ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“

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

” -- Roy Nelson

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

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

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

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

“I’m all about making everybody happy.”

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

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

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

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

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

It didn’t get there.

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

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

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

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

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

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

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

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

NEW QUESTIONS

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

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

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

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

THE FUTURE

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

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

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

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

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

Matches to make

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

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

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

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

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

STOCK UP/STOCK DOWN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All the UFC 159 promos can't do away with the most basic question: How did we get here?

The first time Chael Sonnen fought Anderson Silva, the original novelty was his utter disregard for Silva's legacy. To that point people had only been reverent of the middleweight champion -- even if Dana White was still fuming that Abu Dhabi had been turned into a stage for bad performance art by him and Demian Maia.

Along came the stock contender Sonnen, a journeyman who was proud of his singlet, the flag and his real estate license. He'd just taken the pestle to top contenders Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, so he had the credentials. And what a platform it was. Within days of that last victory, he became the game's most infatuating wisenheimer. It was hard to gauge his sincerity, though; did he truly believe he would walk through Silva, the mythological Brazilian who, in Sonnen's active imagination, could speak the King's English?

Turns out he did. And turns out he backed it up for nine-tenths of a five-round fight in Oakland. The other one-tenth, as you now know, is the marker that defines his career.

After the loss, the asterisks piled up as the rematch lolled on the horizon. By the time he made his way back from his suspension for elevated testosterone levels, and made it through mobile obstacles (Brian Stann and Michael Bisping), we were talking about Sonnen-Silva II as the biggest fight in MMA history. It was Ali-Frazier there for a minute. It was Silva's first real rival. It was all kinds of bandstands, bunting and pageantry.

Yet Sonnen lost the rematch, too, this time less spectacularly. He lost his footing throwing a spinning backfist.

But losing your footing is nothing when you've mastered the art of falling forward. Sonnen now faces Jon Jones for the light heavyweight belt on Saturday night. For six months we've debated the matchmaking, with pro wrestling fans calling the protectors of pecking orders anything from "naïve" to "idiots." Either way, the moment has arrived to see what's what.

And unlike in either of the Silva bouts, this time Sonnen feels like a formality between Jones and bright new ventures, things like "heavyweight" and "superfights." Jones just wants to break Tito Ortiz's record for most title defenses at light heavyweight. That number is five; Jones' magic number to tie him is one.

Sonnen is the one.

And so here we are. Sonnen gets the "third time's the charm" treatment for UFC gold. Jones gets a chance to make Sonnen a footnote in history.

FIVE STORYLINES

Bisping in vulnerable spot

In his five-year quest to fight Anderson Silva, Bisping has gotten close three times. Yet in three eliminators, he's ended up being the one eliminated three times. Should he lose to Alan Belcher to make it three losses in four fights, his middleweight title shot may go away for good. It's not a must-win for Bisping in the roster sense, but it is in the gold-plated accessory sense.

Resurgence of Roy Nelson

As one of the more popular heavyweights, Roy Nelson's mullet beefs with Dana White won't keep him from contention. A win over thunder-fisted Frenchman Cheick Kongo would make it three in a row. If he knocks out Kongo in the first round? That would be three emphatic wins in a row. At that point the jokes about Nelson's belt size will be off the hook.

Jones and history

Everything Jones does in this young sport seems to stack neatly into something historic. Now he can pad his legacy by tying Ortiz's record for 205-pound title defenses against Sonnen. He makes it all seem so perfunctory that you forget the guy is only 25 years old.

Careful what you wish for

That Vinny Magalhaes called out Phil Davis is shrouded in mystery for those of us in the fight trade. Yes he's strong and has mad grappling skills, but isn't "Mr. Wonderful" an uber-athlete whose "wrestle first" attitude is meant to nullify limb hunters? (Reading between the lines: Vinny's sense of susceptibility is stronger than our sense of conventional wisdom).

Eye on Sara McMann

Before Cat Zingano came barging into the women's bantamweight title picture from left field (read: the flatirons of Colorado), the big up-and-coming prospect to watch was Sara McMann. Why not? McMann was a silver medalist in wrestling at the 2004 summer Olympics, and is 6-0 as a pro mixed martial artist. She makes her debut against Germany's Sheila Gaff, and a win keeps the contender cupboard stocked for the winner of Rousey-Zingano.

FIVE QUESTIONS

How does Sonnen compete?

Sonnen is giving up 11 inches in reach. Sure, he can wrestle, but in 16 takedown attempts, Jones has been taken down exactly zero times. There might be an existential crisis awaiting for Sonnen in Newark. How does he compete? Can Sonnen be the maelstrom that overpowers Jones? Or, the "Chaelstrom?" Hey, you know what? The gangster from West Lynn will take off his shoes and give it a go.

Last time we see Jones at 205?

Should Jones defeat Sonnen, the question will become: What now? There aren't a lot of desirable title fights to make at 205 right now (given that a Lyoto Machida redux is the best option, and Daniel Cormier underwhelmed last weekend). Could Jones sit back and watch the Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva bout in July, with designs on a "superfight" to commemorate the UFC's 20th anniversary? Or might he bolt for the heavyweight division?

What becomes of Bisping and Belcher?

Between Belcher (12 UFC fights) and Bisping (13), that's a lot of experience in the Octagon. The winner of this bout will again cycle back towards title contention, but will either ever get over the hump? Career stakes are on the line here.

Can Davis break through?

When Davis was charging up the 205-pound ranks, he looked so raw that we kept imagining him with a couple of more years of experience. But after he got worked by Rashad Evans, our minds were no longer as blown. Of course, he spent the last year in the forgettable Wagner Prado series, but here we are a couple of years removed from those halcyon days of catching Tim Boetsch in a "Philmura." Will the Davis we see Saturday night be the one we projected we'd see a couple of years ago at this point?

Is Kongo showing his 37 years?

The answer is, no, not really. Kongo keeps chipping away, and aside from getting knocked out by Mark Hunt he hasn't lost a fight since 2009 (though it still feels like Pat Barry knocked him out before that Hail Mary heave in Pittsburgh). How good would a knockout of Nelson look? Probably enough to get him into the cage with a guy like Alistair Overeem.

WHO'S ON THE HOT SEAT

Steven Siler – Losing to Darren Elkins is one thing, but following that up with a loss to UFC newcomer Kurt Holobaugh is another. It's the way things are during a roster trim -- all deep prelimists have to get used to life on the bubble.

Nick Catone – Tough draw for Catone against James Head in a must-win fight. Yes he's back on his native Jersey soil, but his last big win was against Costa Philippou back in spring 2011. Should he lose his third in a row? Close the drapes.

Cody McKenzie – When he lets his hair down, he looks like he should be shouting "Figaro!" When he lets his hands down, he turns into a punching back (refer to the Chad Mendes fight). A loss against Leonard Garcia would make it four of five, which is short for being "made redundant."

Leonard Garcia – If you were to lift up the cushions to Garcia's couch, you'd find a lot of loose game plans that have fallen through the cracks over the years. We expect him to jettison all that hooey he learned in training when the bell rings, but problem is he keeps getting his bell rung because of it. Dana White loves himself some Garcia, but it's hard to keep around a fun-loving brawler on a five-fight losing streak.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because "Bones" Jones has out-landed his opponents 330-99 in significant strikes in title fights … because Sonnen is the latest contestant to familiarize himself with the discrepancy … because Bones throws elbows from the pitcher's mound … because Sonnen will move forward until he can't … because Bisping might feel the tattoo of Johnny Cash's face squeezing his trachea ... because it'll be a drinking game challenge to tell Jim Miller and Pat Healy apart…because Magalhaes doesn't see a muscular athlete in Davis, but a dozen miles of workable limbs and neck ... because Garcia's neck is on the line against McKenzie (and in general) ... because Nelson and Kongo have no need for judges' scorecards ... because Jones is "Angry Johnny" capable of animal's grace ... yet he can do it with precision, or he can do it with gourmet taste.

Never has Muhammed Lawal doubted his ability to compete at the highest levels and become MMA’s best 205-pound fighter -- and he is not about to do so now.

That unexpected first-round knockout loss to Emanuel Newton in February hasn’t diminished his resolve. If anything, the loss strengthened it.

Nothing else about Lawal has changed since that February setback: His camp remains fully intact. Jeff Mayweather -- yes, that Mayweather, the uncle of boxing champion Floyd Jr. -– still calls the shots in Lawal’s corner. And UFC heavyweight Roy "Big Country" Nelson continues to be one of his primary sparring partners.

When he returns to action, which is likely to be June 19 at a Bellator event in Oklahoma against an opponent to be named, Lawal will enter the arena with his familiar swagger. He will have a cape drenched over his shoulders, sunglasses covering his eyes and a crown on his head.

"King Mo" still lives! And he will be as bad and brash as ever. He has no intention of suddenly playing nice. If you didn’t like his act before, wait until you see him in June.

“I’m not going to change up things,” Lawal told ESPN.com. “Some people, after a loss, change their entire camp up. Jeff is on point. Roy Nelson is a great training partner. I’ve got good sparring in Las Vegas.

“I’m not going to be like Mike Tyson. He was a great fighter, but I feel that after he lost to Buster Douglas, he kind of fell apart. He was never the same again. He lost his aura.

“With me, I’m going to keep the same aura going. I’m just going to take it out on my next opponent.”

When he steps in the cage, Lawal, as usual, will be the superior athlete -- regardless who the opponent happens to be. He will remain comfortable dropping his hands, because his high-level footwork allows him to control distance. That footwork is pure Mayweather, and a major component of Lawal’s stand-up success.

Lawal will move his head and change levels repeatedly while delivering those stinging jabs and occasional kicks. They serve to set up either vicious takedowns or knockout-caliber punches. And through it all, Lawal will taunt his opponent with a mean-spirited smile on his face.

It will be the same fighting display Lawal put on against Newton before getting hit with what he calls that "fluke" punch. Actually, it was a spinning back fist that found Lawal's chin at the 2:35 mark.

The punch surprised Lawal, dropping him face-first to the canvas and likely costing him a shot this year at the Bellator light heavyweight title.

Newton went on to claim the Bellator Season 8 light heavyweight tournament and will face promotion titleholder Attila Vegh. A date for that fight has yet to be determined.

Back to Lawal. It’s unlikely he will get caught with the same punch two fights in a row.

He intends to win his next fight and every one after that in the foreseeable future, and he is rooting for Newton to do the same. Lawal believes their paths will cross much sooner if each man keeps winning.

Lawal is itching to get his hands on Newton as soon as possible. He wants to destroy Newton in the cage before humiliating him. It’s part of Lawal’s payback plan.

“Hopefully Emanuel will win the whole [Bellator] tournament so I can beat his ass and get that belt from him,” Lawal said. “And after I beat him, I’m going to do a dance all in his face. I’m going to be so unsportsmanlike; it’s going to be unbelievable.

“This dude is trying to act like he knew what he threw [the spinning back fist], saying ‘I wanted to throw over my shoulder.’ Man, you didn’t want to throw from your shoulder. We’ve seen the replay.

“The thing is I’m going to throw it in his face. I’m going to be the heel. I’m going to be the bad guy. I like being the bad guy.”

Lawal is so confident of landing a rematch with Newton and destroying him that he continues to prepare for his professional wrestling debut. He still doesn’t know when that will happen but emphasizes that MMA remains his top priority.

“I do the pro wrestling stuff for like an hour, two or three times a week,” Lawal said. “That’s it, then I go back to boxing, jujitsu, wrestling and MMA sparring.”

Pro wrestling is intriguing, but Lawal won’t allow it to get in the way of his immediate goal: landing a rematch with Newton and humiliating him.

Times like this, we’re reminded of words from the great philosopher Ferris Bueller, who warned us in his landmark 1986 work that, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Mixed martial arts fans who took an eye off the ball for even a moment this week might’ve missed the whirlwind saga leading up to Saturday’s confirmation that, yes, Mark Hunt will indeed face Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 in May.

Even by the standards of our sport’s frenzied (and often absurd) news cycle, this story was a doozy. It moved so quickly and changed so many times it was hard to track using old-fashioned methods like the written word.

Believe me, I know, this is the fourth time I’ve written this blog.

It began on Wednesday, with a vocal faction of fans virtually quaking with excitement at the notion Hunt might step in for the injured Alistair Overeem to take on dos Santos, in what might well turn out to be a heavyweight title eliminator. As groundswells nearly always do in MMA, the idea began on social media and the chorus quickly spread to include a handful of journalists who all thought Hunt was perfectly fit for a replacement role.

Things got dicey on Thursday when a short-lived Twitter kerfuffle briefly appeared to put UFC president Dana White and the 38-year-old “Super Samoan” at odds. For the sake of brevity, here’s a recap of the situation in fewer than 140 characters: After the UFC announced JDS would wait for Overeem, White said it was because Hunt turned down the fight. Hunt disagreed. Hence: An impasse.

It was all very breathless stuff, especially since just a day before, when the idea of Hunt-versus-dos Santos first began making the rounds online, Hunt told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani to bring it on. “I'm always down for a battle,” he said. “I was born down. You know this." After Hunt responded to White’s statements with tweets insisting he’d never turned down a fight in his career, it appeared as if we had a veritable MMA soap opera playing out before our very public eyes.

It lasted all of an hour. One of the UFC’s specialties has always been putting out fires and this one took just 14 words to diffuse: “Mark Hunt and I just got off the phone and had a GREAT conversation,” White tweeted late Thursday night, just as the Internet gossip mavens began to sink their teeth in.

So, crisis resolved. The UFC and the most surprising heavyweight star on its roster were back on the same page. A day or so after that, here we are: Hunt-JDS is back on, too.

Thank goodness.

Even though we took a roundabout path to get here, booking this fight was the right move.

There would have been nothing wrong with waiting for Overeem to get healthy, of course. His bout with dos Santos would still have had all the trappings of an epic showdown whenever and wherever it finally happened. Still, elevating Hunt is a slam dunk, especially knowing the UFC’s distaste for delays, its fondness for guys who’ll “step up” when needed and its track record for giving its fans the fights they want to see.

There can be no denying that Hunt has earned this opportunity. His four-fight win streak is the second-longest in the heavyweight top 10, behind only Daniel Cormier’s 11-0 run. He’s captured the imagination and support of fans during the past two years by crafting one of the sport’s most improbable comeback stories. So far, he’s succeeded in a modern heavyweight landscape in which athletes of his particular ilk -- read: plodding and fairly one dimensional -- aren’t supposed to be up to snuff.

That’s precisely why the ensuing brawl with dos Santos will be so interesting. Because Hunt is such a throwback (and because of the six-fight losing streak that dogged him from 2006-10), there remains some uncertainty about how seriously to take him as a contender.

When he debuted at No. 9 on the ESPN.com heavyweight Power Rankings last week following his third-round knockout of Stefan Struve, it was the kind of thing that made you look twice. Mark Hunt, a top-10 heavyweight? It just sounded wrong, yet there he was on the list -- career .563 winning percentage and all -- sandwiched between Roy Nelson and Josh Barnett.

In fighting JDS, the perennial underdog Hunt gets his chance to prove that he belongs among the 265-pound division’s elite. In a sport where too often it feels like we’re trying to sort out who’s cheating, who’s got beef and who’s about to get cut, this is news we can all feel good about.

Now we just sit back and pray it doesn’t change again before May 25.

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

“What am I, a mirage?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who does that leave? Roy Nelson?

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

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

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

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

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

From the outside looking in, it’s difficult to imagine why heavyweight Matt Mitrione would approach UFC officials and ask to fight hard-hitting Roy Nelson.

Mitrione (5-1) has not fought in more than a year and he has undergone three surgeries during that span. Making matters more peculiar, Mitrione was on the short end of a unanimous decision when he last stepped in the Octagon (Cheick Kongo handed Mitrione his first professional loss on Oct. 29, 2011).

But Mitrione brushed all of these things aside when he got word that former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin had suffered a knee injury that forced him out of "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 16 Finale against Nelson on Dec. 15.

Mitrione’s request seems more peculiar when you factor in that he already had a Dec. 29 bout slated with Phil DeFries at UFC 159.

After a long layoff and surgeries to repair several injuries -- sports hernia, bone chips in an elbow and another that he still prefers not to disclose -- Mitrione couldn’t be more excited and ready to face Nelson on Saturday night.

“I’m champing at the bit,” the 34-year-old Mitrione told ESPN.com. “I’ve been out for a while and have had three surgeries in the past year.

“I’m ready. My body has healed up; I’m no spring chicken. Let’s get to dancing.”

A source of Mitrione’s excitement is the quality of sparring he received in training camp. Every day he’d have to go hard against former UFC light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort at the Blackzilians gym in Boca Raton, Fla. And when those two were finished taking their pound of flesh, Mitrione would attempt to hold off former Strikeforce heavyweight titleholder Alistair Overeem.

Rarely did Mitrione get the better of his more-seasoned sparring partners. And he isn’t shy to say that those guys spent an overwhelming majority of the sparring sessions roughing him up.

“The amount of work that I’ve put in and the amount of ass-beatings that I’ve taken in camp have made me better,” Mitrione said. “I’m confident in my abilities and I’m confident in my mental fortitude to weather a storm.

“I’ve been weathering storms in camp since I got down here.”

But don’t confuse Mitrione’s admission of being roughed up in camp as a sign that he served as the resident punching bag. Every time a punch landed in his midsection, or he was taken to the ground or a kick connected with his lead leg, Mitrione learned from his mistakes. By the end of training camp, he was the victim of very few punches, kicks or takedowns.

He was also dishing out his share of punishment.

“

I came in there to fight but Kongo didn't really want to engage. And I was too green to know how to force that fight.

” -- Matt Mitrione, on why he lost to Cheick Kongo

Mitrione is extremely confident he will look nothing like the guy who fought Kongo last year. And while he believes the fight should have been scored in his favor, Mitrione has a better understanding of what he could have done to sway the judges.

“I came in there to fight but Kongo didn’t really want to engage,” Mitrione said. “And I was too green to know how to force that fight. In my opinion, I should have won the first two rounds via control and aggression, but I didn’t get it and lost by decision. But one thing is for sure, Cheick didn’t beat me. Even if I’d won that fight, after having three surgeries I’d still be in the same boat I’m in right now.”

For Mitrione, facing Nelson is a great way to learn just where he fits in the UFC heavyweight landscape. Beating Nelson (17-7) could earn him consideration for a place among the division’s top 10.

Physical improvement is not the lone source of Mitrione’s positive prefight attitude. The heavy-handed heavyweight is stress-free these days. The yearlong layoff has allowed Mitrione, the father of three, to spend much-needed quality time with his children.

“I’m sure that everybody who is a professional competitor who travels a lot and has children knows exactly where I’m coming from,” Mitrione said. “I’m sure they can imagine it.

“There’s a lot of stress involved. There’s a level of guilt that you have if you’re a concerned parent when you’re not around your children.

“My 2-year-old daughter, Gia, was calling the phone daddy. That’s a lot to deal with. I was off for so long that I got to spend time with my kids again. I got back into the fold and it put my mind back in a good place.”

His long-term goal was always to fight in UFC.

So when Antonio Silva received the news that he and every other Strikeforce heavyweight would compete inside the Octagon, the Brazilian could hardly contain his excitement. UFC is the destination of any fighter seeking to make a substantial living as a mixed martial artist. It’s also the place where fighters get to demonstrate their skills before the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans.

Silva, despite joining the UFC ranks off a first-round knockout loss to Daniel Cormier in September 2011, was eager to prove that he deserved his ranking as one of the top 10 heavyweights. In his mind, the loss to Cormier was nothing more than a blip on an otherwise impressive 16-4 career ledger.

Silva was determined to show the UFC folks that he is no walk-over heavyweight. And making his debut against former titleholder Cain Velasquez, instead of originally scheduled opponent Roy Nelson, was the perfect stage on which to make his point.

But Silva never got the opportunity to make a good first impression. Velasquez pummeled and bloodied him on May 26 en route to a first-round knockout victory at UFC 146.

Now Silva returns to the Octagon on Friday night in Minneapolis against hard-hitting heavyweight Travis Browne. This time around, however, Silva isn’t out to prove that he is among the best heavyweights. Things are more severe: He's seeking to secure his spot on UFC’s payroll.

“This fight for me is all-or-nothing,” Silva told ESPN.com. “I’m coming into this fight knowing the importance of fighting in the UFC. The UFC is the best promotion in the world, and by having a better performance and victory, it will transcend into a better life for my family.

“It will also transcend into a better life for me professionally.”

Throughout his training camp in preparation for Friday night’s fight, thoughts of his wife, Maria, and two daughters -- Annie (13) and Iysha (3) -- were always present. They've been the reasons he always trains vigorously, and they are the reasons he took his training regimen to an even higher level for this particular fight.

Silva can’t afford a loss to Browne, who will bring a 13-0-1 record into the bout.

Each time Browne’s image enters Silva’s mind, images of his family immediately follow. Browne represents someone who is determined to take food off the Silva family’s table.

Those images of Browne bring a hard frown to Silva’s normally joyful face. But the joy quickly returns when Silva envisions Browne’s fighting style.

Cormier and Velasquez, teammates at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., are wrestling-based fighters, whereas Browne butters his bread with strikes. Browne won't shy away from a striking altercation, and that suits Silva just fine. It’s a recipe that Silva believes will put him back in the win column.

“I like to fight against strikers,” Silva said. “I’m not taking anything away from Browne, he is definitely a good fighter, but his wrestling skills aren’t to the level of Cormier and Cain Velasquez.

“Unfortunately during my first fight in UFC [against Velasquez] I got cut and was unable to continue. But this time I am going to go out there and show the UFC fans the fighter that I really am. You’re going to see a ‘Bigfoot’ who is angry and with an appetite for a victory.”

The anger and hunger have not waned once in the days leading to Friday night’s showdown, and it’s been that way since Silva’s training camp began. Unlike his two previous training camps, Silva’s opponent has remained the same for this fight. Each training day was staged to prepare for Browne. And Silva is certain that not having to alter his fight plan will serve him well Friday night.

“It’s enabled me to focus on one strategy for my opponent,” Silva said. “Since the opponent remained the same from the beginning of my camp until the end of my camp, I was able to stay very focused.

“That is definitely going to benefit me in this fight.”

It might also ensure that Silva gets to stay on UFC’s roster, or at least remain relevant within the promotion -- allowing him to continue the process of securing a better life for his wife and two daughters.

The injury that forced Frank Mir out of their much-anticipated Nov. 3 showdown was a big blow to Daniel Cormier’s career plans.

Mir was just the kind of fighter Cormier had in mind for his final Strikeforce appearance: a marquee name, two-time former champion and an impressive UFC resume.

Cormier isn’t shy about expressing his desire to become a UFC champion and a victory over Mir would have provided the appropriate notch in his belt to strengthen his case.

But with Mir unable to perform, Cormier’s chances of landing another heavyweight with such high Octagon credentials is slim. And it is forcing Cormier to reexamine his expectations.

“I kind of look at the big picture on a lot of things; so looking at the big picture and what that fight could have done for me in terms of visibility, the advancement of my career, it was disappointing,” Cormier told ESPN.com. “But I have to be focused on whoever they put out in front of me.

“Frank Mir was perfect. He made perfect sense. He’d just gotten off a title shot. He’s a big name; he’s always in title contention. It just made sense.

“I’ve heard that Fabricio Werdum stepped up and said that he would fight; Pat Barry said he wanted the fight, even Roy Nelson. There are guys who want to fight, it’s a big fight. But it’s also a matter of how big a fight they want to get in terms of title-shot implications.

“Certain people, if it is Fabricio, it almost becomes a top-contender fight in Strikeforce rather than in the UFC.”

And that’s a major issue for Cormier. He has only 10 professional fights under his belt, with just four going into the second round or beyond.

There is no wear and tear on Cormier’s muscular frame. But he is 33 years old and time is of the essence.

Cormier is in his physical prime and must move quickly to capitalize on this short-lived time period.

He is currently ranked fourth among heavyweights by ESPN.com. This suggests Cormier is one or two wins from being offered a UFC title shot.

It’s the reason he was so gung ho about registering an impressive win over Mir. Now he’s likely back to his pre-Josh Barnett days.

Beating Werdum won’t hurt, but is likely to keep Cormier behind Alistair Overeem in the heavyweight pecking order. A win over Barry definitely doesn’t move the rankings needle.

“I still want to fight tough guys,” Cormier said. “The best guy they can actually get for me would be great. It’s a matter of who they can get that makes sense.


“I’ve dealt with disappointment before on a way bigger scale than this. I’ve learned to deal with it, it still [stinks]. I will get by; I’ll focus on the guy in front of me. You have to be a professional and I am.

“I just have to be my best on fight night.”

While some of the excitement over facing Mir has diminished, Cormier remains committed to fighting on Nov. 3 in Oklahoma City.

Whoever Strikeforce selects as the Mir replacement Cormier will be fully prepared to battle. He will not take any shortcuts during training.

“I want to be 235 again like when I fought Josh Barnett,” Cormier said. “I felt fast, I felt good, my cardio felt good.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to fight heavier than that again. That’s where I want to stay as long as I’m at heavyweight.”

Cormier realizes there is no guarantee that UFC officials will offer him a heavyweight title shot. But getting the title-shot offer might not be the only hurdle Cormier will have to overcome.

He’d have to think long and hard if his friend and teammate Cain Velasquez reclaims the heavyweight crown in December from Junior dos Santos.

There is a strong possibility that Cormier will decide not to face Velasquez, even if the title was dangled in front of him.

Fortunately, Cormier has options. And having options is the perfect cure to regaining that feeling of excitement.

“If the right fight (at light heavyweight) presents itself I will definitely consider it,” Cormier said. “After this fight (on Nov. 3) it’s over. I get to go to the UFC and take my place among the rest of the heavyweights because they’re no more (in Strikeforce).

“It’s exciting. It’s exciting to finish that part of my journey. That part of my career is over. Strikeforce is over after this fight. Now I can move on to the bigger things and the big things in UFC.”

And by ‘bigger things’ he means becoming a UFC champion at heavyweight or, if necessary, light heavyweight.

It’s barely underway, but there’s already drama trickling out of "The Ultimate Fighter 16" house. Not from the crop of welterweight participants, who are still shrouded in mystery and being canned for preservation just like the old Spike days.

It’s from the coach, UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson, who hand-picked a peculiar coaching staff to help mold the upstarts -- people who didn’t necessarily meet with UFC president Dana White’s approval.

Who were they? There was former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion/current Bellator fighter Muhammad Lawal, who is serving a nine-month suspension for testing positive for an anabolic steroid; there was Kurt Angle, the professional wrestler and one-time Olympic gold medalist; and then Victor Conte, who’s ran the gamut of morality in all things steroid related.

Not exactly the most fetching bunch of names -- in fact, it reads like a devil’s den of asterisks. But it does make you wonder what exactly Nelson and the proposed coaching staff would have been teaching. And that begs a further question -- wouldn’t that make for compelling television? This is “reality” television, after all, where drama and conflict are meant to play out candidly. That we commonly talk about TUF as being a house of bottled-up testosterone sort of broadens the set of qualifications to a visionary like Nelson.

Wouldn’t that crew know how to manipulate, canalize and redirect testosterone?

That’s a sadistic maybe, because we’ll never know -- Dana White put the kibosh on it. And that he did, both head coach and big boss have been barbing at each other via interviews and on Twitter. White told MMAFighting.com that Nelson is being a “pain in the a--.” Nelson told MMAJunkie.com “I’m always at the back of the bus when it comes to the UFC. I’m trying to further MMA to the next level, hold journalists up to higher standards, holding fights to higher standards, holding promotions to higher standards, holding athletic commissions to higher standards, and even holding the fans to higher standards.”

It sounds like a pioneering effort was being hatched by Nelson. Instead, he is compromising with more savory names that make sense to the company and brand image. They are Skrap Packers like Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez, and the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate.

You know it’s a strange situation when the Diaz’s appear more savory than the alternative. The conflict between coach Nelson and opposing coach Shane Carwin isn’t the centerpiece of drama -- it’s between Nelson and White, who’ve been contentious off and on for years.

It wasn’t that long ago that Nelson was meeting with White to discuss the matter of just staying on the UFC roster. A win over Dave Herman later, and the boldness we saw from Nelson on TUF 10 comes storming back. White has never been a fan of Nelson’s attitude, the Falstaffian physique, nor the nature of all that hair and beard. Yet he still gives him opportunities.

Nelson has done an infuriating job of politely ignoring White’s tastes. And he still dances to White’s tune.

All of this should dial up the intrigue just a little bit when the new season of TUF airs in September on FX. But it’s a reminder once again that the inmates don’t run the big house (even the most persistent inmates). White does. And in this case it’s hard to find fault with his reasoning for saying no to a coaching staff of Lawal, Angle and Conte. When associations are so strong, dissociations can be smart.

But you can’t help but feel a pang. When a show is accused of growing stale and here comes Nelson thinking way outside the box, wouldn’t it have been fun to see what was up his sleeve?

The flyweights debuted in the UFC in February, though the concept of high-octane little dudes had existed for a long time. Long before then, Tachi Palace Fights was the North American home to 125 pounders, and it always felt like the Central California town of Lemoore was in on a secret. Not anymore.

As for the heavyweights?

That’s the dinosaur division in the UFC. It goes back to MMA’s prehistoric times. It’s gone through periods, times of near dormancy. In the beginning, a heavyweight of 500 pounds was allowed entrance into the eight-sided cage, and he’d take on Gi-donning fighters the size of thimbles. In those days, there were talks of moats that thankfully never came to be.

In the middle times, when weight classes were better designated, a guy barely over the minimum weight of 206 pounds became king. Twelve pounds of it were heart, the same weight as the belt.

This was known as the Couture Era. It was revisited, but always short-lived.

Then came Brock Lesnar and the rift of perceptions. He was a circus, a bull, a collegiate wrestler, a bona-fide martial artist, a charlatan, a mercenary, a hermit and a comic book character with a sworded thorax all into one. He couldn’t take a punch; he had more heart than we knew. He was a novelty; he is a future hall of famer.

We still have no idea how to assess him.

That’s part of the reason that, as we arrive at UFC 146, there’s a feeling of something inaugural going on even though the division has always been. Something like the "Modern Era" of the UFC heavies is finally upon us.

This is the era of Junior dos Santos and his level-changing boxing quicks and heavy hands, and Cain Velasquez and his legit wrestling. This is Antonio Silva, and the resilient Frank Mir. It’s Alistair Overeem, so long as Lorenzo Fertitta stands behind him when his suspension is up. It’s Lavar Johnson and Stipe Miocic and beanstalk fighters like Stefan Struve and returning fighters like Shane Carwin.

It’s a lot of guys, rather than a few. And for once we are about to have a consolidated idea of where the heavyweight division stands. The division has gotten so hot that Chad Griggs had to get out of the kitchen. Soon Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett will enter the mix. Jon Jones will be there before we know it, but right now the division has newfound depth. And it’s deep enough that when MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani asked Dana White about Cormier’s future, White replied that he wouldn’t mind seeing Cormier as a light heavyweight.

When the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion looks like a spare piece to the company president, you know the division has arrived.

Saturday night’s fight card is historic in that way. Gone are the days of Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia and a deck of middling hopefuls. Depending on how things play out in Las Vegas, the next title fight could be anything. It could be Velasquez/dos Santos II. It could be Mir/Velasquez, the fight that was supposed to happen anyway. It could be Bigfoot/JDS, or Cormier/JDS, or Mir/Cormier. This is the first time ever that not just one scenario makes sense, but they all do. Better yet, people would be excited to see any of those match-ups. In other words, UFC 146 in all its historical significance is hardly the culminating point.

For once, there is a broad horizon. This feels more like the beginning than the usual pitch. For once, heavyweights have something in common with the lightweights and the welterweights. The 265-pound division has the feeling of an ongoing story playing out, rather than one wrapping up.

The novelty isn’t an ageless wonder like Couture beating guys half his age and size, or a pro wrestler turned fighter who froths at the mouth and tramples people like it’s the running of the bulls. The novelty is that the division has the funny feeling of something complete.

And that can’t help but be anything other than exciting for fans of big boy MMA.

Roy Nelson speaks about adjusting to opponent changes and working with what he has. Watch »

Dave Herman tells MMA Live about the respect he has for Roy Nelson and putting on exciting fights. Watch »

If UFC president Dana White is giving up on Roy Nelson ever fighting as a light heavyweight, then so am I.

The popular heavyweight created headlines this year by promising he would cut to 205 pounds for his next contest if he received 100,000 “likes” on his Facebook page.

That news became irrelevant, though, when it was announced soon after that he would meet heavyweight Antonio Silva at UFC 146 in May.

During a press conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Nelson didn’t completely erase the possibility of a future drop in weight and jokingly added he would get there for his “retirement fight,” like former 205-pounders Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.

White, however, did erase the possibility while speaking to media after the press conference, saying he simply doesn’t believe Nelson will ever cut the weight.

“You’ve got to want to do it,” White told ESPN.com. “You’ve got to want to get in there -- seriously diet, seriously train, then cut weight the day of the fight.

“I’m done (trying to convince him). I’ve encouraged him to shave his face and cut his hair, but he doesn’t want to do that either so, whatever.”

If Dana White, the boss, can’t talk Nelson into shedding pounds, then I’m thinking fans, even 100,000 of them, might fall short too.

We should point out here that Nelson has shown a recent commitment to getting in better shape. Following a loss to Frank Mir at UFC 130 last May where he weighed-in at 260 pounds, Nelson came in at 252 and 246 pounds for his next two fights.

And any notion the man doesn’t train hard is simply inaccurate. He’s actually built a reputation as a workhorse in the gym among those who have worked with him. He’s not hitting the speed bag then stopping for a snack. Nelson grinds.

My problem with him fighting his next fight, any other future fight, at heavyweight, is that he’s now alluded to the fact he can make 205. In the past, there’s never been that validity from Nelson himself that 205 is a real possibility. Now, he’s basically said he can cut the weight.

So, my question then, is if you’re willing to do it as part of a Facebook gimmick, why not do it just because it’s the best thing for your career?

Clearly, fans want to see Nelson drop weight. He said he received 80,000 “likes” in a day. Count me among those. But like White, I’m starting to believe he’ll never do it -- even though, like White, I think he’d be dangerous there.

“He’d be a force at 205,” White said. “He’s got great wrestling, awesome submissions, a great chin, a ton of heart and knockout power. Who knows what Roy Nelson could really achieve if he applied himself?”

On Saturday, Kimbo Slice participated in his fourth professional boxing match. The fight took place in Springfield, Mo., where one of the world’s most trafficked Bass Pro Shops sits gloriously in the heart of the city.

I mention this only to point out what Kimbo was up against in vying for the local dollar. Largemouth fishing is, after all, beginning to heat up on Table Rock Lake.

Did his opponent, veteran mixed martial artist Brian Green, take a dive?

Maybe. I’m no expert in thespian matters. What is plain, though, is that the whole thing looked a little dicey.

When somebody in Green’s corner yelled that 15 seconds of fighting remained, Green did what all fighters on the cusp of winning a fight with a high profile novelty do -- he dropped his hands and made his chin open for business. And then he crumbled almost comically after taking a short left uppercut thrown from the holster of fatigue. With three seconds left on the clock, Green was on his back. He did not scramble for his marbles on the floor, nor did he try and get up at all. He lay there in a conscious-looking state, taking his count while suspicious glances were exchanged by onlookers. And later on, by those curious enough to Google this camcorder affair.

Fixed? Who knows. The thing didn't look entirely sincere. But maybe the better question would be: is there anything appealing left in watching Kimbo fight? He shouldn’t have had to come back and beat a journeyman like Green dramatically, should he?

At this point, Slice, the one-time sideshow phenom from the back alleys of Miami, is an off-Broadway production performing on the bootleg circuit that requires search engines to find. At his best, he was only good in bare-knuckle situations against bouncers and area tough guys. He looked imposing in a tank top, and somebody (as in, Dana White) once very accurately summed him up as “the toughest man at the barbecue.” That’s true. But he’s not the toughest man in the prize ring, where tough guys are all you find.

Now, Kimbo is 38 and mostly debunked, yet we still glance at him when we can. We are voyeurs, after all.

As for Kimbo? He’s raking in what money can still be found in the twilight of an unconventional career.

We know that EliteXC pushed a pile of cash behind his myth when he was a “YouTube sensation” that was to be converted into a civilized cage fighter. We know, too, that the promotion wouldn’t have minded if Seth Petruzelli, a late fill-in for Ken Shamrock the night the myth shattered on national television, had eased up a little bit. (Maybe the matchmakers should have went with Aaron Rosa, the other option that night to step in with Slice).

Either way, the careful foundation the promotion built on a gold-toothed street brawler took 14 seconds to become a house of cards. Which didn’t end anything other than EliteXC (that iteration of the promotion, anyway). As for Slice? The next thing you know, he was breaking Nielsen records trying to make it into the UFC on the “Ultimate Fighter 10.” He got licked by Roy Nelson early in the season -- in front of millions. Then he put on an eyesore of a fight against Houston Alexander in his official UFC debut when everybody expected free-swinging menace.

Except for maybe his beatdown of Tank Abbott in 2008 -- and possibly the ear-popping bout with James Thompson three months later -- Slice has never lived up to expectations outside the alley. The end of his MMA career came via a second-round TKO to Matt Mitrione.

Only it didn’t spell the end of Slice. He boxes now for whatever shaky camcorders are on hand to catch the action. In this way, he’s come full circle. Only now, he’s doing it in the prizefighting ring, where gloves are worn and shadiness has an ounce of scrutiny. His relevancy depends on your taste, but he banks on the power of his fetish market.

And even before Saturday's funny-looking knockout of Green, you have to think that it's Kimbo who needs what’s left of the sideshow connoisseurs more than they need him.