is still not back to 100 percent. It’s still a mess. But we have recovered -- we are on the second floor. We are good and are happy with where we are at. Obviously this fight has helped us a lot. We might be moving out and getting a new house, we’ll see. As far as nonprofit, I worked with Theo Rossi from “Sons Of Anarachy” and [Dallas Cowboys running back] DeMarco Murray. It’s something Theo Rossi started called Staten Strong that I just kind of jumped on because I was affected. We work together to get some money together and help people. But honestly the biggest thing I did right after Hurricane Sandy was me and my wife set up a point where people could bring food and batteries and cleaning supplies. We had it through my social media where everyone brought it to our local church and we passed it out to different charities and helped a lot of people.

There are a lot of great nicknames, of course, in MMA. You are known as The All-American. How did you get that name?
When I started and first got to the MMA gym the guys would start and say, “You’re like the All-American kid.” It was because, I don’t know, I go to church every Sunday, I got married young and I’ve always been an All-American in college having gone All-American all four years [two years each at Nassau Community College and Hofstra]. They just started calling me it and that was really it.

Let’s talk about some other fighters in your division not named Anderson Silva whom you could potentially fight. We’ll start with Vitor Belfort. What are your thoughts about him?
Tough guy. I would say he’s the No. 1 contender right now. If I wasn’t fighting Anderson Silva in a rematch, I’d probably be fighting him.

What do you think about all of the controversy surrounding him about testosterone-replacement therapy, and what are your thoughts on TRT in general?
I don’t like it, to be honest with you. If your testosterone is low, man, that’s God telling you that you have low testosterone, and if you can’t train the right way or whatever it is, it’s time to retire and do something else. It’s a little unfair that you could be 38 years old and he definitely has higher testosterone than me. [Note: Belfort is actually 36.] I’m 29 and have decently low testosterone, but I would never take testosterone because you are stuck on that thing for your whole life. I would never want to be on TRT. And I feel fine, [having low testosterone] doesn’t bother me. So I can’t imagine these guys that are using it for performance reasons. I don’t like it, and I know California banned it recently although other commissions allow it. I don’t like it.

What are your thoughts on Michael Bisping?
Another tough guy. I would love to fight Bisping, to be honest with you. That would be a great fight for me.

How about Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza?
Really good jiu-jitsu, good standup. He’s another tough guy, I think. All of these guys would be great challenges, and I would really love to entertain them.

Of all the other fighters out there, who is the one you admire the most and why?
I really like Cain Velasquez. I like his pace that he puts on; he is mentally and physically breaking everybody he goes with. He’s just tenacious and relentless. I like Anderson Silva, too. I like his style. He’s very relaxed.

If Silva had won the fight against you, there was talk about possible superfights for Silva against either Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre. Now that for the time being that’s not going to happen, would you ever consider a fight against either of those two guys?
Definitely not against GSP. First off, I would never call out someone who was a lot smaller than me. I’ve trained with him before, and he’s just a smaller guy. I’m not the type of guy who is going to be like, Hey, you want to fight? I’ve got Anderson Silva on my mind, but if the fans wanted to see that fight [against Jones] and the UFC wanted it to happen, I’m 1000 percent in. I asked to fight Jon Jones on 10 days’ notice back when Dan Henderson got hurt. But I wasn’t a big enough name at that point, so they were like, no.

With your wrestling background, what are your thoughts about the current state of Olympic wrestling?
It’s crazy that it’s even in question and up for voting. But it is, so it’s sad. I think wrestling is the one of the greatest sports there are. It’s the ultimate combat sport, and I just think it needs to be in the Olympics. I think the Olympics was made from wrestling and that it’s a staple. There just needs to be a lot of attention brought to it to keep it there.

Your goal has always been to be champion. Now that you have reached the pinnacle of your profession, how have you readjusted your goals?
My ultimate goal was always that I want to be known as one of the greatest of all time. The first step was obviously to be UFC champion. I did that, and now it’s time to take one fight at a time and really just set myself apart from the group. That’s my goal.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- If it turns out Saturday does mark the end of what’s been an awkward relationship between Roy Nelson and the UFC, it’s actually pretty fitting.

If there is one thing about Roy “Big Country” Nelson we’ve come to learn in the last 43 months, it’s that he is always unapologetically himself. He’s not going to change. Not for you, not for me and certainly not for anybody in the UFC.

Nelson took a risk this weekend in Winnipeg. Rather than sign an extension with the promotion earlier this year, he finished his original contract -- the one he signed in 2009 after winning the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.

It was a bold move, but a perfectly defensible one. Even, for some, an inspiring one. Nelson has long been unhappy with the finances of that TUF contract -- and one can understand why.

His early fight purses were reported at $15,000. That’s what Nelson’s payout was when he stood with Junior dos Santos for 15 minutes at UFC 117. It was the same when he fought Frank Mir in UFC 130 co-main event. When he headlined the TUF 16 Finale in December, he made $24,000 to show and $24,000 to win.

Of course, Nelson has made more money during his UFC career than what’s represented in these reported payouts. But the point is -- he was consistently one of the lowest-paid UFC fighters among those appearing on pay-per-view main cards.

Apparently, an effort to change that was made prior to this final fight in Winnipeg, but UFC president Dana White says Nelson turned it down.

“He called [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva and said, ‘Listen, I’m fighting tough guys here and I’m winning, you know?’” White said. “And Joe said, ‘You’re absolutely right. We’ll get rid of the TUF contract and give you new contract.’ We offered him a deal for more money and Roy said, ‘That’s not enough.’”

That is White’s side of the story, at least. And certainly, there might have been small print involved in that scenario we’re not hearing about. But at least according to White, a better-paying deal was offered, which Nelson refused.

It appears Nelson believed the best way to maximize his profit was run his UFC win streak to four, capped by a knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 161. He would be a free agent with leverage. He would have negotiating power with the UFC.

The problem is he lost -- in record-breaking fashion. He ran after Miocic with overhand rights. He was gassed before the end of the first round. He became such an easy target, Miocic hit him 137 times according to Fightmetric -- the most strikes any UFC fighter has absorbed in a bout without being knocked out.

It’s not that Nelson lost the fight. Everybody loses. The frustrating aspect comes when you consider how he lost. It was so “Roy.” The defiance he has regarding his weight and appearance has endeared him to fans, but the facts are the facts.

Nelson holds a 5-0 UFC record in fights that end in the first round. He’s 1-4 when they go beyond that.

His ability to take a punch, his heart, his belief in his right hand -- Roy Nelson puts on amazing fights. But there’s no reason why any heavyweight should ever absorb 137 strikes in one fight.

The question is not, “How is that possible?” The question is, “Why did he get hit so much?”

Nelson is an easy guy to cheer for. He lives by his own principles. He has a young son at home, who he wants to provide financially for. He leaves everything in the cage every time he fights -- that alone is enough to make total strangers love the guy.

He rolled the dice in a “high stakes poker game,” in White’s words, and there was no problem with that. If Nelson was going to do it, though -- at some point, he needed to make sure he could be there, physically, fighting Miocic after just one round. And he didn’t do that.

Dan Henderson's past two fights in the Octagon couldn't have been any more different.

If Saturday's UFC 161 main event effort against Rashad Evans in Winnipeg manages to find the happy middle between Henderson's classic with Mauricio Rua and subsequent snoozer against Lyoto Machida, the 42-year-old American believes a victory should net him another championship opportunity.

However, "if I go out there and squeeze out a boring win," he said, "I wouldn't give me a title shot."

That's not necessarily something he controls. Henderson mostly blames Machida for one of the worst bouts of his illustrious career.

"Nothing notable happened in the whole thing," he said. "You can barely even call it a fight.

"I really should have and could have maybe been a bit more aggressive. But it's pretty hard to do when someone's running."

Coming off a split decision that was as frustrating for Henderson to participate in as it was for the rest of us to watch, the two-division Pride king isn’t sure what to expect from Evans, who looked bad in his two most recent fights -- a destabilizing effort versus his rival Jon Jones followed by a terrible performance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in February.

"He just wasn't very aggressive at all," Henderson said of the Nogueira contest. "Even when you're being cautious you can do a lot more than that. It didn't show what he normally does or what he's capable of. Everybody has an off fight or is flat occasionally, and that seemed like his. It's not anything that I'm going to judge that that's the Rashad I'm going to fight. I don't think that at all. I'm sure he's going to come out a little more aggressive with more of a purpose.

"Either way, he doesn't run and move nearly as bad as Machida does. I don't think it'll be even close as bad as the last fight."

Henderson described Evans in all the expected ways. Well-rounded. Quick. Powerful with a solid wrestling base. "So you gotta be aware of all of it," Henderson said. "Have to be careful of everything. At the same thing I feel I have a bit more power and good take-down defense.

"Better in the clinch. There are some situations that I'm going to try and put him in that I think are good for me."

He claimed not to have a clue what was happening between Evans' ears, and explained that it doesn't matter. Because no matter how poorly Evans performed in his last outing, it would be foolish to expect anything less than the best from the former Michigan State University wrestler.

"I think Rashad definitely has some skills I need to really be careful with," Henderson said.

During a pre-event conference call, Evans expressed hope of moving beyond the recent disappointments. A good clash with Henderson would help.

“

I really should have and could have maybe been a bit more aggressive. But it's pretty hard to do when someone's running.

” -- Dan Henderson, on the frustration he faced in a February 2013 bout against Lyoto Machida

"You almost have to have a short[-term] memory on that kind of thing," Evans said. "Because if you dwell on it too long then it can definitely hinder you again. I know how to perform. I know how to go out there and fight to the best of my abilities. It's just a matter of going out there and doing it. Second-guessing myself is not going to get me any closer to fighting to the best of my capabilities. So I learned from that performance."

Henderson sounds willing to give him a chance to prove it. And while the Olympic wrestler admitted Evans' strengths might cause him to "be really patient, for sure, and not be overly aggressive," Henderson suggested the three-round fight could come down to making the most of a particular moment.

Rebounding after a troubled training camp leading up to the Machida contest, Henderson said his preparation for Evans was on point. He feels far more mobile than he did in February, and expects that to pay off in Canada. If so, Henderson is eyeing UFC champion Jon Jones, who is expected to defend his title against Alexander Gustafsson later this year.

Because a knee injury cost Henderson the chance to fight Jones at UFC 151, he said the pair has unfinished business. The way Henderson sees it, "I never got to take the test I studied for.

"I just feel like someone like Jon Jones is a challenge. I trust in myself and what I'm capable of doing."

Henderson has fought all manner of opponents since entering MMA in 1997, and he repeatedly proved what he’s capable of doing. As he boarded a plane for Canada earlier this week, Henderson tweeted how excited he felt to step into a cage again, in part because of just how badly he wants to wash away the stain of the Machida bout.

"It's typically not in my nature to be close to boring," he said, "but it happened recently."

As Evans noted, mixed martial artists are often pinned down by the result of their most recent outing.

For both men, then, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Against better judgment, let’s talk about UFC 149 one last time.

The pay-per-view event took place on July 21, 2012, at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. An interim bantamweight title bout between Renan Barao and Urijah Faber served as the main event.

It was, by most accounts, a terrible night. UFC president Dana White admitted he was “embarrassed” by the main card. It really was one awkward fight after another.

Cheick Kongo and Shawn Jordan embraced in a tired hug for 15 minutes. Brian Ebersole resorted to a series of strange karate slaps to James Head’s leg in a dull split-decision loss. Hector Lombard stood in place and ate jabs. By the time the main event started, the Calgary crowd had fallen in love with a “refund” chant.

To this day, White remains apologetic to the entire Canadian city for that event.

Well, meet the ill-fated UFC 149's brother, UFC 161. The similarities between these two events are eerie.

UFC 161 was originally headlined by an interim bantamweight title bout between Barao and Eddie Wineland, which fell through due to a Barao injury. Similarly, UFC 149 lost its main event, a featherweight title fight, when Jose Aldo was injured.

Mauricio Rua was supposed to fight at UFC 149 and 161. In both cases, he was removed when his opponent suffered an injury. Thiago Silva withdrew from the contest last year. This time it was an injury to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Speaking of Nogueira injuries, Lil Nog may have just been following the example of his twin brother. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was originally scheduled to fight Cheick Kongo at UFC 149, but he withdrew due to injury.

In both cases, a “name” fight was added by the UFC to give the card more value. At UFC 149, it was Lombard and Tim Boetsch serving as the co-main event. This weekend, it’s Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic serving as ... the co-main event.

Kind of weird, right? Hopefully, the similarities stop come fight night.

FIVE STORYLINES

Roy Nelson’s gamble. Nelson has long considered himself an underpaid fighter. It’s not hard to see why. During his UFC career, Nelson has typically been one of the lowest-paid athletes on PPV main cards. For instance, his purse against Frank Mir in the co-main event at UFC 130 was a paltry $15,000. To that point, Nelson reportedly turned down an extension offer by the UFC and will finish out his current contact at UFC 161. A loss would certainly affect his leverage in future contract negotiations.

Glover Teixeira’s Twitter account. It’s nice and simple -- @gloverteixeira. You might want to keep an eye on it when the main event goes off. Teixeira has read the writing on the wall and it says “Alexander Gustafsson.” Feeling one win away from a title shot, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Teixeira comment publicly on the winner of Hendo, Evans.

Alexis Davis’ party. You see this from time to time -- Brazilian fights in Brazil or an Aussie fights in Australia. They don’t just look good. They ignite the crowd and win in such a way that you don’t forget about it when the next UFC card comes around. Alexis Davis is a dark horse in the women’s division. She’s well-respected, but few fans really know her yet. That could change here. She’s fighting on home soil and has a type of charm that once cameras find her, they might stick on her.

The evolution of Stipe Miocic. Miocic has the athleticism and the intelligence to turn into a legitimate heavyweight -- the question is when will it happen? He has good instincts and he comes with a game plan, but sometimes in martial arts you have to go off script. Can he surprise a guy like Roy Nelson? Miocic has the fundamentals. Has he added that element of unpredictability?

Seriously, don’t be UFC 149. UFC 160 was three weeks ago. UFC 162 isn’t for another three weeks. If UFC 161 does end up being the second coming of UFC 149 we can’t hide from it. The smell will linger.

FIVE QUESTIONS

Q: Is Rashad Evans still Rashad Evans?

He and his team would say yes. Certain critics would say he hasn’t been the same dating way back to the knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in 2009. That might be a stretch, he did dominate Phil Davis with three cracked ribs as recently as last year, but no doubt about it, this fight will answer questions about Evans after he didn’t look like himself in February.

Q: Is Dan Henderson still Dan Henderson?

It was hard to tell in his last fight. Machida stayed on the outside and refused to really engage with him. Henderson’s too smart to just sprint after him, so we were kind of left with a points fight that Henderson came out on the short end of. One right hand is all it takes for Henderson to get right back into title talk -- an opportunity many still feel he deserves. Can he still land it against the elite 205ers?

Q: How good is Tyron Woodley?

He’s always been an eye-catching prospect. In the same way a loss to Jon Fitch might have gotten Erick Silva to turn a corner, maybe a loss to Nate Marquardt did the same for Woodley. He destroyed a tough veteran guy in Jay Hieron his first time out. If he looks half as good in his second UFC fight against a talent like Jake Shields, we might need to get this guy on the fast track.

Q: Can lightning strike twice?

The one saving grace of UFC 149 was Mr. Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second knockout over Anthony Perosh, followed by a strikingly good robot dance. Perosh was knocked out instantly, so much so that Internet users started Photoshopping his knockout face onto pop-culture images. What will Jimmo do in his Canadian encore?

Q: Is Sam Stout good or just entertaining?

It’s OK if it’s the latter, but it seems he has potential for more. He’s always good for a show. Six times he’s taken home bonus money, but he’s never set great expectations in terms of racking up wins with an overall 8-7 UFC record. That might be changing, as Stout has won four of his past six.

WHO’S ON THE HOT SEAT?

Jake Shields. The UFC’s acquisition of then-Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields was a big deal in 2010 -- but it’s failed to deliver much. Through five UFC appearances, Shields is 2-2 with a no-contest and a drug suspension last August. He can’t seem to figure out what weight class he wants to compete in, and his fighting style is such that even when he’s winning, he’s getting booed. He has little room for error here.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because even though it’s not the most stacked card in the world, it’s still Evans and it’s still Hendo ... because you don’t know Alexis Davis and you should ... because Roy Nelson is rolling the dice on behalf of disgruntled employees everywhere ... because there are sure to be live shots of Winnipeg, Manitoba -- which is quite lovely this time of year ... because Game 5 isn’t until Sunday ... because if it does turn into UFC 149 revisited, Dana White’s head will turn a bright red that should be visible regardless of what camera angle is being used ... because the H-bomb will be there.

The concern about Rashad Evans is understandable.

From an outside perspective, Evans has never recovered from that five-round loss to Jon Jones in April 2012. He was absent from the cage for 10 months after that, and then looked like a shell of his former self in a decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Evans looked hesitant in that fight -- unsure of himself. Come to think of it, he even looked a little sad.

It might lead us all into thinking that competitively speaking, with the words “UFC champ” already on his résumé and money in the bank, we’ve seen the best of Evans. He gave it a good try against Jones at UFC 145, but that was the beginning of the end.

If the former light heavyweight champion is going through the motions now, or even if he’s just trying to relight a competitive flame on a burned-down wick, it’s going to show against Dan Henderson at UFC 161 this weekend.

Talk to those around Evans (17-3-1) though, and conversation doesn’t revolve around rekindling his love for the sport or rebuilding his confidence.

The Blackzilians actually can’t wait for Henderson on Saturday, the start of a title run and, you had better believe it, Jones again.

Glenn Robinson, Evans’ manager: It’s crazy to watch. People ask, 'Rashad, are you all right, are you sure you’re OK?' Like he’s got a sickness or something. He just lost a fight and people are treating him like a kid who lost football tryouts or something. Listening to these people talk, I thought they were going to take him for ice cream.

Tyrone Spong, teammate: For me, he’s the same guy he’s always been. He’s very hungry. I know what it is to be criticized, but sometimes I’m like, come on. Don’t talk stupid. Give the guy a break here. It’s two losses -- and it’s not like he got his a-- whupped [in the Nogueira fight]. He had less of a night. That’s the whole story.

Robinson: There was a point over the last couple of years where he’d been through a rough time. It’s one thing for you to know you’re getting divorced (Evans finalized his divorce in 2012), it’s another thing when it becomes official. He was with his ex-wife from the time he was really just a kid. That was all going on leading up to his last fight. Every one of us has bad times in life and that was Rashad’s bad time. That doesn’t mean he’s changed as a fighter or a person. He had a fight that didn’t go his way. That doesn’t mean he’s done.

Spong: People don’t know the real Rashad. They see him as a character -- the UFC fighter. What comes first is that we are all human beings with the same emotions as every other person. Not every camp is the same. We all go through different things emotionally and physically. Every camp is different, so every fight is different.

Kenny Monday, Blackzilians wrestling coach: From the first day I joined the camp (Monday joined the team in April), he’s been great. My message right away was, 'How do you want your career to be defined?' I asked about the possibility of being a champion and getting back to the top and he said, 'I want to be defined as one of the best in the sport.' He didn’t have to say anything else. I said, 'Let’s get to work.'

Robinson: I’ll tell you exactly what happened in the Jones fight. That training camp was a circus. I mean, I love Coach [Mike] Van Arsdale, but he ran that camp like he would have if he was fighting, not Rashad (Van Arsdale parted ways with the Blackzilians in mid-2012). Rashad had, at one point, five different striking coaches.

Spong: That Jones fight -- even during that camp a lot of stuff happened. It didn’t go as planned. He still went out there and fought his a-- off. He has no problem talking about it. If he looks back at it, things didn’t go as planned in the camp and he couldn’t do everything he wanted, but other than you can’t regret anything. He still went out there and gave Jon Jones a hell of a fight.

Robinson: It’s just not true [his confidence suffered after the Jones fight]. Rashad’s confidence never wavers. He had a lot on his mind after that, but he never lost confidence on who he was. When you have a bad day as an MMA fighter, you’re washed up and this and that but let me tell you -- Rashad completely destroyed the tackling dummy in the gym for this fight. His confidence level is just fine and he’ll show that.

Monday: I’ve been around the sport a long time and I can see it when a fighter is done. I can see it in their eyes -- see the passion is not quite there. They train, but they don’t have that edge. I still see that hunger of wanting to win in practice. When guys stop trying to win in practice, that’s when you see them looking for the exit door. Rashad still gets pissed off in practice.

Robinson: The most important thing for Rashad was he needed to enjoy fighting again, and he does. He’s in great shape. He and Tyrone were in my house watching Thiago [Silva] fight and they are flexing their arms to see who has bigger biceps. Rashad’s body is ripped. His legs are huge -- you can see the muscle in them. That came from hard work and you can’t put that hard work into something unless you enjoy it. That’s the biggest change in the last year.

Roberto Flamingo, Blackzilians striking coach: We expected a better fight against Nogueira. It didn’t go as it had to go. That night, Alistair was fighting right before so I walked him to the Octagon and wasn’t there to warm up Rashad. The preparation half an hour before the fight wasn’t where it needed to be. He has to prepare good before he goes to the Octagon. He couldn’t find his range.

Spong: It all felt good going into that fight. He was strong in everything. He just missed his rhythm and he couldn’t get into the fight. He was off the whole time. It was frustrating for me as it was for him.

Monday: After the Jones fight, he was doing more commentary and after the emotional drain from that fight I think he may have thought about wrapping it up. I don’t know, I wasn’t here. After that second loss though, I think he said, 'Nah, this is not how I want to go out.' We’ve talked about leaving a legacy of greatness. He knows in order to set that up, he needs this fight.

Spong: It’s your opinion if you don’t think he can beat Jon Jones, but I think it’s stupid. Look at Jon’s fights in the 205-pound division. When he defends his belt, he’s finished everyone easy but Rashad. Rashad is the only one to give him a fight. I know for sure if he had a proper camp he is the one to beat Jon Jones.

Robinson: The bottom line is who of all these great champions, some of them are in the title hunt right now, can say they went five rounds with Jon Jones? I asked him if he wants that fight again and Rashad told me, 'I’d love to get the belt again, but right now I just want to fight.' He’s not going to pressure himself into the belt. If he does the right job, the belt will come.

Monday: We talked about Jon Jones one time, about his mindset going into the fight and if he wanted him again. Absolutely [he wants him again]. If you don’t want that fight, you know, then I think you are done. The guy is the best out there. Who wouldn’t want that fight? I want to fight him.

Robinson: He trained harder for this fight than the [second] Tito [Ortiz] fight. Way harder. Rashad excels under pressure. In the Tito fight he had to prove to the world he deserved the title shot. He went into the Phil Davis fight with three cracked ribs. He really put 100 percent into this camp. Betting against Rashad because of what happened in the past is a foolish move. Rashad will be dangerous on Monday. Today, people are concerned -- on Monday, Rashad will be dangerous.

The word “popularity” trumps a word like “retread” six days of the week. It did in the case of Quinton Jackson -- the popular, yet polarizing, former UFC champion who just became Bellator’s latest acquisition, according to a Spike TV press release. “Rampage” is presumably headed to the so-called “toughest tournament in sports.”

And with him comes an ounce of that hard-to-find intrigue.

Bellator will hold a news conference Wednesday in Los Angeles to make the announcement. If a 34-year-old on a three-fight losing streak and with strong associations to a rival league seems like an odd choice for a multiyear contract with Bellator, that’s because it is. Traditionally, Bellator has steered clear of picking up the UFC’s sloppy seconds, with a few exceptions. Just last week, Bellator inked prospect Bubba Jenkins, a collegiate wrestling champion from Arizona State who is 3-0 in MMA. That’s a signing that falls more in line with the Bellator ideology of unearthing talent. Landing Jenkins was a major boon.

But Jackson isn’t exactly a cast-off either. He was a disgruntled UFC employee who openly battled with Dana White and the UFC over pay, treatment, integrity, the reinvention of B.A. Baracus, fighting boring wrestlers and a descending scale of pettier issues over the past few years. He’s not known as an “entertainer” for fighting alone. That’s why he fits with Spike, where he can roam into pro wrestling waters under the TNA platform (an idea he’s flirted with before) and play a role in the network’s reality programming. With “Rampage” comes drama, and in his case, that’s interchangeable with “baggage.”

You know what else he brings? Star power and accessible validity.

After all, as of UFC 135, Jackson was name enough to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC’s light heavyweight belt. He didn’t make good, but the UFC sold more than 500,000 pay-per-views, which was the most since UFC 129 when Georges St-Pierre fought Jake Shields. It was the most pay-per-views sold for all of the UFC 130s. When he fought Dan Henderson on Spike, there were 6 million viewers.

Even in a sport where yesterday is a distant memory, that wasn’t so long ago. Yes, the Japan homecoming at UFC 144 against Ryan Bader was a disaster, with the missed weight and the swirling chaos of his TRT/groveling over how the UFC had handled him poorly. And yes, his sayonara bout with Glover Teixeira wasn’t exactly the barn burner he (or we) imagined. Just like Rashad Evans, Henderson and anyone who’s been in the fight game long enough, he’s capable of duds. Ennui is a hard thing to shake.

Yet even with all of that, what’s not to like about this signing? It was Josh Koscheck who said that fans can love him or hate him, it doesn’t matter, so long as they care. Signing “Rampage” will get people to care. And realistically, Bellator could use some love and caring, especially for its tournament structure that stubbornly makes a star of attrition. That concept’s not a fit for everyone. Maybe not even for Jackson, who has had trouble with motivation and weight in the past. It's tough to maintain health, weight and mindset through three fights in three months for anybody. But for a millionaire who doesn't particularly need to?

Then again, remember that he made a name in those Pride Grand Prix’s back in the early days fighting the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua. Those yesteryear names now become Attila Vegh and his longtime off-limits rival Muhammed Lawal -- not to mention Emanuel Newton, who knocked “King Mo” out in February with a spinning backfist. There’s something about those Memphis “bungalows” that tuned people in, even if they’re being flung at the more curious retread cases of Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Vladimir Matyushenko.
There are always exceptions to the exceptions.

The thing is, Bellator hasn’t strictly adhered to anything other than its own bracketology. Hard to imagine it giving Jackson special treatment and holding him out of the 205-pound tournament. And the promotion has loosely gone about its business of bringing up the next best names over the past couple of years. It's scored with Michael Chandler, Ben Askren, Pat Curran, Eduardo Dantas and Eddie Alvarez (now the subject of a fierce tug-of-war). This is its traditional model, insomuch as tradition exists.

Yet while Jon Fitch didn’t raise the Bellator eyebrow when the UFC released him with a 14-3-1 record under Zuffa, Jackson -- 7-5 in the UFC -- did. Why is that? Fitch will never be confused with entertainment, that’s why. He was never a champion. He doesn’t use words like “bungalows,” much less throw them. Eyeballs aren’t as likely to follow his every move.

Jackson, on the other hand, doesn’t feel too much like the UFC’s leftovers. Kudos to Bellator for thinking inside the box enough to see it.

Rashad Evans has added a new angle to his forthcoming fight with Dan Henderson by revealing he was drop to middleweight if he loses.
More »

Once in a while it is necessary to set the record straight.

That moment has arrived as it relates to a comment made by former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans about his upcoming bout against Dan Henderson. The two are scheduled to meet June 15 at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

“

In the fight business, you're only as good as your next fight. If you lose two or three then you're done.

” -- Rashad Evans

Despite dropping his past two outings -- he looked sluggish en route to a unanimous-decision setback Feb. 2 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 -- Evans is expecting a victory against Henderson.

But in the past few days, some MMA blogs have questioned the level of Evans’ confidence based on a remark he made to ESPN.com nearly two weeks ago.

“This is the type of fight that keeps you up at night, because you want to do well,” Evans said, referring to his bout against Henderson. “My back is against the wall. And that is when I perform at my best.

“In the fight business, you’re only as good as your next fight. If you lose two or three then you’re done.

“My manager Bill Robinson always says, ‘You’re either one fight away from getting a title shot and becoming champion or you’re two losses away from being cut from UFC.’ ”

Robinson makes a good point and Evans understands the business aspect of mixed martial arts. But Evans is a high-level professional athlete who expects to defeat every man he competes against in the cage.

When he talks about losing two or three fights "then you’re done," Evans is referring to being a serious title contender.

Evans still believes he can compete for and win the UFC light heavyweight title. But he is very aware that with two losses in a row heading into this next fight, another defeat will significantly hinder his chances of fighting for the belt again.

As for fearing that a loss to Henderson will result in being released by UFC: Evans laughed at the suggestion when contacted by ESPN.com on Wednesday.

“No. Not at all,” Evans responded. “That some media would come to that conclusion is funny to me. I’m going to win [on June 15.]”

Fighting Henderson has never been a concern for Evans. The only issue he’s had to battle the past two years is his recent divorce and not seeing his children as often as he would like.

The emotions of the situation took a toll on Evans. But he is having arguably his best camp in recent memory.

Evans is in a good place training-wise right now -- mentally, emotionally and physically.

That wasn’t the case in his previous three training camps. Evans is eager to step in the cage against Henderson and prove that he remains a force to be reckoned with at 205 pounds.

Rashad Evans admits he will walk into his UFC 161 fight with Dan Henderson fearing the ax if he loses their light heavyweight battle. More »

When Rashad Evans last stepped inside the Octagon to fight -- on Feb. 2 at UFC 156 -- he was a shadow of himself.

There was very little head or foot movement, making him an easy target for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s stiff right jab. But the sluggish standup wasn’t the only hint that Evans was present in name only -- he found it difficult to get Lil Nog off his feet.

Evans registered one takedown during the 15-minute battle. Every one of his takedown attempts was telegraphed. A solid wrestler like Evans doesn’t normally broadcast when he’s about to go for a double-leg.

His performance against Nogueira was so poor that some wondered aloud whether Evans’ best days as a fighter were in the past. Based off that outing against Nogueira, the simple response is yes.

But the reality is much more complex. Evans remains as physically explosive as ever. On that level, he can still compete with the best. He’ll be the naturally faster, more athletic fighter in the cage at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on June 15 when he meets hard-hitting Dan Henderson. But will he be mentally and emotionally as strong as his opponent that night?

“I’m happy about this fight [against Henderson],” Evans told ESPN.com. “Having the chance to fight somebody like Dan is a big deal, especially after not having the performance I would have liked [against Nogueira].

“It’s good to get in there with somebody like Dan and answer a lot of critics and to show everybody that I am still one of the best guys in the weight class. I couldn’t find my rhythm against Nogueira; I couldn’t find my timing. It was just one of those things. It was like I was in a mental fog.”

Evans has dropped each of his past two fights. It’s the first time as a professional fighter that he’s experienced a losing skid.

Despite his recent setbacks -- to Nogueira and a highly emotional affair with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 145 in April 2012 -- Evans isn’t one to make excuses. And he is not about to start, despite less-than-impressive showings in his past three outings -- tons of criticism was heaped on him after his win over Phil Davis in January 2012.

Evans was experiencing marriage problems before his fight against Davis. The Chicago resident and father of three spent most of 2011 in Boca Raton, Fla., training with his "Blackzilians" teammates.

It also was the year Evans severed ties with his longtime trainer, Greg Jackson, who instructs Jones. Evans was able to handle the split with Jackson; dealing with a crumbling marriage and seeing less of his children proved much more difficult. It’s a matter he still hasn’t fully come to grips with, and his performance in the cage has suffered. Evans’ divorce was finalized after his loss to Jones.

“Having a failed marriage and not being able to see your kids on a daily basis, that’s what hurts me every single day,” Evans said. “I feel like I failed in my marriage and I failed my kids by not being in their lives on a daily basis.

“It’s because they live in Chicago and in order for me to train I live in South Florida for the most part. I have a place in Chicago, but I’m rarely ever there because I’m always trying to train. It bothers me and I can’t say that it doesn’t.”

Evans has yet to come to grips with not seeing his children regularly. He knows firsthand what it’s like not having a father in the home. Being a former light heavyweight champion and top-level mixed martial artist doesn’t come close to the joy Evans gets from being a good father.

“

I feel like I failed in my marriage and I failed my kids by not being in their lives on a daily basis.

” -- Rashad Evans

Evans enjoyed being a mixed martial artist when his children were around him often. During the past year, that enjoyment has dissipated.

“I must admit I did get to a point where I wasn’t having fun and went through the motions,” Evans said. “And that’s where I am right now.

“When I started fighting I enjoyed everything part of it: I enjoyed training so much, I enjoyed learning. But lately it had gotten to the point where it was something that I had to do, it’d become somewhat monotonous.”

Evans realizes that he won’t be able to compete at the highest level of MMA if he can’t find enjoyment in the sport. He struggles with this each day. But a two-fight skid has helped him conclude that a third loss must be avoided. It has become the source of his motivation as he prepares to face Henderson.

Evans would love to spend more time with his children, but it’s a situation he can’t reverse at this time. What he can control is providing for them financially.

A loss to Henderson, however, could seriously threaten his earning power. That realization might just be enough to shake Evans from his emotional doldrums.

“This is the type of fight that keeps you up at night, because you want to do well,” Evans said. “My back is against the wall. And this is when I perform at my best.

“In the fight business, you’re only as good as your next fight. If you lose two or three then you’re done.

“My manager Bill Robinson always says, ‘You’re either one fight away from getting a title shot and becoming champion or you’re two losses away from being cut from UFC.’”

Winnipeg, hello.

For the first time, UFC announced Tuesday, it will roll into the Canadian province of Manitoba, bringing all the makings of a quality card. On Wednesday ESPN.com reported that interim UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao will fight tough Eddie Wineland in the main event. With Dan Henderson meeting Rashad Evans and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua rematching a spectacular Pride contest against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Zuffa will have no problem filling the MTS Centre on June 15. Also, Tyron Woodley is slated to fight Jake Shields at welterweight, which should draw some intrigue considering Woodley's impressive UFC debut.

Winnipeg is the fifth Canadian city to welcome the UFC, and it should probably tip its cap to westerly neighbor Vancouver. Or, more precisely, the Vancouver City Council. Last year around this time, UFC president Dana White said the Octagon wouldn't head back to Vancouver until 2014 at the earliest. In addition to the fact that the council let a two-year trial period for MMA expire, the reality of promoting the sport in Vancouver, even though UFC made money for its two events there, was ridiculous because of indemnification and insurance costs. The powers that be didn't want UFC in town, which they made clear.

Fair to say, as UFC's head for Canada Tom Wright did, Vancouver seemed to think UFC supporters might act a lot like Canucks fans.

Whoops.

Well, Winnipeg's gain.

Barao's summer booking against Wineland signals that bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is nowhere near being ready to return to the cage. Cruz's trainer, Eric Del Fierro, confirmed as much. In the champ's place, Barao has been an admirable temp. Wineland's speed and power could present challenges for the defensive-minded Brazilian. It's a solid fight.

Even with a title bout on the card, Henderson-Evans may carry the most intrigue. Both men are coming off less than impressive losses. Evans was convincingly worse, and he has a lot to answer for. Is the man mentally broken after Jon Jones? There are people who know him that think he is. Based on Evans' performance -- lack thereof, really -- against Nogueira, something has to give. Henderson is definitely the wrong guy to be timid against, though the 42-year-old wrestler might finally be old. Henderson wasn't sharp or active against Lyoto Machida, but that could have been a symptom of the Brazilian's quickness and countering ability. Henderson matches up well with Evans and I'd peg him the early favorite.

Building up Rua's second fight with Nogueira should be as easy as cutting highlights of the first contest. It was that good. Shogun was at the top of his game in 2005, a year in which he went 5-0 and defeated Quinton Jackson, Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. Of that group, only Nogueira managed to go the distance. This was just a war of attrition, an incredible contest.

Expectations will be high.

Injury bug bites Bellator

It’s official: Bellator has caught the injury bug.

Last week it was Daniel Straus’ hand. This week, Douglas Lima’s. Bellator moved Lima’s welterweight tournament final bout against Ben Saunders off a March 21 event in Maine (the card features lightweights Marcin Held and Dave Jansen after that bout was postponed because of injury after originally being slated for this Thursday) and should have it lined up for sometime this summer. Since Ben Askren already has a waiting contender in unbeaten 22-year-old Andrey Koreshkov, the news about Lima isn’t such a big deal.

It just goes to show, however, that Bellator’s good luck streak with injuries and tournaments was bound to hit a rough patch. So it has.

As for Thursday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., Bellator offers semifinal bouts at 185 and 145.

The featherweights are where it’s at.

Marlon Sandro takes on Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (everyone just calls him “Frodo”). And on the other side of the bracket, Alexandre Bezerra fights Mike Richman, which should be the best contest on the card.

Middleweights fighting Thursday don’t do much for me. Veteran Doug Marshall meets 9-0 Russian Sultan Aliev. And Brett Cooper should go to war with Dan Cramer.

Still, compared to Bellator 92’s off-TV undercard, the middleweights are world class. Spike.com streams Bellator prelims, and let’s just say up front this set isn’t worth your time. Most of the fighters are local and not very good. Or, worse yet, long washed up if they were decent to begin with. But if guys such as Cleber Luciano and Shad Smith sell tickets, hey, alright.

Fight you most want to see

SportsNation is asking fans to rank the best fight MMA can make right now .

After a day’s worth of voting, Jon Jones against Anderson Silva is ahead by a wide margin. No surprise, really. Silva versus Georges St-Pierre is second. And Cain Velasquez taking on Jones currently ranks third.

Topping my group was Silva-GSP. I guess I’m just tired of all the talk. It’s been four years since this was first discussed and if GSP beats Nick Diaz on March 16 and if Silva handles Chris Weidman in July, it really needs to happen.

Silva-Jones, second as I ranked 'em, requires no embellishment. It’s a surefire spectacle. But as tremendous as it would be for the fighters, fans and UFC, Jones has work remaining at 205 before he needs to concern himself with Silva.

No. 3 on my list: St-Pierre against Johny Hendricks. I love this at 170. If Hendricks and the UFC champion take care of business in Montreal in less than two weeks, I think fans will be clamoring for this contest. They should, but SportsNation suggests it’s the sixth most appealing fight behind Jones-Daniel Cormier, Benson Henderson-Jose Aldo and the three previously mentioned.

Curious was the lack of interest in Dominick Cruz against Renan Barao at 135. Maybe Cruz has been on the shelf too long? I don’t know. I like that fight a lot. Barao has been top notch, and possesses everything he needs to beat Cruz. Least interesting to me, for a variety of reasons, is GSP and Rory MacDonald.

Zuffa, make ‘em happen.

UFC on Fuel TV 8 takes place from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan this Saturday, the sixth time the UFC has traveled to the “Land of the Rising Sun.” The main event sees Wanderlei Silva battle Brian Stann at light heavyweight while Stefan Struve takes on Mark Hunt in a heavyweight bout. Here are the numbers you need to know for Saturday’s fights:

6: Fights Silva has had against an American fighter since his return to the UFC in 2007. He is 1-5 in those bouts, losing his past four (Rich Franklin twice, Chris Leben and Quinton Jackson). “The All-American” has fought just one Brazilian fighter in his career, defeating Jorge Santiago at UFC 130.

Wanderlei Silva, UFC Career vs. American Fighters:
UFC 147 Rich Franklin L, UD
UFC 132 Chris Leben L, KO
UFC 99 Rich Franklin L, UD
UFC 92 Quinton Jackson L, KO
UFC 84 Keith Jardine W, KO
UFC 79 Chuck Liddell L, UD

6: Times Silva has been defeated by KO or TKO in his 48-fight career. Four of those knockouts have come inside the UFC Octagon, while the other two were his last two PRIDE fights against Dan Henderson and Mirko Filipovic. The "Cro-Cop" fight was the last time Silva fought in Japan, which served as the home for PRIDE organization. Stann has nine KO/TKO wins in 17 career fights.

75: Percent of wins by "The Axe Murderer" that have come by KO or TKO (24 of 32). When Silva defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 110 by unanimous decision, it marked his first win not by KO or TKO since November 2003 at PRIDE: Final Conflict.

3: The combined takedowns by both fighters in their UFC careers (Silva 2, Stann 1). Each fighter attempts less than one takedown and one submission attempt per 15 minutes. In other words, it would be shocking to see this fight go to the ground unless one of the fighters gets knocked down.

2010: The last time former WEC light heavyweight champion Stann fought at 205 pounds, where he is 8-3 in his career. Stann will be dropping back to middleweight after this fight with Silva, where he holds a 4-2 record.

9: The reach advantage for 7-footer Stefan Struve in his co-main event bout against 5-foot-10 Mark Hunt. Struve’s reach is 83 inches while Hunt has a 74-inch reach. The 83-inch reach for Struve is second behind Jon Jones (84.5 inches) for longest reach in the UFC.

9: Wins for Struve inside the UFC Octagon, tied with Junior dos Santos, Gabriel Gonzaga and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez for third among active heavyweights. With a win, he would join Frank Mir, Cheick Kongo, Andrei Arlovski and Randy Couture as the only UFC fighters with double-digit wins in the division.

Most UFC Wins, Active Heavyweight Fighters:
Frank Mir 14
Cheick Kongo 11
Cain Velasquez 9
Junior dos Santos 9
Gabriel Gonzaga 9
Stefan Struve 9*
*Four-fight win streak

3.9: Submissions attempted per 15 minutes for "The Skyscraper," fifth highest in UFC history and first among heavyweights. "The Super Samoan" has six submission defeats in seven career losses, all arm-related (three by armbar, two by kimura, one by keylock). Of Struve’s 16 submission victories, only three are by armbar (13 submissions by choke).

2: The main and co-main events are the only fights on the card not to feature a fighter from Japan or South Korea. There are nine Asia versus The World contests on the card. Japan is represented by Takanori Gomi, Yushin Okami, Mizuto Hirota, Riki Fukuda, Takeya Mizugaki, and Kazuki Tokudome. The South Koreans are represented in three matchups by Dong Hyun Kim, Kyung Ho Kang and Hyun Gyu Lim.

I didn’t see much from Lyoto Machida on Saturday that makes me think he’ll fair better a second time around against Jon Jones. Presuming Jones beats Chael Sonnen in April,
that fight is up next at 205, UFC president Dana White said following Saturday’s card.

Earlier this week “The Dragon” told me that even after Jones strangled him unconscious in Dec. 2011, he’s "not convinced.” He spoke of wanting a rematch, which is rare for him since he hardly ever speaks of wanting anything.

"I'm living every moment as it comes," he said. "I enjoyed being champion but that it's gone. It's like this conversation. It will be gone in 20 minutes. It's behind, but could happen again."

Well, as of Feb. 23, Jones-Machida 2 is on.

"He's the No. 1 contender,” White told ESPN's MMA Live Extra. “Dan was the No. 1 contender. Machida beat him. That makes Machida No. 1."

However if people aren’t fired up what are the chances Zuffa finds a way to hold off? What happens if Alexander Gustafsson blows the doors off Gegard Mousasi? Or if it goes the other way? I bet both fighters would interest fans more than seeing Machida challenge Jones right now. So too Glover Teixeira, a teammate of Machida’s at Blackhouse, if he tops Ryan Bader in May.

Even Machida sounded less than sure of where he stood afterwards.

Said the 34-year-old Brazilian: "I thought I won the fight because I frustrated him and kept the fight where I wanted it."

Machida had an opportunity to assert himself over Dan Henderson and undoubtedly claim the shot. Instead, his effort was significantly less than definitive. Machida set out to stay away from Henderson's right hand and keep the contest standing. There was plenty of feinting, some nice movement to diffuse Henderson’s pressure, and the occasional punch and kick combinations punches. But nothing in the neighborhood of damage. Nothing that troubled Henderson, who wasn’t his sharpest either.

Nothing that made me think Machida was closer to having the right stuff to beat Jones.

Then again, to be fair, who does?

That adds to the point. We’ve seen Machida try already. He actually gave Jones a fight for the first five minutes, moving well and landing punches. Then Jones found that second round choke and Machida fell on his face. Considering that, Machida deserves credit for finding the courage to remain unconvinced.