Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber's bantamweight debut will
have to wait, as an injury has forced "The California Kid" out of WEC
50.

Faber announced his withdrawal from the card on his
Twitter account.

Faber was scheduled to face Takeya Mizugaki at the
event, and MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources
close to the promotion that a replacement opponent will not be sought
for the Japanese product.

Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber's bantamweight debut will
have to wait, as an injury has forced "The California Kid" out of WEC
50.

Faber announced his withdrawal from the card on his
Twitter account.

Faber was scheduled to face Takeya Mizugaki at the
event, and MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources
close to the promotion that a replacement opponent will not be sought
for the Japanese product.

A lightweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk and the undefeated Evan Dunham is scheduled to occur at UFC 119.

News of the match-up comes courtesy of a recent report from MMAJunkie.com.

Sherk hasn’t fought since May of last year, a decision loss to current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, and had been scheduled to face Clay Guida at the first UFC on Versus event, but dropped out because of an injury.

Dunham has finished eight out of his eleven victories by either TKO or submission with notable wins over Efrain Escudero, Marcus Aurelio, and recently Tyson Griffin at UFC 115.

UFC 119 occurs on September 25 and will emanate from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

HESKETT NAMED WRESTLING COACHFormer Ohio State Assistant, Four-Time All-American Joins Black Knights
 
WEST POINT, N.Y.  – Joe Heskett, a four-time All-American, national champion and former U.S. World Team member who spent the past four years as an assistant at Ohio State University, has been named the head wrestling coach at Army Athletics Director Kevin Anderson announced.Heskett, a 2001 graduate of Iowa State University, replaces Chuck Barbee who resigned following his 10th season to pursue other interests.
 
“I am very excited to have one of the young talents in collegiate wrestling as our head coach,” said Anderson. “Joe comes highly recommended from Athletic Director of the Year Gene Smith of Ohio State has unmatched credentials on the mat and his passion and dedication to the sport should pay immediate dividends. He has continued to advance his career and we are confident he can lead us to wins over Navy, EIWA Championships and national qualifiers.”
 
Heskett, who won the 165-pound national championship in 2002, is the ninth head coach in program history.
 
"Life will often surprise us with outstanding opportunities,” said Heskett. “I am humbled and honored to be able to lead and represent the Army wrestling program. I am inspired by what West Point represents and I graciously accept the challenge to mentor and motivate the cadet-athletes, improve their technical and tactical skills on the mat and to beat Navy. I would like to thank my family, Kevin Anderson, the West Point search committee, specifically Associate Athletic Director Gene McIntyre for his time and energy and the entire USMA athletic department."
 
Heskett, the eighth four-time All-American at Iowa State, graduated with a degree in speech communications and a career record of 143-9.
 
He was a three-time national finalist, winning one championship and finishing second and third. Heskett captured three Big 12 Championships, won the prestigious Midlands event on three occasions and graduated third on Iowa State’s all-time wins list.
 
Following his decorated collegiate career, Heskett earned a spot on the 2007 U.S. World Team after winning the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials. He represented the United States at the ’07 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan with a fifth-place finish. He dropped a tough, three-period battle with a two-time world champion from Russia in the semifinals before wrestling back to finish fifth and was one of five wrestlers to qualify at his weight for the Olympics. Earlier that summer, he won a silver medal at 163 pounds at the 2007 Pan American Games.Less than a week after returning from the World Championships, Heskett was forced to retire from competitive wrestling due to an injury and joined the Ohio State staff.Hired as the volunteer assistant in 2006, Heskett was training for the Olympics while assisting in recruiting, team academic support, cultivating donor and alumni relations and other operational duties. Shortly after his competitive retirement, he was promoted to full-time assistant on Tom Ryan’s staff as the chief recruiter. In addition to his work on the mat, Heskett also assumed responsibility for practice plans, academic progress and community service initiatives.
 
During his tenure at Ohio State, Heskett helped the Buckeyes to four top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Tournament, three NCAA champions and 15 All-Americans. He played a large role in securing the nation’s top recruiting class in 2006 and helped sign a host of top prospects.
 
Heskett began his coaching career at Cal Poly University where he was the head assistant wrestling coach an also earned his master’s degree with honors in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Athletic Administration. He assisted in all facets of the program, including fundraising, and helped the Mustangs to their highest NCAA placement in nearly 20 years.
 
Leadership and leadership training is another passion of Heskett’s. He was Iowa State’s representative at the NCAA Leadership Conference, a board member of the Children’s Body Image, a former member of the Major Ray Mendoza Leadership Fund and an Ambassador and Public Awareness Speaker for the Ohio State Medical Center. He is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer for h Leadership in Columbus, Ohio, a firm with an array of industry expertsA native of Akron, Ohio, Heskett and his wife Tara have two daughters, Olivia and Ava, and are expecting a son in late July. They will reside at West Point.

UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be out of action until March 2011, according to UFC president Dana White, and it seems the knee surgery Rua underwent was much more severe than originally thought. Fighter’s Only had the scoop:

Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua’s latest knee surgery involved a “significant” amount of work and was more like a “reconstruction” of the joint than a standard ligament-repair job, according to a source close to the UFC light-heavyweight champion.

If Rua takes considerable time in returning the UFC may have an interim champion as they’ve done in the past in various weight classes. Rua is coming off an impressive victory over Lyoto Machida but expect Machida to be in any hunt for an interim title. Other names mentioned for a shot would include Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, though there’s nothing officially in the works. Rua’s had several injury issues, and one has to wonder how the champ’s body is holding out. It’ll be at least March before we find out.

Fans often hear about post-fight bonuses being dished out to in-Octagon performers but come Saturday night it may be the ring’s engineers who deserve a little extra lettuce in their monthly salad. Combining for more than 500 pounds, UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and first-round-phenom Shane Carwin will lock horns in Las Vegas and put the UFC’s trademark structure’s durability to the test at UFC 116 in the process (as well as each others’ chins). In addition to the title fight, Chris Leben rolls the dice by stepping in last-minute to face Yoshishiro Akiyama, Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski look for a headbutt-free result to make up for their previous bout’s ending, and Matt Brown/Chris Lytle look to battle it out with Kurt Pellegrino/George Sotiropoulos in hopes of possibly scoring the event’s “Fight of the Night“ honors.

Before I get into the actual “pick em” part of this article let me preclude the breakdown of bouts by saying one of the things about Mixed Martial Arts I’ve always loved is its unpredictable nature. I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction with a little insight/opinion included in the deal, but readers would be wise to avoid laying down money on my attempts to glimpse into the future. Just ask Bret “The Angry Hick” Bergmark or for that matter Fabricio Werdum. Beyond that, please don’t hesitate to share your own thoughts on any or all of the scheduled fights in the “Comments” section below, and let’s get this show on the road…

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola

Madsen should be entering this bout as the favorite due to his 2-0 record in the Octagon and the public’s familiarity with him from the Ultimate Fighter Season 10. However, Vemola shouldn’t be overlooked, as he’s 7-0 and finished all of his opponents in the first round using a near-even mix of strikes/submissions. Even more impressive is the fact five of those seven foes were felled in less than a minute! Madsen’s only hope appears to be using his wrestling as a means of holding Vemola down for three rounds and either out-pointing him or wearing him down to the point of exhaustion. Vemola’s power and striking look to be a massive threat to any individual he faces, and Madsen was knocked out by Brendan Schaub on TUF 10, so I think it would be a mistake for Madsen to try and stand with him. However, Vemola’s cardio is untested and could be the kink in his armor Madsen needs to expose for a win. I don’t see it happening though.

Winner – Karlos Vemola via TKO Round 1

Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz

The loser of this fight will likely receive a pink-slip so both men have more on the line than normal. Roberts was 9-0 before suffering a brutal knockout to John Howard in his UFC debut, and, though he’s won four consecutive fights on smaller shows, Petz went 2-3 during an earlier run in the Octagon and lost two in a row before recently rallying off four straight. However, just because they’re at risk of seeking out a new deal in a different promotion, I think both will actually be cautious in their approach to the other rather than rushing in to exchange leather. Petz has either gone to decision or seen the finish come by way of submission in seventeen of his twenty-four career bouts, while seven of Roberts’ nine wins have been the result of a submission (the other two decisions). Don’t expect much more than minimal striking from either with the bulk of the action taking place on the mat. I like a ground war as much as the next person but only when it involves two high-level jiu-jitsu practitioners. This bout only has one. Petz’s experience could be enough to carry him through to a decision win, but I think Roberts’ youth/athleticism and superior BJJ should do the trick and earn him a tap-out before things are said and done.

Winner – Daniel Roberts via Submission Round 2

Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch

Branch may be undefeated thus far in his young career, but he hasn’t faced an opponent like Harris yet so it will be interesting to see how he fares against what I would label as “superior” competition. Harris has won his last nine fights with eight involving a finishing performance. He’s got high-level wrestling, devastating slams, knockout power, and 3X Branch’s in-ring experience. Branch has shown above-average ability as both a striker and grappler but I’m not sure he’s ready to weather “Hurricane” Harris’ storm. However, because I do believe he’s talented, I think he’ll escape the fight without a tap or the need of smelling salts.

Winner – Gerald Harris via Decision

Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic

I’ve been a fan of Grove since the days of “Team Dagger” but these days it’s hard to know which Kendall will show up on a fight-to-fight basis. Will it be the “Da Spyda” who catches opponents like flies in his web of submissions or the one with a chin appearing as soft as silk? Fortunately for Grove, Reljic is known for his grappling as opposed to his striking so the match-up favors him in terms of avoiding a knockout. I think he’ll be able to defend or even catch a choke/limb from the bottom if Reljic takes him down while also using his lankiness to mix in a few jabs and keep the Croat at bay on their feet.

Then again, at 6’3, Reljic is a relatively tall middleweight himself so Grove won’t have the height/reach advantage he’s typically used to. He’s yet to be finished in his career as well. He’s also stronger than his Hawaiian adversary, and should be well-aware of Grove’s susceptibility to strikes, so he may throw his jiujitsu out the door and focus just on stand-up. If that’s the case then Kendall is in for a long, long night (and probably a wake-up call from the UFC with his release from the company).

Winner – Goran Reljic via Decision

Ricardo Romero vs. Seth Petruzelli

This will surely be an entertaining fight if for no other reason Petruzelli’s choice of entrance attire/music. “The Silverback”, a partner in shenanigans with fan-favorite Tom Lawlor, hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon since going 0-2 in the eight-sided cage a few years ago and should be ready to make the most of his opportunity at redemption. Beyond the energy he’s put into his walk down to the ring, Petruzelli has also struggled to ink bouts that have actually come to fruition since knocking out Kimbo Slice in October 2008 so I think it’s likely he trained his ass off for another chance at earning a place on MMA’s biggest stage. Beyond those stakes, his in-ring competition is also a game opponent with solid jiujitsu and stand-up so Petruzelli will need to be in top form in that regard too. Romero is 10-1 with his only loss being by way of disqualification (an illegal soccer kick). If the two decide to stand I think Petruzelli will land a knockout blow, but if things hit the mat then I believe the outcome will be in Romero’s favor. Truly, this is one of the tougher UFC 116 bouts to pick a winner in.

Winner – Seth Petruzelli via entranceTKO Round 2

Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer

This match-up brings a smile to my face in that it’s essentially a preliminary card version of UFC 116’s main event with the level of experience being reversed. Schaub trains with Carwin and is known for knockout power while Tuchscherer trains with Lesnar and is known for his wrestling. Tuchscherer should enter the bout with a strength advantage while Schaub is a bit faster and more technical. As such, I think the fight’s action will be similar to that in Carwin’s attempt at taking Lesnar’s title later in the evening. I see Tuchscherer trying to close the distance at all times in hopes of limiting Schaub’s power, as well as in order to take him down and work from the top. Meanwhile, Schaub will try to maintain his range and fire away shots from a variety of angles while also being prepared to dirty-box or clinch. In the end, I think he’ll stay active to the point of tiring Tuchscherer out. Doing so should allow him to successfully defend takedown attempts and land enough strikes to either procure a TKO or decision win.

Winner – Brendan Schaub via TKO Round 3

MAIN CARD:

George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino

I said earlier in this article that I have a great deal of love for ground wars when both men are BJJ bad-asses. Case in point – Pellegrino vs. Sotiropoulos. This bout has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. For reasoning, I’ll defer to my assessment in this week’s “Grappling with Issues” on why it’s the non-main event match-up I’m most excited about…

“Both go 100% at all times and have shown the kind of heart which makes me believe neither would ever mentally tap out in a bout; that they only quit when physically forced by their body to do so.

Beyond that, their skills match-up well as far as promise for entertainment goes. Sotiropoulos has yet to be finished in fourteen fights and Pellegrino is 8-2 in his last ten in-Octagon appearances with losses to the typically-tough Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson along the way. I can see them trading shots for the first round, then putting on a ground-clinic until the third round ends or one of them is submitted/TKO’d. Their pairing should definitely be a ton of fun to watch and an excellent way to open up the PPV portion of the show.”

As far as a winner, it’s a literal coin-flip for me. I think Pellegrino may edge Sotiropoulos out when it comes to boxing and wrestling but not when it comes to the Australian’s jiujitsu. I don’t believe either will be finished and a split decision is probably the most likely result.

Winner – Kurt Pellegrino via Decision

Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

I know UFC President Dana White has a lot of love for Bonnar based on his original promotion-making fight against Forrest Griffin but the reality is “The American Psycho” is 2-4 in his last six bouts and hasn’t beaten a relevant opponent in three years. He’s also tested positive for steroid use before and been relatively injury prone throughout his career. If he can’t beat Soszynski then he needs a fresh start in a smaller promotion. That’s not to say “The Polish Experiment” is an easy draw, because he is far from it, but Bonnar needs to prove he can win against upper/mid-tier competition to earn his keep. It’s been five years since TUF 1, folks.

As long as Stephan keeps his strikes coming from a variety of angles and uses movement to avoid Soszynski’s power (and forehead) I think he’ll be fine this time around. Bonnar has never been submitted in his eighteen-fight career and the only time he’s been finished with strikes was to Lyoto Machida seven years ago. I don’t think he’ll put Soszynski away but I do think he can win a decision against him.

Winner – Stephan Bonnar via Decision

Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown

As was the case in my earlier breakdown of Pellegrino vs. Sotiropoulos, neither Lytle nor Brown have any “quit” in them and the combination of their styles should result in an extremely exciting affair. I can see Brown and Lytle standing and trading punches for a good deal of the first round as a means of appeasing the crowd and testing themselves, nit in the end I think “Lights Out” will likely opt for his reliable combination of wrestling/jiujitsu in hopes of procuring a win. His boxing is better than Brown’s but there’s no reason for Lytle to risk catching a solid shot on the chin when Brown has lost six of eight by way of submission and hasn’t been TKO’d in nineteen career fights. Beyond that, I don’t see “The Immortal” doing enough to win a decision nor knocking out an opponent who has traded shots with the likes of Robbie Lawler and come away conscious.

Winner – Chris Lytle via Submission Round 2

Yoshishiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben

First off, props to Leben for stepping in to fight Akiyama at the last minute regardless of the financial gain he’ll receive for competing two weeks ago on the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. His ability to leave foes snoozing, his chin’s durability, and his “bushido” make “The Crippler” a threat to beat most middleweights not named Anderson Silva. However, to enter the Octagon against a competitor of Akiyama’s caliber on short notice, let alone after the physical grind of back-to-back training camps, is a lot to ask of any individual. I believe Akiyama’s speed will allow him to avoid a lot of Leben’s power-punches, landing counter-strikes of his own or using judo to take him down, and ultimately take advantage of what I suspect will be questionable cardio from his pink-haired opponent. In the end I believe the circumstances surrounding the match-up will result in either a submission or decision win for the samurai of sexiness.

Winner – Yoshishiro Akiyama via Submission Round 3

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

This clash of monsters might just have King Kong and Godzilla a little jealous given the amount of anticipation surrounding the scrap. Lesnar and Carwin’s physical dimensions are well-documented. For the first time in recent history two UFC big-boys will be dropping pre-fight pounds in order to step on the scales at 265 pounds, giving fans a TRUE “heavyweight” fight to salivate over. To paraphrase something MMA Live’s Jon Anik said on a recent episode, for the first time in his career Lesnar is facing someone who could legitimately leave him looking like he’d just missed a Shooting-Star Press and landed on his face. Comparably, Carwin is also in a situation where he’s taking on an opponent who matches him in size/strength/athleticism for the first time in his career. Though some may feel conditioning could be an issue because Carwin has never seen the second round in his career I don’t believe that will be the case even if the title-fight remarkably goes the distance. He trains at high-altitude in Colorado with a group of high-level partners so I’m positive he’ll be ready to go full speed for at least fifteen minutes if not longer. Also, keep in mind Lesnar is coming off an extended layoff and a serious ailment so his fitness may not be where it normally is come game-time.

Since I see cardio as a push, and jiujitsu is a wash, it’s clear wrestling and striking will determine the winner. As long as Brock can avoid clinching with Carwin and doesn’t make the mistake of standing toe-to-toe with him I think he’ll retain his belt. Carwin is a solid wrestler but Lesnar is on another level from everything I’ve seen/heard; that his combination of speed/power is something you can’t simulate in a gym. As such, I think he’ll eventually get Carwin on his back and pound out a win.

Winner – Brock Lesnar via TKO Round 2

Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar is the sort of heavyweight title fight that the UFC has always dreamed of. Lesnar is well on his way towards establishing himself as the most dominant heavyweight in the sport and Carwin is an up and coming fighter with an immaculate record.

Carwin has faced twelve opponents in his career to date and all twelve have been finished via stoppage in the very first round. Lesnar has lost only once, by submission to Frank Mir in his UFC debut, and he subsequently avenged that loss, unifying the heavyweight division in the process.

The barren days in which fighters the caliber of Tim Sylvia and Jeff Monson competing for the UFC heavyweight title are long gone. The division has long since taken its rightful place as the most marketable weight class the organization has and UFC 116 will be the culmination of years of effort on the behalf of the UFC matchmakers in acquiring the best heavyweight talent in the world.

Three outstanding fighters have emerged from the much improved UFC heavyweight division, Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez. The UFC is now in the enviable position of being able to put on at least two massive heavyweight fights, the first will come at UFC 116, the second when the winner emerges to face Velasquez.

Heavyweight fights traditionally carry more prestige than those in any other weight class, a fact which will definitely not be lost on the UFC. The fight between Carwin and Lesnar has been described by UFC President Dana White as ‘the biggest in UFC history’ and is likely to do more than a million pay per view buys.

For all the hype, there will only be two men in the Octagon at the UFC 116 main event. One of them, Lesnar, is absolutely enormous, and his sheer bulk has half of the heavyweight division starting to thinking serious thoughts about cutting down to 205 lbs

Carwin is not much smaller and possesses more power in his right hand then arguably any other fighter in UFC history. Lesnar has excellent wrestling credentials and will be looking to follow the blueprint for success which has seen him stop Randy Couture and Frank Mir in his last two Octagon appearances. Lesnar’s game plan will undoubtedly be to get Carwin on the floor with his 265 lbs + frame on top of him and ground and pound his way towards unifying the UFC heavyweight title.

Carwin, who holds an interim version of the UFC heavyweight title, will be looking to land a big right hand and finish the fight early. Lesnar is still a relative newcomer to the sport of MMA and his striking is still not exactly crisp. Randy Couture was able to pick Tim Sylvia apart with punches in their title fight he was nothing like as effective with his hands against Lesnar and this will give the Lesnar camp confidence that their man can stay out of harm’s way against the hard hitting Carwin.

It is easy to forget that there are four other fights on the main card, which is not a bad thing as they are all fairly forgettable match ups. An injury to Wanderlei Silva denied fans the chance to see the always interesting Brazilian in action against Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Akiyama was less than convincing in his UFC debut against Alan Belcher and will be expecting an emphatic victory against Silva’s replacement, Chris Leben. He has been quite vocal about the fact that he feels Leben is an inferior opponent but would be well advised not to underestimate Leben who is a veteran of 15 previous UFC appearances.

Akiyama was extremely fortunate to get the benefit of the judge’s doubt against Belcher and will need to put his money where his mouth is with an impressive performance in his fight with TUF veteran Leben.

Chris Lytle and Matt Brown first met in 2007 outside of the UFC with Lytle winning with a rear naked choke. Lytle’s last four fights have either won fight of the night or submission of the night honors with Lytle emerging victorious from all of them except for a debatable split decision loss to Marcus Davis.

Brown is coming off a submission loss to Ricardo Almeida and will likely feel like he is fighting for his UFC future while the UFC must be hoping that Lytle can continue his recent habit of getting involved in exciting, fan friendly fights.

Stephan Bonnar is another man who has played his part in some of the most entertaining match ups in the recent history of the UFC. He will be facing Krzysztof Soszynski for the second time this year after the unsatisfactory ending to their first meeting.

The first fight was awarded to Soszynski as Bonnar was unable to continue due to a cut which replays showed was caused by an accidental head butt. A fourth consecutive loss for Bonnar would cast serious doubt over his UFC future and he will be looking to get his career back on track with a win against the ‘Polish Experiment’.

George Sotiropoulos has gone from strength to strength since competing on TUF 6 and is undefeated in the UFC with five wins out of five. After a slow start to his UFC career Kurt Pellegrino is now riding a four fight win streak and the winner of this contest will propel themselves to somewhere approaching the top of the lightweight division.

All eyes will be on Lesnar and Carwin though and most fight fans will view any entertainment to be found away from the main event a something of a bonus. The UFC would have you believe that Lesnar is already the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter there is but for me he is still two wins away from proving them right.

The first of those wins will need to come against Carwin at UFC 116 but Lesnar will need to keep his wits about him if he is to avoid being on the wrong end of an eighth consecutive knock out for Carwin.

A rumored match-up between UFC light-heavyweights Antônio Rogério “Lil Nog” Nogueira (19-3) and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8) has been put to rest by UFC president Dana White.

White spoke to the press at today’s UFC 116 pre-fight press conference saying that the rumors were false, and he noted that the UFC has no opponent in mind for Jackson, a former UFC light-heavyweight champion.

“It’s not true, we don’t have anything set up yet,” White said. “With that division right now, Little Nog could fight Rampage, Rampage could fight Machida. There’s a lot of fights we could make and we haven’t made any decisions on that fight.”

Asked if Nogueira-Jackson is being seriously considered by the UFC, White held his cards to the vest.

“We’re looking at all of them,” he said. “Time-wise, Rampage is still promoting the [A-Team] movie overseas, so we’re trying to figure out what the next fight will be.”

White was also asked about the current UFC light-heavyweight champions status, noting that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will likely return in 2011 to face top contender Rashad Evans. “Shogun” has gone under knee surgery for an injury he suffered in his title win over former champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 113.

“Shogun’s great, his knee’s coming along great, it’s all good,” said White. “He probably won’t fight till next March.”

HT: MMAFighting.com

A rumored match-up between UFC light-heavyweights Antônio Rogério “Lil Nog” Nogueira (19-3) and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8) has been put to rest by UFC president Dana White.

White spoke to the press at today’s UFC 116 pre-fight press conference saying that the rumors were false, and he noted that the UFC has no opponent in mind for Jackson, a former UFC light-heavyweight champion.

“It’s not true, we don’t have anything set up yet,” White said. “With that division right now, Little Nog could fight Rampage, Rampage could fight Machida. There’s a lot of fights we could make and we haven’t made any decisions on that fight.”

Asked if Nogueira-Jackson is being seriously considered by the UFC, White held his cards to the vest.

“We’re looking at all of them,” he said. “Time-wise, Rampage is still promoting the [A-Team] movie overseas, so we’re trying to figure out what the next fight will be.”

White was also asked about the current UFC light-heavyweight champions status, noting that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will likely return in 2011 to face top contender Rashad Evans. “Shogun” has gone under knee surgery for an injury he suffered in his title win over former champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 113.

“Shogun’s great, his knee’s coming along great, it’s all good,” said White. “He probably won’t fight till next March.”

HT: MMAFighting.com

There’s no veil of of mystery surrounding Chris Leben‘s gameplan going into UFC 116 as “The Crippler” faces off with Japanese fighting sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama on just two weeks notice. In what should come as little surprise, Leben recently hinted at what fans will be in store for this Saturday evening in Las Vegas during the pre-fight press conference held for the event late this afternoon.

“My game plan for all of my opponents remains the same, go out there and punch him in the face,” said Leben.

Akiyama recently made headlines when speaking openly about his dissapointment with Leben as a replacement following a previously slated middleweight bout Wanderlei Silva falling apart due to a training injury suffered by “The Axe Murderer”, but if Leben has it his way it will be him that faces off with the former PRIDE champion following a convincing victory over “Sexyama” from the MGM Grand Garden Arena 48 hours from now.

“I think Wanderlei Silva was supposed to fight this fight, so if I win this fight, I think Wanderlei should be next for me,” said Leben.

Expect for Silva to be watching this fight with an extremely critical eye as the winner being his next opponent seems to be an inevitability at this point.