ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

It’s a testament to the strange power of Quinton Jackson that he remains one of the UFC’s more popular and marketable fighters.

A lesser personality might have been cast aside by now, left in the dust by even his most loyal fans after so many ups and downs, false starts and disappointments.

Nonetheless, even after Saturday night’s epic letdown against Ryan Bader at UFC 144, you get the feeling Jackson could still draw decent money, maybe even main event one of the organization’s lesser cable broadcasts in his next fight.

That is, if he still has the desire to keep doing this at all.

The question of Jackson’s motivation -- seemingly always an issue -- was thrust back to the forefront last week when he checked in a full five pounds overweight for his fight against Bader, then appeared to just go through the motions en route to conceding a unanimous decision loss to the 2-to-1 underdog. He cited the obligatory training injury to explain the weigh-in snafu, but most observers (including UFC president Dana White) came away from his performance wondering aloud if Jackson has the fire to keep competing at the sport’s highest level.

“I’m disappointed,” White told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani after the fight. “I think Rampage is so talented; I just question whether he wants to do this anymore. [I] have been [questioning this] since probably the ‘A-Team’ movie.”

This is not the first time we've had such doubts.

Jackson’s entire career has been an odd mix of both under and over achievement, simultaneously one of stunning collapses and gritty comebacks. It would have been no great surprise if it’d turned out his best days were already behind him by the end of his tenure in Pride in 2006, after he’d suffered a trio of ugly, potentially career-altering losses to Wanderlei Silva (twice) and Mauricio Rua.

Instead, "Rampage" didn’t even reach full bloom until he arrived in the Octagon in 2007, when he won a "gimme" bout in his debut against Marvin Eastman, and then defeated Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson in back-to-back appearances to unify the UFC and Pride 205-pound titles.

Granted, it has been a roller-coaster ride the whole way. Jackson's stint in the UFC has included pit stops at a number of high-profile gyms, a messy breakup with former trainer Juanito Ibarra, two seasons coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter,” a high speed police chase through Orange County in a truck with his picture emblazoned on the side, a bitter feud with Rashad Evans and the temporary “retirement” White alluded to when a disillusioned Jackson took 14 months away from the cage to play B.A. Baracus on the big screen.

This week, after essentially demanding the UFC book him during it first trip back to Japan in more than a decade -- and reportedly passing up a chance to fight on network television to make it happen -- he stumbled once again, turning in the kind of uninspired performance that once again made us wonder if this is the end of the line for him.

So far, Jackson maintains he is not done. When asked about the fighter’s future, though, White responded with the kind of non-committal “we’ll see what happens” that usually means he’s going to need to be convinced.

Even if he hung up the gloves today, Jackson would be a shoe-in as an all-time, top-five light heavyweight and “first ballot” UFC hall of famer, if the latter distinction actually existed. That’s not too shabby from a guy who would probably tell you himself it was an unlikely accomplishment for him to have even made it to MMA’s big leagues.

Still, it’s hard to ignore Jackson’s history in situations like this. Every time you think he’s out for good, he comes back and wins. He’s still one of the most recognizable names in the sport. He’s still got a significant fan base behind him. If he wants to do the training and fight again, the UFC will no doubt oblige him. After all, his old nemesis, Rua, is still floating around, fresh off a hard-fought loss to Henderson (and in need of a fight).

At this point, you just wonder if Jackson’s got one more improbable comeback left. Just as its been his entire career, it’s probably totally up to him.

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.

Confidence is something that Vitor Belfort never lacks before a fight. And his confidence level is as high as ever heading into UFC 142.

Belfort will compete under the UFC banner in his native Brazil for the first time since Oct. 16, 1998, when he knocked out Wanderlei Silva in the first round. He was fighting at light heavyweight for the very first time that evening. From that performance, it was reasonable to assume that Belfort was on his way to accomplishing great things at 205 pounds.

And eventually he would: Belfort briefly held the UFC light heavyweight title in 2004.

He’s home again, but this time as a middleweight contender. Belfort is a big, strong, powerful 185-pound mixed martial artist, and he intends to impose his will on the man slated to stand across from him -- Anthony Johnson.

“I’m going to test his heart and I’m going to be 100 percent for him; he’s going to face a hungry, hungry lion,” Belfort said recently. “No man can stand against me when I am in this frame of mind. Once I am in the Octagon and the door slams shut, it is all business. Anthony Johnson will be defeated in my homeland.”

A former UFC heavyweight contender, Belfort has gradually moved down in weight in hopes of recapturing a title belt.

Johnson on the other hand, is on a quest for UFC title glory. Rather than battle to cut more weight, the former welterweight contender is keeping additional pounds on his body.

A massive 170-pound fighter, Johnson will make his middleweight debut at UFC 142. And based on the way Johnson is feeling these days, this is possibly the worst time for anyone to be facing him -- including Belfort.

Rather than shredding 55 pounds from his body, Johnson now has to only cut 40. The extra 15 pounds has Johnson feeling stronger, faster and extremely confident how he will perform Saturday.

“I’m going to be a lot more well-rounded; I’m going to put on a lot more pressure than ever before,” Johnson told ESPN.com. “Vitor thinks Randy [Couture] put pressure on him and did some things to him, and Anderson [Silva]? Wait till I get ahold of him. It’s going to be another story.

“I’m a better wrestler than Randy, with a different style, of course. And with Anderson, I do a totally different style of kicks and punches. Vitor is in for the ride of his life. Jan. 14 is going to be the worst day of his life.”

The source of Johnson’s physical improvements and increased confidence can be found at his training camp -- the Brackzilians.

Johnson heads into his bout against Belfort having participated in his third camp with the Boca Raton, Fla.-based team. This will be his second fight as a member of the Blackzilians, and according to Johnson, it’s the best preparation he’s had in his pro career.

“Since I’ve been with the Blackzilians, life has been beautiful. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my whole life,” said Johnson, who takes a 10-3 professional record and two-fight win streak into Brazil. “Coming here, joining this team and joining Authentic Sports Management, it’s been golden. I’ve never been as happy as I am now.

“Now I know for a fact that the sky is the limit for me. I’ve become a new person compared to what people used to see.”

Johnson intends to prove that he is also a new fighter -- bigger, stronger, faster and on his way toward becoming a force at middleweight.

In some ways, Johnson’s situation is eerily similar to what Belfort experienced at UFC Brazil in October 1998, when he KO’d Wanderlei in less than a minute. Johnson now finds himself in the role of hard-punching guy who is making his divisional debut -- much like Belfort did a little more than 13 years ago.

Middleweights Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva have been named coaches for "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil," UFC president Dana White announced on Tuesday.

White made the announcement during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to promote UFC 142, which is set for Jan. 12, 2012 at HSBC Arena.

Belfort and Silva will meet at the conclusion of the 12-week series, scheduled to begin March 25. The finale of TUF: Brazil is expected to be held in June, but White could not confirm a date at this time.

TUF: Brazil will air on Globo, a Brazilian-based network that has a deal with UFC. White did not announce which network will air the series in the United States.

Belfort and Silva fought in October 1998. Belfort won that bout by first-round TKO, but expects the fight to look a lot different this time around.

“Many things have changed,” Belfort said. “We’ve become more experienced more mature. A difference is that one was back in 1998, this one will be in 2012.”

Both Belfort and Silva are coming off impressive knockout wins.

Belfort (20-9) stopped Yoshihiro Akiyama in the first round on Aug. 6 at UFC 133. Silva (34-11-1, 1 no contest) finished Cung Le in the second-round of their highly anticipated showdown Nov. 19 at UFC 139.

Featherweight champion Jose Aldo will defend his title against Chad Mendez in the main event at UFC 142. Belfort faces welterweight contender Anthony Johnson in the co-feature bout.

Belfort and Johnson will compete at the middleweight limit of 185 pounds.

Dana White has called on Wanderlei Silva to retire despite his win over Cung Le at UFC 139. More »

As is almost always the case, Cung Le seemed to be in good spirits, as he took to his Twitter account on Sunday to show fans the aftereffects of Wanderlei Silva’s fists and knees.

“Here’s a picture of my face you wanted to see,” Le wrote, attaching a photo of himself with a blackened right eye, swollen lower lip and a gash across the bridge of his nose.

The morning after, his gaze had taken on that "what happened last night?" air we so often see on defeated fighters. But, at least, Le's sense of humor appeared intact. And at least his nose was back where it should be.

A suddenly resurgent Silva had pounded said nose almost comically flat on Saturday night while scoring a career-saving second-round TKO win at UFC 139. It was a victory that temporarily put off questions surrounding “The Axe Murderer’s” future, while simultaneously raising them about where Le goes from here.

At 39 years old, isn't it impossible to imagine he finishes out the six-fight deal he signed with the UFC earlier this year? With two new movies coming out during the first quarter of 2012, will he lapse back into the fits and starts that have typified his five-year MMA career? Does working two jobs leave him the kind of time and focus necessary to be successful at the highest level of this sport?

And, anyway, will he even want to soldier on if people keep busting up his nose with such alarming regularity? I mean, first Scott Smith in Strikeforce in 2009, and now Silva. That can't be good for your movie star good looks.

“I felt great -- 'til I got caught,” Le wrote at the end of his Twitter message and, yes, in all honesty there were a few positives to take away from his performance against Silva.

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion’s promotional debut was good enough to earn "Fight of the night" honors and he looked pretty capable through his first 9 minutes, 49 seconds as a bonafide UFC fighter. In the early going, he twice stunned Silva with spinning back fists; and, for much of the first round, he was able to keep his opponent at the proper range for his unorthodox arsenal of strikes.

Had Le been able to land flush with any of his powerful spinning kicks -- like the partially-blocked wheel kick he clocked Silva with two minutes in -- we’d be having a much different conversation today. Instead, by the second, he was visibly slowing down and Wanderlei was able to start working his way inside for the eventual endgame.

It seems unfair, but as reasonably good as Le's performance was in this fight, our final impression was of him losing to a guy unilaterally assumed to be on his last legs. What’s worse, Silva's win provided a fairly comprehensive game plan for how to beat Le: Close the distance to smother his attacks, wait for him to tire himself out, and then finish.

Le's style and his personality will continue to make him a fairly marketable fighter. And it seems likely we'll probably see him in the cage at least one more time before it's all said and done. At this stage, though, his age, inactivity and other career options all raise doubts about how much he’ll actually be able to accomplish in MMA moving forward.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Wanderlei Silva earned a reprieve at UFC 139.

Facing the possible end of his legendary career after six losses in his last eight fights, Silva bought himself some time on Saturday night when he stopped Cung Le via second-round TKO after an exciting, back-and-forth battle in the evening’s co-main event.

Especially on the heels of his disastrous 27-second loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, this was one “The Axe Murderer” absolutely had to win. He did, weathering nearly 10 minutes of Le’s unorthodox striking before turning the tide with a knee and a straight right, then following with hammerfists to force a stoppage just 11 seconds before the end of the round.

“It’s wonderful. ... I know in this job you have to kill one lion each day,” Silva said at the postfight news conference. "Thank you so much [to the UFC] for this opportunity.”

In the days leading up to this show, Dana White had let it be known that he and Silva would “have to have a talk” if he didn’t look at least passable against Le. Now that talk -- the one no fighter wants to have -- is delayed, and Silva’s career will live to fight another day.

“He looked awesome tonight,” White said. “I’m happy for him, believe me, I’m happy to have him here. He’s a guy who we respect and who we really care about and it was good to see him win.”

The UFC president was impressed enough to double up on the evening’s "Fight of the Night" bonuses, awarding $70,000 to Silva and Le in addition to the cash he gave Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua for their epic main event.

At the start, things did not look like they would end so well for Silva. Le caught him at range a few times during the first round, brutalizing Silva with kicks to the body and head, even dropping him to the canvas at one point with a spinning backfist.

Silva took it all and continued to wade in with his trademark headhunting punches. The end began with a flurry that hurt Le enough to force him into an ineffective takedown attempt against the cage. Silva defended the takedown, then landed a series of knees and an elbow before the strikes that put Le down for the final time.

“I studied his game a lot," Silva said. "My coaches and I had a good game plan for this fight and, thanks to God, we won it the right way.”

There are no doubt valid questions that could still be asked about Silva pressing on with his legendary career. For better or for worse, those questions will now wait for another day.

Instead, the retirement questions may now shift to Le. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has competed only sparingly in MMA during the past few years, balancing a fighting career with accepting movie roles at home and abroad. At 39 years old, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion was making his UFC debut in front of a hometown crowd that chanted alternately for him and for Silva during the fight.

When it was over, Le was led from the cage with an obviously broken nose while Silva left with renewed life. At least for now.

“I know the responsibility of fighting here,” Silva said. “There is space just for the best guys in the world here.”

SAN FRANCISCO -- At this point, Dan Henderson can afford to look back and laugh.

Henderson must have figured he’d seen the last of the UFC when he decamped for Strikeforce amid a contract dispute in 2009. Some three years later however, it’s clear that his gamble has paid off.

He's about to complete that rarest of feats for a professional fighter -- returning to the world's largest MMA promotion in a better bargaining position than when he left -- and that gives him a lot smile about these days.

“I’ve got no complaints or no regrets about leaving the UFC in the first place, it was all business and it was a good decision for me ...,” Henderson said on Thursday, two days before he’ll begin his third tour of duty in the Octagon at UFC 139. “I had no idea if I was coming back or not until I heard that Dana bought Strikeforce, because he missed me.”

At 41 years old, Hendo is nearly assured of finishing his career as a UFC star. The fact that his return to the organization will take the form of a light heavyweight No. 1 contenders' bout against Mauricio Rua this weekend is due largely to the things he was able to accomplish in the smaller promotion.

His 205-pound victories over Renato Sobral and Rafael Cavalcante returned him to relevance and put the Strikeforce light heavyweight title around his waist. His heavyweight knockout of Fedor Emelianenko in July secured his legacy and paved the way for him to re-enter the UFC at a time when his value has arguably never been higher.

Score that as a major victory for Henderson, with a significant assist from Strikeforce, of course.

“I enjoyed my fights in Strikeforce,” he said. “The organization treated me well ... I was satisfied there, I was happy there, but with that being said I’m happy to be back in the UFC as well.”

Castillo not the vacationing kind
Danny Castillo tried to take some time off after his Aug. 14 loss to Jacob Volkmann, he really did.

Castillo booked a cruise with his girlfriend, his sister and his mom, aiming to spend a week of R&R in South Florida and Mexico. He wanted to chill out, to let go, but said things got off to a rocky start when he arrived in Miami to discover it was jellyfish season.

“I was in the water, I had a beer in my hand and there were jellyfish everywhere,” Castillo said. “So, it wasn’t that cool.”

There was also the small matter of that loss to Volkmann, which kept eating at him. The unanimous decision defeat had snapped a three-fight win streak for him and had been his first official setback since crossing over from the WEC to UFC. Castillo is not the type of guy to take that lightly.

“You go on vacation [for a] release, but unfortunately I’m an emotional person, so I just thought about the fight the whole time,” he said. “It was hard to unwind ... I tried to put on a smile and act like the loss didn’t affect me, but deep down inside losing doesn’t sit well with me.”

By the time the week-long vacation was over, Castillo was running three or four miles day on the cruise ship and once he returned to Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, he set his sights on returning to the cage as soon as possible.

Next stop: This weekend’s scrap with Shamar Bailey.

“I was glad enough to get a fight so soon after a loss,” he said. “I talked to my manager and said, ‘I don’t care who it is, just get me a fight.’”

Le’s got jokes
Cung Le is keeping it decidedly light leading up to his UFC debut against Wanderlei Silva. With a 17-month break between his win over Scott Smith in Strikeforce in June '10 and this weekend’s UFC 139, it’s clear Le spent at least some of his down time writing up prepared material to entertain fans and media.

When asked if finally getting an opportunity to fight the Octagon makes it feel like he’s starting his whole MMA career anew, Le said he hoped that wasn’t the case.

“For my first MMA fight, I threw up in the back,” he said. “I hope I don’t throw up this time, because when I throw up, it comes out my nose too and it’s really bad. So, I’m going to try to skip on the throwing up.”

Le also cracked on his training (“I’ve been chasing my kids, because they help me get in shape”), his game plan (“Bring the lightning, followed by the thunder”) and what it’ll feel like to make his promotional debut in front of hometown fans (“It’s like the top of the food chain. I finally got here, now I just gotta eat the food”).

One topic on which Le briefly played it straight, however, was Silva. The former Pride champ may have lost six of his last eight fights, but Le said he expects it’ll still be serious business in the cage this weekend.

“Wanderlei’s back is against the wall,” he said. “He’s probably more dangerous now because it’s do or die for him.”

Faber to take judges to school

Prior to his UFC 139 fight against Brian Bowles, Urijah Faber is clearly still stinging from a unanimous decision loss to bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in July. When the topic came up this week, Faber said that the real problem may be with the ringside judges. Perhaps his strategy against Cruz was just too complicated for them, Faber implied, saying he’d keep it simpler next time.

“Some of these old judges have never wrestled Division I, they’ve never done jiu-jitsu at a high level, they’ve never kickboxed,” Faber said. “A lot of them have their jobs and they don’t want to give them up, so you’ve got to paint a picture that a kindergartner can understand.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Wanderlei Silva doesn’t need to finish Cung Le this weekend at UFC 139 to keep his spot on the roster. Heck, given his name value and place among the best fighters in mixed martial arts history, he might not even need to win.

But he’s got to stay conscious.

The former Pride champion and fan favorite is teetering on the brink of Chuck Liddell status. That is to say, as much as people love to see him fight, the desire to see him not get hurt is starting to outweigh it.
Dan Henderson, who’s crossed paths with Silva twice during his career, puts it as plain as day -- there comes a time when all fighters, but especially ones like Liddell and Silva, have to be told it’s over.

“I think [Silva’s] ability to take a punch has gone down. His chin isn’t there anymore,” Henderson told ESPN.com. “It’s unfortunate. I’m a fan of his. I’ve loved watching him but that happens to a lot of guys with his style. Chuck was the same way. It just comes time you have to realize that.”

The question is whether or not that time has truly come for Silva.

In Liddell’s case it was painfully obvious. The "Iceman" lost his final three fights via knockout, two in the first round. Conversely, Silva has suffered four knockout losses over the course of the last five years.

The latest occurred at UFC 132 in July, started off by a hard right hand from Chris Leben in the fight’s opening moments. To Silva, what happened in that fight was no different than what took place last weekend in the UFC heavyweight title fight, where Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in just 64 seconds.

“It happened to Velasquez last week,” Silva said. “You never know. In the first two minutes, everybody has power. The gloves are very small.

“[Leben] punched me in the ear and after that first punch, I didn’t see nothing. I’ve had a couple knockouts, but I feel good. I receive punches stronger than that in the gym and I’m here, you know?”

Despite the career of abuse Silva has taken, longtime friend and former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua believes regardless of any type of evidence, only a fighter knows what’s going on within his own body.

If Silva continues to claim he’s as durable as ever, he’s the best one to know in Rua’s opinion.

“No one knows himself better than the actual person,” Rua said. “He’s a fighter. He loves to fight. Any fighter that’s been training a long time eventually gets to the point they are tired of the routine, and that’s understandable. But as long as he still has fire, he’s the one who knows better than anyone where he’s at.”

There is some truth to that, but too often it’s been seen that fighters may be oblivious to their physical condition but unable to be honest about it.

Heading into this weekend, Silva acknowledged the questions regarding his health are “normal” given the circumstances, and he said he’s worked on improving the defense aspect of his stand-up.

But if the lights go off early again, that would be a total of seven knockout losses in his career -- the exact same number as Liddell. It would be a tough task to talk the UFC into allowing him to risk No. 8.

“[UFC president Dana White] knows when they’ve had enough,” Henderson said. “But with the case of Chuck, it took two to three fights of Dana telling him he wants him to be done before he was really done.”

Wanderlei Silva has revealed he intends to fight for another 13 years. Far from considering his retirement plans, the Brazilian insists his body is top shape ahead of his UFC 139 collision with Cung Le. More

Half a dozen former cast members of “The Ultimate Fighter” will compete on the UFC Fight Night 25 undercard on Saturday in New Orleans, including Cody McKenzie, who once won 10 consecutive bouts with his patented guillotine choke. The prelims also feature the promotional debut of once-beaten prospect Jorge Lopez, Wanderlei Silva’s top student. More »

As Wanderlei Silva’s top student, Jorge Lopez faces great expectations as he prepares for his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 25 on Saturday in New Orleans. The Mexican-born 22-year-old will put his 10-fight winning streak on the line against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 alum Justin Edwards in a welterweight bout. More »

The last time the UFC trekked to Japan, Tito Ortiz won the company’s vacant light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva in the main event.

That was April 2000 and the win touched a run of five successful title defenses that lasted until September 2003 and made Ortiz’s bones as a surefire future hall of famer. For Silva, it was his last appearance in the Octagon for seven and a half years, but in the meantime he fought 25 times in Pride (almost exclusively in Japan) won that organization’s 205-pound title and solidified his place as one of MMA’s all-time greats.

Funny how things work out. As the UFC on Tuesday officially confirmed Feb. 26, 2012, as its first trip back to Japan in more than a decade, Ortiz and Silva are the only men from that original card at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium (it was UFC 25, in case you’re wondering) who are still on the promotion’s active roster.

While a rematch been a resurgent Tito and a 185-pound Wanderlei seems unlikely (sure would be fun, though), the mere fact that both could potentially be available for the planned show at Saitama Super Arena is the first clue to exactly how pretty the UFC is sitting as it prepares to re-invade a Japanese MMA scene mired in a chaotic, half-decade long slump. With a recent show in Rio de Janeiro drawing rave reviews from fans, analysts and company employees alike, UFC brass also have a pretty good template for how to ensure these one-off international events are successful.

Fewer full beers will likely be heaved in the direction of the Octagon, fewer soccer chants will likely sung during the fights, but look for the company to make sure UFC: Japan is framed as a tribute of sorts to that country’s rich history in MMA, just as it did in Rio in August. Especially with the event planned for an arena that was previously the old stomping ground of the Pride organization -- and with Zuffa now owning the vestiges of that former promotion -- expect frequent nods (and probably a few knowing winks) to the past.

As promised during this week’s official announcement, the company will surely stock the card with homegrown talent, in similar fashion to when Brazilian fighters went 7-1 against foreign opponents at UFC 134. That means expect top draws like featherweight phenom Hatsu Hioki, middleweight Yushin Okami and newly minted welterweight Yoshihiro Akiyama to get the call. Akiyama especially appears to have been kept on the UFC roster for the express purpose of making his 170-pound debut at home.

In addition, the UFC has a wealth of non-Japanese fighters who are nonetheless known to fight fans in that country. Fresh off his win over Brendan Schaub in Brazil, former Pride heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has already said he wants to fight on the Tokyo show. With Brock Lesnar scheduled to return to the UFC in early 2012, and possessing his own modest fame in Japan from his days in professional wrestling (not to mention his only non-UFC MMA fight), could a meeting with Nogueira be in the offing? If not Big Nog, Lesnar could potentially fight former Pride and K-1 fighter Alistair Overeem oversees too, as soon as Overeem's signing is official. The major sticking point to those potential bouts could be the UFC’s ability to convince Lesnar, the notorious homebody, to make the trip.

No matter. With former multidivisional Pride champ Dan Henderson reportedly on the verge of a UFC return, and Pride standbys like Mirko Filipovic, Quinton Jackson and Mauricio Rua (just to name a few) under Zuffa contract, there is no shortage of other potential matchups that might make sense for the Japanese show, some of them very compelling. Oh, did I mention Tito versus Wanderlei II? A guy can dream, right?

As others have already pointed out, a single, stand-alone UFC show won’t be enough to breathe new life into the flagging Japanese fight scene. Yet UFC brass came away from Brazil claiming the country had sufficiently wowed them during UFC: Rio as to make it a frequent future stop. Certainly Japan is capable of similar fervor for MMA, as evidenced by the huge crowds and monster TV ratings the sport used to draw in Pride’s heyday. Perhaps the biggest unspoken possibility of all is that (if the political and social climate seems to its liking) the UFC might decide that, going forward, Japan is worthy of more than one show every 10 or 11 years.

Wanderlei Silva's longtime coach and mentor, Rafael Cordeiro, insists “The Axe Murderer” is not contemplating retirement despite the fact that he has lost six of his last eight fights. The former Pride titleholder lost to Chris Leben in just 27 seconds at UFC 132. More »

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz might have to savor his unanimous decision win Saturday night over Urijah Faber for a while.

The Nevada Athletic Commission released its medical suspensions to ESPN.com on Tuesday for fighters who participated in UFC 132, which was held July 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Cruz is required to have his right hand x-rayed. If the results are positive, Cruz must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor or he won’t be allowed to compete until Dec. 30.

Faber must have his right hand, right wrist, right shoulder and chest x-rayed. If the results are positive, Faber must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor or he too will not be allowed to compete until Dec. 30.

Regardless, Faber can't compete until Aug. 17, and must not have contact until Aug. 2.

Wanderlei Silva, who was knocked out in 27 seconds by Chris Leben, is suspended until Sept. 1. He can’t have any contact until Aug. 17.

Dennis Siver (forehead lacerations) is suspended until Aug. 17, and can’t have contact until Aug. 2.

Ryan Bader, who was submitted by Tito Ortiz, is suspended until July 24, and must avoid contact until July 17.

Both Dong Hyun Kim and Shane Roller must have right orbital fractures cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor or ophthalmologist. Otherwise, neither can compete until Dec. 30.

Regardless, neither Kim nor Roller can compete before Sept. 1. They also must avoid all contact until Aug. 17.

Melvin Guillard (cut under right eye) is suspended until July 24, and can’t have contact until July 17.

George Sotiropoulos, who was KO’d in the first round by Rafael dos Anjos, is suspended until Sept. 1. He can’t have contact until Aug. 17.

Brian Bowles must have his right hand X-rayed. If the results are positive, Bowles must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor or he will not be allowed to compete until Dec. 30.

He is under minimum suspension and can’t have any contact before July 24 or compete until Aug. 2.

Donald Walker (laceration on right eyebrow) and Brad Tavares (laceration on left eyebrow) are suspended until Aug. 2 and neither can have contact before July 24.

Andre Winner is suspended until Aug. 2, and can’t contact before July 24 due to facial bruising. Anthony Njokuani, who defeated Winner by unanimous decision, must have a contusion on his lower left leg cleared by a physician or he can’t compete until Dec. 30.

Njokuani also chipped a lower right tooth.