ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts is filled to the brim with great stories. Not the least of which is the amazing tale of the sport itself.

During the course of this fight week, UFC’s third on network TV, we were often reminded of two of its most harrowing: Lavar Johnson taking three bullets in a drive-by and Alan Belcher's battle with blindness.

When it comes to opportunities, Johnson and Belcher have to rank among the UFC's most grateful combatants.

With Johnson, it's easy to grasp why. He was the victim of horrific street violence that left his life (never mind his career as a heavyweight fighter) in peril. To survive and rebuild must have been empowering, which you can see in an attitude that led him, improbably enough, to open the Fox-televised UFC card. Johnson is fighting like he has nothing to lose, knocking dudes stiff, and for that he's moving toward the something-to-lose category. It will be interesting to see how the mid-tier heavyweight handles added pressure of success.

Belcher, though. The sport dinged him bad, nearly taking his sight. To cope with the emotions and thoughts that must come with that, the surgery and eventual recovery, to put it all on the line again by fighting dangerous beasts like Rousimar Palhares, I'm not sure there are many people who can comprehend what that requires.

Alan Belcher amazed on Saturday, and only in part because of his history.

The 28-year-old out of Biloxi, Miss., turned the tables on Palhares, attacking the Brazilian at his considerable strength. Leg locks, dare I say, are a dangerous game if played against “Toquinho,” but Belcher was obviously well prepared and defended the twisting, turning, bone-breaking attacks as well as he could.

Belcher wasn’t supposed to win -- not according to the mythology built up around the Brazilian. Palhares tore people limb by limb, OK? But, you know, Belcher wasn’t even supposed to be fighting, either. And there he was, slamming elbows and punches into the head of a stumpy middleweight stuck on his back.

UFC’s third card on Fox was its best since finding the brighter spotlight of prime-time network TV. After a too-short title fight followed by an all-decision card, Saturday’s effort -- highlighted by Johnson’s knockout, Belcher’s referee stoppage and Nate Diaz’s coming out party -- was a true example of mixed martial arts as spectator sport.

On a big night for combat sports, when UFC action led into Floyd Mayweather out-pointing Miguel Cotto and pocketing a record $32 million in guaranteed money, Belcher’s win -- his fourth straight -- feels worth singling out. The streak, halved by the retina detachment in 2010, puts him in position to compete at the upper reaches of UFC’s middleweight division.

Palhares, amazingly enough, wasn’t ranked coming into tonight. So where does that leave Belcher in a deep, competitive field?

I think he’d beat Hector Lombard, Bellator’s former champion and Zuffa’s newest signee, who has a similar chance to breakthrough on Fox when he fights Brian Stann in Los Angeles in August. Can’t say I feel so confident in Belcher if he’s matched against Stann. Belcher versus the winner between Ed Herman and Jake Shields makes sense. Perhaps Tim Boetsch or Michael Bisping, who meet this July. Whatever Zuffa tasks him with next, Belcher will eagerly answer the call.

After all, he didn’t come back from the brink of disaster for nothing.

The one thing that any successful fighter heading into the UFC will hear is this: He’s overrated. He hasn’t faced any real competition. Somebody’s about to come crashing down to earth. Somebody is about to get exposed.

That "somebody" this time happens to be Hector Lombard, the popular Bellator middleweight champion who has rattled off 20 victories in a row, including eight as the company’s flagship. Lombard is a menace at 185 pounds and is sculpted like a Frank Frazetta overlord, but the big gripe against him is he’s beating guys named Falaniko Vitale and Herbert Goodman instead of cats like Mark Munoz and Rousimar Palhares.

All that changes, now that Lombard makes his way to the UFC. Instead of facing UFC castoffs like Jay Silva and Joe Doerksen, the 34-year old American Top Team fighter will face UFC regulars. It’s a completely different vantage point. Lombard’s new assignment is to covert guys into UFC castoffs rather than feast on what’s left of their good names.

Here’s a quick look at five guys who would make for mean welcoming parties for “Shango.”

Brian Stann
Back when Jorge Santiago had built up a new head of stream in Sengoku, he became a popular dark horse pick against Brian Stann at UFC 130. What did Stann do? He punched the daylights out of him. And wouldn’t you know that just as Lombard brings his 25-fight unbeaten streak into the UFC, Stann is coming off a big victory over Alessio Sakara and needs an upgrade in opponent, just as all the bigger names are occupied?

Enter Hector Lombard. The great thing about this fight is both guys like to bang on the feet. Lombard is a precision striker who carries a lot of power. He likes to fight guys that get right up in his wheelhouse and tempt him into uncoiling. That’s Stann, who makes it his duty to oblige brawlers. (And just as often, shut them down).

Jake Shields
Shields has bounced back and forth between 170 and 185 pounds, and after a fairly subpar run in the UFC’s welterweight division, it looks like he’ll bulk back up. Bottom line is, he wasn't losing to slouches, either -- Georges St. Pierre and Jake Ellenberger (under trying circumstances, dealing with the passing of his father) never looked like easy outs.

But the last time we saw Shields as a middleweight he looked ... if not great, then totally resilient. He beat up Jason Miller for five rounds, and then improbably defended the Strikeforce belt against Dan Henderson in a fight he had his wits scrambled in the first round. Not to name drop, but Shields was the last guy to defeat Henderson, who is now set to fight Jon Jones for the 205-pound title. Think he wouldn’t like to punch some holes in Lombard’s lore? And for those desperate for storylines or loose patriotism, it’d be the battle of the Americas -- American Jiu-Jitsu versus American Top Team.

Luke Rockhold
Hey, while we’re restocking the UFC’s middleweight division with valuable intrigues, why not bring Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold into the UFC fold to face Lombard? It’s not the likeliest scenario, but Rockhold has just come into his own at a time when Strikeforce has become a weekend skeleton crew. Think he likes the idea of challenges named Keith Jardine or, maybe at some point, Bristol Marunde?

It’s fun to imagine a Rockhold/Lombard scrap. You’ve got two guys who aren’t afraid to fight in the pocket, each with a durable chin and sadistic intentions. It has “back-and-forth war” written all over it, a great UFC debut for both ... but it looks like Rockhold will get that long-awaited battle with Stikeforce contender Tim Kennedy, thus rendering this flight of fancy moot. Truth be told, we’re merely throwing Rockhold’s name out there in the off chance that matchmakers Sean Shelby and Joe Silva are combing the Internet for suggestions.

Ronaldo Souza
Again, we’re dealing in Strikeforce property (read: ultimately Zuffa’s), but Souza hates the pace of fighting once every six to eight months. And if the promotion does make Kennedy versus Rockhold, that means Jacare is going to be fighting some unmentionable. If the UFC brought Souza over to face Lombard, you’ve got the strutting fisticuffs that languished in Bellator for too long against the tall-grass predator with the aggressive, limb snatching jiu-jitsu. What better?

And how would that be for a red carpet rollout for both guys into the Octagon?

Ed Herman
You laugh. I can see you laughing. But let me put Herman’s name into perspective. For one thing, he has been completely rejuvenated since coming back from his knee injury and setbacks, having won three fights in a row. For another, “Short Fuse” is a finisher just like Lombard. In every one of those fights he dusted his hands of the opponent, beginning with Tim Credeur (whom he TKO’d in 48 seconds) and ending with Clifford Starks (second round rear-naked choke).

The guy he beat in-between? Why that was Kyle Noke (via first round heel hook), the same guy who took Lombard to a draw back in 2007. Herman is creeping up on the pack in the middleweight class, and Lombard is a big step up in opposition. Here’s the rub, though: So is Herman a big step up in competition for Lombard. Either Lombard could treat Herman as an appetizer to the main course, or he could, for the first time ever, find himself with a nostril full of smelling salts.

The path from middleweight to welterweight has been a treacherous one as of late.

In recent months, a number of highly regarded fighters -- Jake Shields, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Nate Marquardt all spring immediately to mind -- have attempted the cut from 185 to 170 pounds and for very disparate reasons, none have hit the jackpot like we assumed they might.

At this point, any one of those guys could probably tell Demian Maia a few cautionary tales.

While the individual experiences of Shields, Akiyama and Marquardt don’t pertain specifically to Maia, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist should be warned after announcing on Twitter this week he’ll move from middle to welter: No matter who you are -- a champion in his prime, a high-dollar international free agent or a former top five stalwart -- this particular jump is far from a sure thing.

Not that Maia really has any other choice. He’s essentially found himself chased out of the 185-pound division after going 1-2 in his last three fights. His recent loss to Chris Weidman knocked him out of the ESPN.com middleweight power rankings and, though he once challenged Anderson Silva for the title, he hasn’t beaten a top-tier opponent since his submission victory over Chael Sonnen at UFC 95 back in 2009.

Oddly, Maia’s mediocre 4-4 mark during the last three years has coincided with a noticeable professional evolution. He’s received near unilateral praise for the obvious improvements he’s made in his standup game. He’s certainly more dangerous now than when he dropped fights to Silva at UFC 112 and to Marquardt at UFC 102, but so far, the proof hasn’t shown up where it counts the most: his win-loss record.

Now, eight months shy of turning 35, Maia seeks the instant coat of paint and spit shine that dropping a weight division can provide. It's true, when a former top contender steps down a class we have a tendency to look at him with fresh eyes.

The trouble is, he’ll enter a welterweight division that has never been more competitive and which boasts a current crop of contenders to rival even the shark tank of the lightweight ranks. Does the prospect of running up against guys like Jake Ellenberger, Nick Diaz or Johny Hendricks make 170 pounds seem preferable to 185?

Probably not. In fact, it might even be worse for him. The whole division is effectively on hold until Georges St. Pierre returns from knee surgery and with Carlos Condit, Diaz and Ellenberger already in the pole position, it’ll be a long wait in very dangerous territory before Maia even has a chance to earn himself a shot at welterweight gold.

If anything, this is probably a lateral move, and one he pretty much had to make. Moving down is just what you do when you feel like you’ve warn out your welcome in the place where you started. For most guys, like Akiyama, it’s just way of buying yourself a couple more fights.

Win one or two, then lose one, mumble something about how the weight cut takes too much out of you and move back up. Such is the cycle of life in MMA.

Word to the wise, though: Be careful. Lately, the move from welterweight to middleweight hasn't been a safe bet, either. Just ask Anthony Johnson.

Is it wrong to kind of like a George St. Pierre-less welterweight division?

Not that we don’t want him back in November, but these last few months have been kind of fun, yeah? For starters, the St. Pierre injury story is great in itself. No fighter has been able to legitimately challenge him in years. Can a knee injury do it?

Because to be honest, the novelty of St. Pierre ho-hummingly dominating opponents one five-round fight after another had started to wear off. It was still an impressive run, absolutely, but -- come on. In sports, we’re supposed to get drama. We like two-minute drills. We like half-court prayers. We like a man on third, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, down by one.

What’s been kind of nice about St. Pierre being out to start 2012 is that it’s allowed us to envision a welterweight division without such a dominant champ. And what that vision looks like are razor-thin title fights and a serious group of contenders who would trade the belt back and forth between themselves for years.

From a business standpoint, you don’t mind the St. Pierre model. A dominant champ entices casual fans to watch and see what the fuss is about. Hardcore fans will tune in as well, if for no other reason to make absolutely sure they are watching when he loses.

But from a sports fan perspective, I think most would admit they’re ready to see what “St. Pierre in trouble” looks like again. The eye injury he suffered during the Jake Shields win was certainly adversity he had to overcome, but it’s not like the outcome of that fight was ever in question.

So, here’s the question: Can any of these welterweights we’re getting excited about during St. Pierre’s absence actually beat him when he comes back? As I did in October with the lightweights, let’s sort out which of these guys has the best shot at being the one to end St. Pierre’s reign.

The “if stars align and everything imaginable goes your way then maybe ... but still probably not” Group: Dan Hardy, Diego Sanchez, John Hathaway, Rick Story, Dong Hyun Kim.

Go on, laugh at Hardy even being included on this list. Hey, he’s about as long as a long shot can be. But if the organization is willing to hang on to him after four fairly miserable outings, then what’s to say they wouldn’t reward him with a title shot quickly if he were to get hot again?

Sanchez is interesting because if I’m a UFC welterweight I say to myself, “Man, I should call out Diego. I’m pretty sure I can beat him and he’s a big name to add to my résumé.” The only problem is I do that, then I get to the third round of the fight and Sanchez is still coming forward, spewing blood from the nose I’m pretty sure I broke with my knee in the first round and, suddenly, I’m scared. Not sure of what exactly, but definitely scared. This will happen in the next two years: A rising prospect calls out Sanchez and loses.

The “Any way we could combine these two?”: Thiago Alves, Martin Kampmann.

I think last weekend’s fight summed up both fighters pretty well. Kampmann is a gamer with tremendous will but he lacks elite-type athleticism. Alves is the opposite -- he might be the best athlete in the division but he’s vulnerable to mental lapses.

It’s not a terrible idea to go for a takedown in the final minute of a fight you’re winning to remove the flash KO threat, but in these circumstances (Kampmann has five submission wins in the UFC against one TKO) it was bad judgment. And the worst part is, fair or not, we’ve sort of come to expect this from Alves. For the record, though, of these two, I still give Alves a better shot overall at ever holding the belt.

The potential feel-good story of the century: Jake Shields.

If this were Hollywood, wouldn’t you lay everything you’ve got on Shields having a monster year in 2012 and claiming the belt in 2013? In the movie world, St. Pierre would be made out as a way more sinister foe in their first fight and maybe, after the loss to Ellenberger, movie Shields would go on some month-long drinking/partying binge that threatens to end his fighting career. But by the time the credits rolled, he’d be pointing up to the sky with a title belt around his waist.

It could happen. We know the guy is talented. He’s 33 and hasn’t taken a ton of damage despite a lengthy career. And I still think, for whatever reason, we caught Shields on an off night at UFC 129.

The blazing hot prospect and the simmering hot prospect: Rory MacDonald, Erick Silva.

Some of you will no doubt have MacDonald higher on your list, but I can’t quite pull the trigger on a 22-year-old whose biggest win is arguably over string bean Nate Diaz. Don’t get me wrong, I love MacDonald as a future titleholder, just not sure if you can rank him higher than these other guys right now.

Silva, same thing. He certainly looks the part, but so far both opponents he’s fought in the UFC took the fight on short notice and both came within friendly confines of his home country.

The old faithfuls: Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch.

These guys have been here for years and they’ll continue to be here through at least 2013. Fitch’s loss to Johny Hendricks could mean nothing. It was 12 seconds. He was facing some serious ring rust. If you think it’s the last we’ve seen of him, it’s probably because you just don’t like him and it’s clouding your judgment.

Koscheck gets the opportunity to avenge his friend’s loss against Hendricks in May. It’s a surprising fight to me because you’re risking a possible No. 1 contender to a guy who, as long as St. Pierre has the belt, can’t really be a No. 1 contender. Koscheck is high on this list because of his skills but frankly, a lot of things outside his control need to happen if he’s ever going to win the welterweight title.

The "highly" unlikely: Nick Diaz.

He’s probably getting a one-year suspension. If that’s the case, he can’t fight until February 2013. What kind of fight does he pull when he gets back? There will still be a lot of interest in a St. Pierre fight, even if St. Pierre isn’t even holding the belt, but do you really like his chances in that fight after such a long layoff? I don’t. So, would he get a “tune-up” fight first? Even if he did, it would be against a legitimate guy with a real chance at beating him. If that happens, he probably needs to win two more fights to get a title shot. Sorry, but there are just enough unknowns right now that I no longer love Diaz’s chances. He still claims a high spot on this list though because when he comes back, a matchup against St. Pierre is so marketable the UFC will so its best to put it together.

The favorites: Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks.

In that order. Condit sits at the top thanks mainly to the intangibles on his side. He’s getting the next opportunity to do it -- at least that’s what it looks like. St. Pierre will be dealing with a very long layoff and he’ll be competing for the first time on his reconstructed knee. Stylistically, he faces an uphill battle in my opinion but not an insurmountable one. If he can stay on his feet, he’ll hit St. Pierre. He’ll get taken down but he’s terrific at escapes and he’s very tough mentally. He won’t be intimidated and he’ll keep working even if things don’t go well early.

Ellenberger is actually my favorite to get it done from a stylistic standpoint. I think he’s the most athletically gifted of the three and I like his standup a little over Hendricks’, although they both clearly hit hard. It would be good if he was a little bigger, but St. Pierre isn’t a huge welterweight either. He’d be very dangerous in a fight against the champ, especially early in the fight.

Hendricks is right there as well. He has the game changer in the left hand and, although St. Pierre would frustrate him a bit in the speed aspect, he’s not an easy opponent to control.

When it’s all said and done though, I guess this is all for naught because it’s very difficult to see anyone unseating St. Pierre. My guess is he makes this whole knee-injury, layoff ordeal look easy. That is, after all, the St. Pierre we’ve come to know.

Science fiction writers could probably spend entire careers offering alternate histories for Martin Kampmann.

Example: What if Kampmann hadn’t come out on the losing end of a razor thin decision against Jake Shields at UFC 121?

What if the judges had sided with the vocal majority who thought he should’ve gotten the nod over Diego Sanchez in March 2011 in their bloody, hard-fought cable TV main event?

What if Kampmann’s unanimous decision win over Rick Story three months back -- originally announced as a split verdict, like maybe the judges had considered taking that one from him, too -- had been the cherry on top of a five-fight win-streak instead of a two-bout slump buster?

No long meditation on the butterfly effect is needed to know that if any of the above had come to pass, well, Kampmann probably wouldn’t be taking on Thiago Alves on Friday in a fight that feels like a stretch as a main event, even for one of the UFC’s new live shows on FX. On a Friday night, no less.

If Stephen King can crank out 800-plus pages speculating about a couple of guys going back in time to try to stop the Kennedy assassination, we can take a couple of sentences to acknowledge what Kampmann has learned the hard way during the last year and a half: That the line between contender status and just being middle-of-the-pack in the UFC welterweight division is slim, and the margin for error essentially nonexistent.

If Kampmann had defeated Shields and/or Sanchez (some people believe he rightfully did both) maybe he would have been fighting Georges St. Pierre in late spring or early summer of last year. Or maybe he would have met up with Jake Ellenberger in a No. 1 contender bout in late 2011 or early 2012. Heck, given Kampmann’s 2009 win over Carlos Condit, maybe it would have been him in the cage against Nick Diaz fighting for the interim 170-pound title at UFC 143, instead of “The Natural Born Killer.”

Or maybe not. This is all speculative, of course. It's possible things could have gone off the rails for Kampmann in a thousand other ways. Perhaps his UFC 103 loss to Paul Daley -- arguably his only real misstep of the last few years -- would still have been enough to hold him back.

Whatever the case, instead of finding himself considering the intricacies of the welterweight title picture right now, Kampmann’s current reality is Friday's bout with Alves, where the stakes are, at best, uncertain.

Alves is just 2-3 during his last five appearances and his only two wins since October 2008 came as the middle leg of John Howard’s three-fight losing streak and over a debuting unknown in Papy Abedi. He’s already been to the mountain top, fighting St. Pierre at UFC 100, and came out on the wrong end of a terribly lopsided decision loss. A return trip is starting to feel more and more unlikely.

At this point, the book is out on Alves, who starts like a house of fire and then fades late when his opponents can impose their game plans on him. The only real juice in this fight is the stylistic matchup -- both guys like to bang and Kampmann doesn’t fit the blueprint of the wrestle-first fighters like Story, GSP and Jon Fitch who’ve given Alves all sorts of trouble.

What does it all mean when a 1-2 fighter takes on a 2-3 fighter on cable TV on a night the public isn’t used to seeing fights and just 24 hours before a far more hyped-up women’s bantamweight title bout hits the airwaves? Nobody knows. It’s just one both guys know they don’t want to lose, that’s all.

Losses, we all know, are bad. Even losses that maybe should have been wins. Just ask Martin Kampmann.

Because he’s a professional fighter, Kampmann would likely blame himself for his recent rough turns of fate. He’d probably tell you it was his fault for “leaving it in the hands of the judges.”

Really, though, he’s not to blame, and that makes it hard not to wonder "what if."

While we’re engaging in fantasy, perhaps we could also indulge one where the fighters in our sport in 2012 don’t have to fear “leaving it” in the purview of the judges. Maybe there’s an alternate universe out there somewhere where the rules are better and the judges can be counted on to do a decent job.

Jake Shields insists Nick Diaz will not walk away from MMA, despite his temporary suspension dished out by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. More »

Jake Shields is willing to put his reputation on the line at UFC 144 this weekend, predicting Yoshihiro Akiyama is unlikely to have the necessary talent to submit him. More »

Cung Le attempted to beat Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139 with an unlikely game plan -- that of fighting like Cung Le.

It nearly worked. Le tried to kick Silva’s liver through his spine, but in the end he was downed with a barrage of strikes that left his nose in crescent form. The scrap was good enough to be a candidate for "fight of the year" but was unfortunate enough to be only the third-most exciting bout of the night. That was the same evening Michael Chandler won a back-and-forth battle with lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in Bellator, and Dan Henderson outlasted Mauricio Rua in a five-round grind.

But the immediate reports back seem to be that Strikeforce fighters like Le are faring pretty well in the UFC. These were supposed to be the B models, slogging it out in a nice regional show. They weren’t supposed to be able to compete with the elite of the world. At least that’s what we heard from carnival barkers whenever somebody had the audacity to compare a Strikeforce fighter with a UFC fighter.

Yet, since the Zuffa purchase of Strikeforce and the great integration, it looks like Strikeforce had its share of equals and betters. This weekend Nick Diaz will fight for the interim welterweight belt against Carlos Condit after belting B.J. Penn at UFC 137. Win it, and he gets his long-awaited shot at Georges St. Pierre. Meanwhile, Fabricio Werdum takes on Roy Nelson in a fight with very loose title connections in the heavyweight division. Should Diaz and Werdum win -- and Vegas thinks they should -- it will continue a trend that makes Scott Coker look vindicated for something deep inside that could use some vindication. It also diversifies things for matchmaker Joe Silva.

Last weekend, Lavar Johnson scored a knockout of the night against Joey Beltran in Johnson's UFC debut. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Henderson came back and beat Rua and is now patiently waiting in line for the Jon Jones-Rashad Evans winner. Strikeforce titlist and linear champion Alistair Overeem kicked Brock Lesnar into retirement, and next faces Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight strap. Other Strikeforce fighters (not named Gilbert Melendez) are making their way from the hexagon to the Octagon, too. In fact, just about anybody who’s anybody in the clearance of Strikeforce heavyweights will soon be in the UFC: Antonio Silva, Chad Griggs, Daniel Cormier, Josh Barnett, et al.

The floodgates are open.

Granted, some of the Strikeforce fighters coming over are UFC retreads. But in the early returns the worst you can say is that Jake Shields, who jumped ship to the UFC before the acquisition, hasn’t lived up to billing. Most Strikeforce fighters are having a happier time of it than when the UFC/Pride partition came down, and the Pride fighters faltered. Same with the WEC, given the potential of Condit and Ben Henderson. Yet most of the WEC’s talent competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, which didn’t exist in the UFC until the beginning of 2011, so it’s hard to make a full spectrum comparison.

But think about it -- in mid-to-late 2012, as many as three reigning Strikeforce champions could be wearing UFC gold (Diaz, Henderson and Overeem). If Melendez was ever released from exile, he could challenge for the lightweight belt, too.

What does it all mean? Maybe nothing. Or maybe it’s something that we’ve always suspected and debated about. While the best fighters in the world are generally thought to be in the UFC at all times, there are fighters dying for the chance to be brought in for no other reason than to prove them wrong.

And knowing just how short the fight society’s attention span can be, the UFC is only too happy to be wrong when they do.

LAS VEGAS -- Things are going to look and feel a lot different for Jason Miller on Saturday night.

In a small theater like the Pearl at the Palms, Miller will have about 14 feet of serviceable space to attempt one of his famous walkouts in his return to the UFC. As the UFC curtails accompanying girls and pyrotechnics, his walkout looks doomed from the start. Since it’s a Spike show -- the final of its kind before the UFC takes its services elsewhere -- Miller might not even have a live camera on him when he does it. For a guy who just won “Ring Entrance of the Year” at the MMA Awards, he is coping with all of this best that can be expected. These are small prices to pay.

As for his forever in the making fight with Michael Bisping, his antagonist for the last several months on "The Ultimate Fighter," it’ll be only the third time a non-title main event is slated for five rounds.

So much has changed or is changing or is about to change in the promotion that he returns to, that “Mayhem” can’t help but feel right at home. He is used to flux. That’s where he’s been for the last six-and-a-half years through appearances with HDNet Fights, Dream, the WEC and Strikeforce (among others).

“I can’t point to one single similarity, because it’s such a vastly different time,” he says of the difference this time through from 2005, when he fought his one and only UFC bout, versus Georges St. Pierre. “At that time, I was like, whatever, I’m fighting some French guy. I didn’t care. I was like, he’s handsome, I’m going to knock his face off.

“But it was a different time in my life, too. When I fought Georges, I was a kid not knowing what to do. I didn’t understand life at all. I didn’t understand what I was doing. I was trying to make 170 pounds. It was, all-around, a difficult time for me. Nowadays, I feel like I’ve grown up a lot. I got to go experience the whole world. I’ve got to see Brazil and Japan and all types of locales and meet different people. I grew up. And now grown up Mayhem gets to fight.”

This version of Miller is a celebrity for reasons not entirely to do with fighting. In fact, plenty of people know him better from his “Bully Beatdown” show on MTV. He’s charismatic enough to say he can smash two Jason Statham's on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and come off as a lovable loon. For the last couple of months he was the coach on "the Ultimate Fighter," where he engaged in the usual hijinks and pranks with the ever-inflammatory Bisping, doing his lunatic eyebrow spike at each available chance.

If this is the grown up Miller we’re seeing at 30 years old, you can guess at what he was like in his bygone younger days.

And yet, no matter how mischievious he gets, Miller rarely comes across as the heel in the situation. Remember the Nashville brawl, the one he incited by rather enforcedly requesting a rematch with Jake Shields, prompting the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate, to get all up in his mug? Hey, he was just asking for a rematch, and things escalated. If anything, his timing could have been better.

In other words, Miller is a one-of-a-kind, and it’s been a crazy jaunt back “home” to the UFC, one that Miller happily took his detours to arrive at.

“For all those crazy twists and turns, I don’t know about phase two; this might be phase three or four,” he says. “I don’t know what phase this is this time.

“But I wouldn’t change a thing. Sure, maybe I could have made more money somehow. Maybe I could have changed Coke to Pepsi, maybe I could have found my car keys. But, it doesn’t matter. I’m really happy with the twists and turns it’s taken.”

For those who have followed his itinerant career through the various promotions, you know that his style is an aggressive one. Miller doesn’t let his opponents get comfortable. He likes to be right in their face the whole fight. He’s been like that against Ronaldo Souza, against Jake Shields, and against Tim Kennedy. He plans to come right at Bisping, too, whom he says is an overrated kickboxer who too often resorts to trying to outpoint opponents.

“I don’t play that game. I come forward, I come forward, I come forward,” he says. “I go for a finish. There’s no way he’s going to outpoint me. And he can’t TKO me, because he doesn’t punch hard enough. I’m just going to keep my hands up and keep moving forward. I’m not going to let him play that point game. It’s silly. I’m too much of a veteran for that, and I’m too aggressive. He can’t play that game for five rounds.”

And after six weeks of hostile back-and-forth bantering with Bisping, whom he says there’s genuine animosity toward, will the grudge outlast the rounds? Eh, Miller’s a sportsman. He predicts that stuff (probably) ends after Saturday night.

“I think we can squash it after the fight,” he says. “I would hope so. He lives really close to me. I don’t want him burning my house down.”

The past few months have been very difficult for Jake Shields.

His father, Jack Shields, passed away in August and a couple of weeks later he lost for the second time in a row. Jake Ellenberger needed less than a minute to stop him during their Sept. 17 bout.

Shields had never experienced a two-fight skid in his pro mixed martial arts career and he intends to end the streak in his next bout. If he has his way, that will likely happen in February 2012. And when Shields steps back in the Octagon, he'll definitely have a point to prove.

“I’ve started to train hard again this week,” Shields told ESPN.com. “And I look to come back better than I’ve ever been.

“I want to show that I am a much better fighter than I’ve shown in UFC. I really want to prove that in my next fight. It doesn’t matter who I fight. I will fight anybody they want me to fight.”

The emotional pains of losing his father still linger, but Shields is improving each day. Support from family and friends have been extremely helpful.

But Jack Shields was more than a father; he was a close friend, a trainer and manager. If Jake Shields is to ever achieve his goal of becoming UFC welterweight champion, someone needed to step and fill part of the void created when his father passed away.

While his dad played a key role in training camp, the rest of Shields’ team remains intact. Cesar Gracie continues to oversee prefight preparation and develop game plans. Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and the Diaz brothers -- Nate and Nick -- are still his key training partners.

Training was never a concern for Shields (26-6-1); that part of his fighting career was already in good hands. It’s the other area his father oversaw, management, which had him up at nights.

It might not seem like a big deal to those on the outside, but these days, professional fighters are very careful when it comes to selecting a manager. Shields knew there was no one he could trust like his father, but after a month of searching, he decided to put his career in the hands of Glenn Robinson and Authentic Sports Management.

“It feels like a trusting, good family environment here,” Shields said. “And they cover all aspects of management.

“No one can replace my dad, that’s a bond you can only have with your dad. But I wanted someone who feels like family, and that’s how it feels with Glenn.”

If you think that mankind isn’t self-destructive, take a quick look at the UFC’s welterweight division. There, you’ll find lots of guys climbing all over each other for the chance to be jab-ridden, thrashed and left on the side of the road by Georges St. Pierre. In that way, it’s become a division of 170-pound martyrs.

That may sound defeatist if your name is Carlos Condit or Nick Diaz, the latest pair to battle for the penultimate position -- but it’s a perspective that’s shaped by recent history.

Remember what happened to the last several contenders that got the “privilege” to fight St. Pierre for that belt?

Bad things, dude.

Josh Koscheck suffered orbital bone fractures and was shelved for nine months; Dan Hardy spiraled to a four-fight losing streak; Thiago Alves not only lost his mojo but also two of his next three bouts; Jake Shields, who hadn’t lost since 2005, followed up his beatdown by getting KO’d by Jake Ellenberger; Jon Fitch is passing eternity with gritting teeth in a rusty cage. Even Bruce Buffer tore his ACL/MCL introducing St. Pierre at UFC 129 in Toronto. All he did was shake his index card at the champion.

In other words, why anybody would lobby to step foot in a cage with St. Pierre is a question best asked of masochists. Or Cesar Gracie.

Gracie says that Diaz should leapfrog Condit for the chance to fight for the welterweight strap if he beats B.J. Penn. But Condit is already there. Diaz or Condit, Condit or Diaz? That becomes its own debate, the one people are talking about.

One didn’t have the shot, then did, and now waits. The other had the shot, then didn’t, and now philosophizes on things as subjective as “pecking orders.” Forgetting for a minute spotlight pressure (alleged), Gracie thinks Diaz should be next in line should he beat Penn this weekend at UFC 137, ahead of the guy who took his place for insubordination, Condit.

Might be so, but Condit was already assured the fight would still happen as soon as St. Pierre’s ready. On one side merit gets argued, on the other promises look a lot like trump cards.

Diaz is from the 209, which makes him oblivious to any silly sort of reasoning. Tag, no tag-backs. Who’s right?

Both.

Both sides are (more or less) equally deserving. Same could be argued for Fitch. And if Penn beats Diaz, he too could make his case for a title shot, yet the fact that GSP and Penn have fought twice before doesn’t bode well for an argument, particularly after the one-sided nature of their rematch at UFC 94. Interest is the driving factor. It’s why Penn/Fitch haven’t met again -- there was never even ebb and flow interest in a potential second fight. Just ebb.

That’s why it will boil down to Condit, or Diaz if he wins. Both are novel and mysterious as new opponents. Some people like Diaz’s chances because he’s dangerous off his back and comes forward; others see Condit as an unheralded mangy dog who is allergic to scorecards. Either way, both these guys look like they’d force St. Pierre to fight, and they will both appear deserving of the chance to prove it.

If Diaz does beat Penn on Saturday, we’ll see if the UFC leaves the door open for Diaz/GSP. It would be a cruel thing to lop Condit out of the picture, yet if it’s a fight that people want, the UFC won’t consider his feelings too much.

But, as Muhammed Lawal likes to say, “let’s keep it 100” here for a second -- winning the GSP sweepstakes tends not to be as happy as it sounds. There’s still St. Pierre to contend with, which is the place where careers go to get forked.

In the abstract, Diaz and Condit are jostling for the chance to ruin themselves, and really, what could be more exhilarating for a competitor?

Saturday night in New Orleans, Jake Ellenberger upset Jake Shields on what will no doubt go down as one of the UFC’s least publicized, least anticipated and -- aside from the main event -- least memorable cards of 2011.

Not that Ultimate Fight Night 25 was bad, per se, just that at the rate America’s highest profile MMA promotions are pumping out shows right now, there is a lot of competition for our hearts and minds. Chances are, a few years from now nobody’s going to ask where you were on that fateful night of Sept. 17, 2011, for the Battle on the Bayou. (Not to be confused with UFC 16’s “Battle in the Bayou,” mind you. Two totally different events.)

That UFN 25 will likely slip so easily from our collective memory is a shame, because though Ellenberger’s 53-second TKO of Shields was merely the biggest finish on a smallish night of fights, the outcome felt a lot more meaningful than that.

By establishing himself as a legitimate contender moving forward, Ellenberger scored the biggest victory yet for guys like Carlos Condit, Charlie Brenneman and Rory MacDonald, who may well represent a new generation of potential challengers for Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight championship. Not a moment too soon, either, as up until recently the 170-pound title picture was shaping up as a series of rematches between St. Pierre and an old guard of second-run opponents like Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn and Josh Koscheck.

Nothing against those guys, obviously -- great fighters, all of them -- but fans had already seen them give GSP their best shot and the ensuing rematches would almost certainly draw less enthusiasm and interest from the pay-per-view-buying public as they did the first (and in some cases, second) times around. It was rapidly turning into the kind of situation that might make you wish for the dominant welterweight champion to decamp for middleweight in search of new, tougher tests.

Now it suddenly seems like not only has St. Pierre not cleaned out the 170-pound division, but that welterweight is on the verge of rivaling the lightweight class in its breadth and depth of evenly-matched talent. People are already bandying MacDonald about as the “next” GSP and both Condit and Ellenberger possess skill sets that make them compelling foes for the French Canadian phenom. Not to mention guys like Nick Diaz, Ricky Story and Johny Hendricks, any one of whom could add their names to short list with another win or two.

At this point it’d be unthinkable to pick against St. Pierre in any welterweight fight, but at least there now appears to be enough new blood in the division to keep things fresh for the foreseeable future.

Granted, guys like Penn and Fitch might still have something to say about this “new generation” of stars during upcoming bouts at UFC 137 and 141, the 32-year-old Shields still has time to resurrect his career and Koscheck could well reassert himself in the conversation with a win over Matt Hughes at UFC 135 on Saturday. However, despite its relatively low profile surroundings, perhaps the moment Ellenberger’s right knee collided with Shields’ jaw on Saturday night could most accurately be remembered as the beginning of a sea change in the welterweight class.

NEW ORLEANS -- Welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger said this week that winning, and winning impressively, is enough to get you noticed in the UFC.

Safe to say, Ellenberger got noticed Saturday.

The Nebraska-based fighter isn’t the loudest fighter in the 170-pound division, but his record is speaking volumes as of late. Ellenberger netted an extra $55,000 Saturday with a first-round "Knockout of the night" performance over Jake Shields.

It was the first time Ellenberger, who has now posted four knockouts in the UFC, has won the award.

Welterweight T.J. Waldburger claimed the "Submission of the night" bonus for his first-round win over Mike Stumpf via triangle choke. "Fight of the night" bonuses went to Matt Riddle and Lance Benoist. All three were first-time bonus winners.

UFC Fight Night: "Battle on the Bayou" took place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The event drew an attendance of 7,112.

NEW ORLEANS -- Jake Shields was a noticeable absence Thursday during the UFC’s open workouts at the New Orleans Athletic Club.

Shields faces Jake Ellenberger in the main event on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: “Battle on the Bayou,” just 16 days after the passing of his father. Jack Shields was 67 years old.

In a released statement, Shields said it only took “a few minutes” to decide he wouldn’t pull out of the fight. He felt it was what his father would have wanted.

“It took me a moment to figure out what I wanted to do, but I figured the right thing to do would be to continue to fight with him being my manager and my biggest supporter.”

Ellenberger expressed sympathy for his opponent but added Saturday would still be business and he expects Shields to be the best possible version of himself.

Shields is just five months removed from competing for the UFC welterweight title. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion came up short in a bid against Georges St. Pierre, losing via unanimous decision at UFC 129.

Ellenberger is still waiting for his first crack at the title and a win over the likes of Shields might be enough to get him there. He’s won four straight since dropping a split decision to Carlos Condit in 2009.

St. Pierre is scheduled to fight Condit in October. After that, the list of contenders is short. B.J. Penn has already failed in two welterweight title fights. Nick Diaz was dropped from a title matchup after failing to attend news conferences. Another two candidates in Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks are slated to fight in December.

Although certainly not one of the louder personalities in the UFC, Ellenberger has tried to let his fists talk for him. Three of his last four fights have ended in knockout.

“I think at the end of the day it comes down to winning,” Ellenberger said. “Eventually, if you keep winning, you’re going to get a title shot. It also comes down to how you win -- impressively, and not just squeaking by.”
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MacDonald taking a page out of Lytle’s book?

Veteran middleweight Jason MacDonald was thrilled to return to action earlier this year at UFC 129 following a year-long layoff due to injury.

But how long does the 36-year-old, father of four want to continue fighting?

Last month, welterweight Chris Lytle retired from mixed martial arts, despite a 5-1 record in his previous six fights, to spend more time with his family. He said a big factor in his decision was he didn’t enjoy training as much as he used to.

MacDonald, who fights Alan Belcher on Saturday’s main card, said the story hit home.

“I know I belong. I wasn’t a one-fight wonder,” the Canadian said. “I’ve fought the who’s who of the middleweight division. It’s never a question of do I belong, it’s how much longer do I want to do this?

“I could relate to Chris Lytle’s story. I’ve got four children. I’m not a title contender. Some people might say that’s a poor thing to say -- I’m realistic. A big win over Alan and I’m still a lot of fights away from a title. You start asking yourself how many fights you want to do.”

MacDonald wouldn’t say he’s ready to retire just yet, but the 12-year pro said he wouldn’t fight it when the time came.

Belcher nearly gave up hope he’d ever fight again

Middleweight contender Alan Belcher admits he pretty much gave in to the frustration and despair of a serious eye injury late last year.

The 27-year-old underwent surgery to repair a detached retina in 2010. During the process, Belcher allowed himself to envision a life away from fighting. Given the extreme commitment the sport requires, that simple act was like admitting defeat.

“I kind of started conditioning my mind to accept it one way or another,” Belcher said. “Kind of thinking, ‘So be it.’ When you go that far, you pretty much are saying, ‘I’m not going to fight anymore.’”

Belcher halted his diet and focused his mind on other activities. Once he was cleared to resume training, however, he says it was amazing how quickly his mentality returned.

“It’s pretty funny. The body and mind have a great memory,” he said. “You come back just like you were before.”

NEW ORLEANS -- To a certain degree, Jake Ellenberger is familiar with what Jake Shields is going through.

On Aug. 30, Shields’s father, Jack, passed in his sleep at the age of 67. After consideration, he opted not to pull out of his welterweight fight against Ellenberger on Saturday in New Orleans. The fight will go on as planned in the main event of UFC Fight Night.

Ellenberger has never been asked to fight immediately after losing a loved one, but he has dealt with a family health issue for the past two years. His twin brother, Joe, who was on his way to a spot on the UFC roster, was diagnosed with a life-threatening bone marrow disease in 2009.

“It’s hard to not be driven by emotions,” Ellenberger told ESPN.com. “I’ve been in a similar situation. My twin brother was diagnosed with bone marrow disease. That was extremely hard to go through and it’s still something we deal with every day.

“I’ve used it to motivate me. We’re not guaranteed anything in this life. You have to stay focused mentally and use it to your advantage.”

No one is quite sure what to expect from Shields this weekend, just a little more than two weeks removed from the tragedy. In addition to his role as Jake’s father, Jack also managed his son’s career and was, in many ways, his best friend.

In his experience, Ellenberger says the gym can be a healthy distraction to a fighter facing loss.

“When you go back into training after something like that, it kind of takes your mind off everything else,” he said. “But once you leave, it’s still something you deal with. Fighting is so mental. I’m really not sure how it’s going to affect him.”

Of course, as his opponent, Ellenberger has prepared for nothing short of Shields’ best.

The two had gone back and forth a little in the media during the prefight buildup, but now Ellenberger says he feels nothing but respect for a guy who would step up and take the fight despite what’s happened.

“Beyond fighting and beyond rivalry, you have to feel for somebody like that,” Ellenberger said. “It’s never easy to go through loss. I’ve done it. I can relate. At the end of the day, your family is most important to you.

“He’s a professional for still taking the fight. That’s his job. So, I respect that about him.”

It’s puts a bit of a cloud on what is otherwise the biggest opportunity of Ellenberger’s career.

The 26-year-old has compiled a professional record of 24-5, including a 4-1 mark in the UFC. His lone loss came via split decision to Carlos Condit in his 2009 debut, one month after learning of his brother’s condition.

A high profile win over the likes of Shields might be all it takes to propel Ellenberger to a title shot. Fighting in a main event for the first time since joining the UFC, he’s prepared to take full advantage of the opportunity.

“For me, it’s keep my composure and dictate where the fight goes,” he said. “I think that’s going to be the keys to winning this fight. Jake Shields is very good in a few areas. If I can make him play into my strengths, I win this fight.”