It appears former featherweight contender Josh Grispi will look to get back on the winning track in early summer as part of the line-up set for action at the Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale. Grispi, who was set for a showdown with 145-pound champion Jose Aldo at UFC 125, ultimately fell in one-sided fashion to Dustin Poirier on the card after an injury forced the Brazilian phenom to withdraw from the event.

According to a report by the Boston Herald, and since confirmed by a number of other media outlets, an agreement is in place for Grispi to fight George Roop on June 4 at the standard, season-ending Ultimate Fighter event.

Roop is coming off a TKO loss to Mark Hominick last month at Fight Night 23 who coincidentally earned the title-shot Grispi lost with the performance. He is 11-7-1 in his career with a notable draw against Leonard Garcia at WEC 47 and a highly-memorable kick-based knockout of Chan Sung Jung six months later at WEC 51.

The 22-year old Grispi holds a record of 14-2 and has finished thirteen of the opponents he’s beaten. Prior to his loss at UFC 125 he had been riding a ten-fight win streak including victories over Hominick, Jens Pulver, and L.C. Davis.

The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale is scheduled to take place at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and, in addition to Grispi vs. Roop, is set to feature a clash between top lightweight contenders Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis as well as the crowning of TUF 13’s champion.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFCSimilar Posts:

• Mark Hominick in line for UFC title-shot with win over George Roop
• Leonard Garcia added to Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale
• “Korean Zombie” Jung vs. George Roop, Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick likely for WEC 51
• Karalexis vs. Pettis & Garcia vs. Jung on “Aldo vs. Faber Prelims Live” via Spike TV
• Jonathan Brookins looking at June date with Jeremy Stephens

On the evening of December 31st, 2010, most twenty-somethings will be out celebrating the New Year in some fashion while consuming alcohol and sharing the occasion with loved ones until 2011 has long-since passed.

However, UFC 145-pound champ Jose Aldo is far from an average 24-year old, let alone person, and rather than drinking the night away amongst friends he will likely turn in early in preparation for the biggest fight of his six-year career.

Aldo recently talked to Tatame about his upcoming bout at UFC 125 – the grandest stage he’s ever competed on – against 14-1 featherweight Josh “The Fluke” Grispi and why he felt the right man was fighting him for the strap on January 1st, 2011.

“I’m focused,” said the dynamic, young Brazilian. “I have to defend my belt with all my strength. I live for it, I train for it, so I have to keep the rhythm on the trainings and give my best up there. I have to do the right game plan. I’m prepared and within time we’ll make things right.”

Aldo also explained he not only his openness to dealing with a change from originally rumored contender Mark Hominick to Grispi, but his approval of the move based on his 22-year old opponent’s success against the Canadian at WEC 52.

“I think Grispi deserved it, even because of the fact he beat Hominick. He’s a great fighter and he deserves to be in there with me,” Aldo expressed on the subject of Grispi’s first-round submission victory and title-shot.

After explaining he was focusing his training towards mat-based action even though “The Fluke” has a near-even split between TKO/submission wins, Aldo elaborated on his motivation for his chosen profession was not about gold but rather something far more profound.

“I’m training hard, and I always will,” said Aldo. “I fight for my fans, my gym, my Brazil, and everybody that likes me, so every time I (compete) I’ll give my best – it doesn’t matter what happens, it’ll always be my best…not just for me, but for all people who follow me, that cheer for me and want me to win.”

Aldo is 18-1 in his career with eleven consecutive wins currently to his credit. He has TKO’d seven of the last eight individuals he’s faced in the ring with the lone exception being Urijah Faber at WEC 48. Similar Posts:

• Hominick Out, Grispi In for Title Bout vs. Jose Aldo
• Marlon Sandro expresses possibility of New Year’s Eve action
• Jens Pulver vs. Josh Grispi added to WEC 41
• Pulver: Jose Aldo is nasty
• Sam Stout to fight for TKO in September

It appears Jose Aldowill not be defending his UFC featherweight championship against Mark Hominick, as had been previously reported, who has opted out due to injury. Rather, it turns out the talented youngster will instead be facing Josh “The Fluke” Grispi at UFC 125 on January 1st, 2011.

News of the switch was reported by Heavy.com.

In a press conference earlier this week, UFC President Dana White stated that he considered Aldo one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world. The Brazilian Muay Thai fighter is on an 11-fight winning streak, and has won all eight of his WEC bouts–with only one fight going to decision. His most recent outing was an impressive knockout victory over Manny Gamburyan, and he holds notable wins over Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, and Cub Swanson.

Grispi was signed by the WEC after going 10-1 in smaller organizations and currently holds a record of 14-1. He is coming off of a first-round technical submission victory over L.C. Davis. The guillotine earned him “Submission of the Night” honors. Grispi also defeated Jens Pulver and Mark Hominick by submission and defeated Micah Miller by TKO.

Need MMA gear? Get 25% off everything through November 1st at Elite MMA. Gloves, shorts, rashguards, Thai pads, punching bags and more. Similar Posts:

• WEC 41 “Fight Night” Bonuses and Official Salaries
• Jens Pulver vs. Josh Grispi added to WEC 41
• WEC 41 Nearing Completion
• Mike Brown retains title in battle with Urijah Faber at WEC 41
• WEC fighter payroll

Welcome back to another edition of “MMA Link Club”, Five Ounces of Pain‘s weekly smorgasbord of work from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy…

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic Speaks About his Eye Injury (MMAFighting.com)

Wanderlei Silva Has Some Choice Words for Chael Sonnen (MMAConvert.com)

TUF 12′s “Bruce Leroy” Tests his “Glow” in a Backyard Brawl (MiddleEasy.com)

Ryan Bader Looking for the Knockout at UFC 119 (FIGHT! Magazine)

The First Promo for Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez Shows Up (MMAScraps.com)

Ed Soares Says Anderson Silva May Not Be Ready for Vitor Belfort Until Februray 2011 (CagePotato.com)

Dana White Sounds Off on Chael Sonnen’s Recent Drug Test Results (WatchKalibRun.com)

Highlights from the UFC 119 Pre-Fight Press Conference (Heavy.com)

Josh Grispi Added to WEC 52 (Versus.com)Similar Posts:

• 5 Oz. MMA Link Club
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It's not very often that fights become larger than life and actually
live up to the hype.

But at this past weekend's WEC 49 event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin combined to deliver a toe-to-toe battle that lived up to every bit of
the hype generated by eight years of build-up.

Surprisingly, despite getting up off the canvas to deliver a second-round
TKO of Jabouin, Hominick said he wasn't sure exactly how great the fight
was. In fact, there are a few seconds he doesn't even remember.

How likely is it that Fabricio Werdum will beat Fedor Emelianenko? What event from the past ten days did you enjoy most from top to bottom? Will Cris “Cyborg” Santos beat Jan Finney faster than her husband beat Marius Zaromskis a week-and-a-half ago? What’s next for newly crowned Ultimate Fighter Season 11 champion Court McGee?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

Best overall event – “Strikeforce – Los Angeles”, “Sengoku 13″, “TUF 11 Finale”, or “WEC 49″?

Adam Tool: I should probably start by saying that since I have neither a)HDNet or b) insomnia, I have yet to see Sengoku 13. I’ve been trying to track down a copy online but thus far I have been unsuccessful, so I’ll have to make my pick from the other three events which I did see.

Of those three my pick would be WEC 49. In terms of fight quality there was plenty of good stuff to be had on all three cards. While thinking back on those events I can’t point out a single fight which I considered boring, but it was the action in the WEC cage that kept me closest to the edge of my seat. The only knock I can make against WEC 49 would be the unsatisfying result rendered in the evening’s main event, but that only came about as the result of the incompetent judging of Cameron Quwek, the lone judge who scored every single round for Kamal Shalorus. Some blame could also be leveled against referee Josh Rosenthal, as I still can’t understand why he didn’t take another point away from Shalorus for the third low blow delivered in the final frame. Other than that though, WEC 49 was a barrage of non-stop action and tremendous performances from everyone involved.

I would also have to give the edge to WEC 49 in terms of the show’s pacing. During the two and a half hour event we saw seven fights, with what seemed like a minimal amount of commercial interruption. The Ultimate Fighter Finale featured five fights over the course of two hours, with some interminable commercial breaks, endless shilling of upcoming Spike programming, and an extremely dull interview with Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Strikeforce: Los Angeles was well-done from a production stand-point, but I still don’t understand why the show’s producers chose to air backstage interviews in between rounds of some of the fights. On top of that we saw once again that Strikeforce has no interest in promoting new stars of the sport, as the event ended a half-hour early without a single preliminary fight shown.

Brendhan Conlan: Though each broadcast featured moments of brilliance I tend to side with Tool as far as WEC 49 being the strongest overall show in the bunch. Sengoku’s action was top notch but primarily involved talent 1% of the English-speaking audience could have picked out of a line-up prior to it airing, Strikeforce had some highlight-worthy moments but also had issues related to the card’s E3-specific production and promotion’s continuing trend of going off the air early without promoting undercard competitors, and save for Court McGee’s story and a fun scrap between Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill the Ultimate Fighter Finale was one of the least memorable in recent history. The scoring in Varner vs. Shalorus certainly detracted from the fight’s result but not from the entertaining battle that occurred during the fifteen minutes prior. Other than that, viewers were treated to the continued ascension of Josh Grispi as a top featherweight, late-replacement Danny Downes showing a ton of heart en route to a third-round submission loss at the limbs of Chris Horodecki, an edge-of-your-couch affair between Will Campuzano and Eddie Wineland, and a whole lot more.

True/False – Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will beat Jan Finney tomorrow night faster than her husband beat Marius Zaromskis ten days prior?

Tool: I’ll go with “false,” although I have little reason to justify it. A quick peak at Finney’s record online reveals two things two things: 1) her nickname is “Cuddles” (seriously?) and 2) she’s only had one TKO loss on her record which came in the second round. Despite her unimpressive record and the overwhelming odds against her, I think it’s safe to assume that Finney is not the easiest opponent to put away. Cyborg is clearly the toughest opponent “Cuddles” has faced in her career and it would certainly be no surprise if the Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight Champion finishes this fight in under two minute, but unless Finney makes a crucial error (flying knee anyone?) I believe she’ll last a bit longer than Zaromskis did.

Conlan: Zaromskis lives and dies on his feet, as evident by four of his five career losses coming by way of TKO, so it was inevitable he or “Cyborg” (XY Chromosome version) was going to sleep sooner than later in their bout. That’s not the case with Finney – ahem, “Cuddles” – so I think I’ll also have to go with “false” on this. Granted, Santos is unlike any other striker let alone overall fighter in women’s MMA. However, Finney has been in the ring against a few females with above-average hands (Erin Toughill for example) and remained conscious throughout save for a single loss to Julie Kedzie. Her grappling is good enough to lock onto “Cyborg” if need be and her stand-up is decent, so as long as she avoids going toe-to-toe with the champ she should be able to make it past the 2:38 mark.

Should Cung Le retire from MMA and focus on acting if he loses to Scott Smith a second time?

Tool: To be honest, I’m not really sure. Thus far Le’s acting career has yet to really take off. He’s played smaller roles in some big-screen releases, although his work in the film Tekken has yet to be seen here in America. He would probably have better luck in Asian cinema as a straight-forward martial arts action star, as there’s little call for someone with his particular talents in the current Hollywood system.

While Le took a large chunk of time off from MMA to focus on acting, the loss to Smith seems to have re-lit the competitive fire within him. He certainly believes that he’s a better fighter than Smith (and up until the final seconds of their first fight, he was) and with the (presumably) impending departure of Jake Shields the door could be wide open for Le to try and regain the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. After all, he never lost the belt. Of course he never had a chance to lose it since he didn’t defend it, but that’s beside the point.

Le could very well lose to Smith a second time. It’s unlikely, but certainly possible. He’s pushing 40 years old so he doesn’t have all the time in the world to get better in the sport, and as such retirement from competition probably isn’t too far off anyways. His exciting fighting style and built in fanbase in the San Jose area will allow him the opportunity to continue on as long as he wants, but if he’s trying to be the best in the world then his chances to do so will live or die on Saturday night.

Conlan: I’m a firm believer fighters should hang up their gloves when they are ready to do so unless there are health-related reasons at play. Yes, Le is 38 and power/speed are typically the first thing to deteriorate with increased age. Yes, he’s only been in the ring three times since June 2007. Yes, he’s a one-trick pony as far as being 100% stand-up based. However, losing his rematch with Smith would only drop him to 6-2, and it’s not as if “Hands of Steel” is some out-of-shape, over-the-hill can they plucked from the street. He’s got 3X as many fights as Le and beaten some notable opponents in his career. He has the striking to put any adversary to sleep and a solid jaw of his own to boot as indiciated by Smith’s only career TKO losses coming to Robbie Lawler in 2008 and James Irvin in 2004. If he walks away victor again this Saturday night it should in no way be considered a slight on Le’s talent but rather a credit to his fellow soft-spoken Californian’s. As Tool said, Le is a huge regional draw and possesses an incredibly entertaining style, so as long as he is still interested in stepping into the ring and competing he should be allowed to do so.

Using a percentage, how much of a chance do you give Fabricio Werdum of beating Fedor Emelianenko?

Conlan: 1%. Don’t get me wrong – Werdum is a world-class competitor on the mat and has some solid Chute Boxe-based striking to compliment the skill. He’s beaten a number of ranked opponents and only been finished once in eighteen fights. However, we’re talking about frakking Fedor here. He’s weathered punches that would have dropped most for the count and worked his way out of any tough position he’s ever been put in. He’s gone to decision less than 1/4 of the time he’s fought, is on a ridiculously long win-streak, and…well…I probably could have stopped at “frakking Fedor”, because the reality is if you’re reading this paragraph you already know the Russian phenom’s resume. There will always be a chance Werdum could perfectly time a punch and pull a “Matt Serra”, so he at least deserves “1%”, but beyond that I don’t see there being any way he comes away from the event as the first fighter to legitimately beat Emelianenko.

Tool: I’ll be a bit kinder to Mr. Werdum and go with 10%. Obviously I’m still backing Fedor to win, but Werdum does have at least one avenue to victory. His striking isn’t quite good enough to give Fedor trouble, but there can be little argument that he’s one of the best pure grapplers in the heavyweight division. Fedor has never really been close to being submitted, but then again it’s been a long time since he’s faced anyone that’s on Werdum’s level in BJJ. I still can’t see Fedor tapping out, but if there’s any opponent in the world that can do it I think it’s Werdum.

Do you think that Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus should have an immediate rematch?

Conlan: Though I’m typically in favor of immediate rematches when a particularly poor decision is rendered, this situation is different because Varner is going to miss a good deal of time with his broken hand/foot. Shalorus, however, was relatively uninjured after their original bout and isn’t scheduled to sit on the sidelines beyond his regular recuperation/training period. Based on that, it’s likely he’ll be ready for action before Varner is so it doesn’t make sense for him to twiddle his thumbs while waiting for the former lightweight champion to recover. As such, I could see a date with Donald Cerrone at a future event.

However, if WEC is determined to pair him with Varner again, I have a suggestion on how “The Prince of Persia” can kill his new-found time. There’s a new James Bond movie on the horizon that’s certain to need evil henchman and if ever an individual was born with the physical attributes to play a role…

Tool: Let’s also not forget that the recent Prince of Persia film was a resounding success, so perhaps Shalorus could have a role to play in a potential sequel? Shalorus vs. Gyllenhaal: book it!

As for the topic at hand, I believe that a rematch should be made as soon as both fighters are healed up and ready to go. I can point to no less than three reasons why this should happen. First, this bout was intended to determine the next #1 contender for Ben Henderson’s WEC Lightweight Championship. That honor will likely now go to the winner of the upcoming Shane Roller/Anthony Pettis bout, but right now there’s a serious lack of competition for the company’s “Smooth” young champion.

The second reason I would like to see a rematch is due to the decision rendered in the first fight. Clearly a draw does nothing to further either man’s career, but on top of that it’s a decision that has not sat well with a majority of the fanbase. Just about anyone that watched that fight could tell that Varner won, but obviously that’s not the case. Look at it this way; if it hadn’t been for the point deduction in the second round Shalorus would have won a split decision, and the controversy would have been even greater.

Finally I say match these two up again because their first meeting was simply a great fight. Groin shots aside, these two kept things competitive for the majority of the fifteen minutes. Shalorus’ strategy of staying in the pocket and slugging it out with Varner may not have been the best gameplan but it certainly kept things entertaining. I say let’s have rounds four, five, and six.

Who would you like to see Court McGee matched up with for his first post-”TUF” fight?

Conlan: I have a feeling McGee may actually drop to welterweight for his next in-Octagon appearance since he’s only 5′11 and size is crucial in a promotion as deep in talent as the UFC. It also makes sense considering a number of past seasonal champions have done the same thing. The Ultimate Fighter is a great opportunity and often fighters are willing to risk competing against bigger guys to earn a contract, plus it makes maintaining/making weight easier.

As far as when Court will be in session again (you’re welcome Mauro Renallo), there are ton of opponents at 170 pounds for “The Crusher” to, well, crush. He clearly can’t be matched against one of the division’s top fighters but he also deserves better than a “gimme” dubya. Amir Sadollah seems possible based on his status as a former TUF winner himself and the fact that, at 3-2, the master of “Baboo Baby” technique could use a semi-winnable fight. Season 9 champ James Wilks is also in a similar position but ended up on the right side of a decision at UFC 115 instead of the wrong one, as Amir did at UFC 114.

Tool: I’m not so sure that McGee will drop down in weight, since he’s not yet announced any plans to do so. I’m going to try and pick someone at middleweight, and furthermore I’ll try to follow the UFC’s traditional model of giving their “TUF” champs a somewhat “lesser” opponent in their first post-show fight.

With that in mind my pick goes to Joe Doerksen. Doerksen is the very definition of a journeyman fighter, with enough name value to provide McGee a nice little boost with a win. At the same time if McGee comes up short in this fight it’s a bit more understandable given the fact that he’s facing an opponent with such a depth of experience. Stylistically the two match up well, as neither man is technically proficient in striking even though they are willing to stand and trade. McGee would have the wrestling advantage, but Doerksen could present a problem with his jiu-jitsu skills.

MMAjunkie.com Radio returns with a star-studded show that includes
former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, who helps us break
down Saturday's event and his fight with Pat Healy.

Also joining us today are WEC 49 winners Josh Grispi and Eddie Wineland, as well as UFC fighter Daniel "Ninja" Roberts, who meets late replacement Forrest Petz on next week's UFC 116 preliminary card.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

MMAjunkie.com Radio returns with a star-studded show that includes
former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, who helps us break
down Saturday's event and his fight with Pat Healy.

Also joining us today are WEC 49 winners Josh Grispi and Eddie Wineland, as well as UFC fighter Daniel "Ninja" Roberts, who meets late replacement Forrest Petz on next week's UFC 116 preliminary card.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

WEC 49 took place on June 20 from the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and the ECSC(Edmonton Combatative Sports Commision) has issued their list of medical suspensions from the night. Every fighter has been suspended, though most can get back to training with a quick doctors clearance. The biggest suspensions went to Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus both of whom were suspended indefinetely.

Jamie Varner: Suspended indefinitely until cleared by a doctor. X-rays are required for right hand, right foot and ribs.
Kamal Shalorus: Suspended indefinitely until cleared by a doctor. X-rays required for hands and right leg.
Yves Jabouin: 30 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Mark Hominick: 30 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Will Campuzano: 30 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Diego Nunes: 30 day suspension for precautionary reasons
L.C. Davis: 21 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Daniel Downes: 21 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Anthony Leone: 21 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Chris Horodecki: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Eddie Wineland: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Frank Gomez: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Wagnney Fabiano: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Bendy Casimir: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Raphael Assuncao: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Chris Cariaso: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Rafael Rebello: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Renan Barao: 14 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Josh Grispi: 7 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Will Kerr: 7 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Karen Darabedyan: 7 day suspension for precautionary reasons
Erik Koch: 7 day suspension for precautionary reasons

During last night’s “WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus” post-fight press conference, WEC official Reed Harris announced the “Fight Night” bonuses for the event.

Walking away with a $10,000 bonus were Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin for “Fight of the Night,” while Eddie Wineland earned the “Knockout of the Night,” and “Submission of the Night” was warded to Josh Grispi.

Hominick and Jabouin fought in the co-main event and saw both men push the pace. Near the middle of the second frame, Hominick put Jabouin into the fence and presses the attack. Jabouin climbs back to his feet and responds with a right hand that put’s Hominick on the mat. As Jabouin jumps in to finish he’s caught in Hominick’s guard who rolls him over to gain mount and finishes the fight.

Wineland was awarded the “Knockout of the Night” after stopping opponent Will Campuzano in the second round at 4:44. Wineland used a couple of tough body shots to Campuzano to put him to the mat and finishes with a good shot to the jaw to win the fight.

Grispi won the “Submission of the Night” after submitting opponent L.C. Davis in the middle of the first round. He beat out four other fighters who also earned submission victories on the evening. Davis refused to tap out and was put into unconsciousness by the choke.