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UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre squared off against former NHL tough guy Goerges Laraque on Friday on a special episode of ‘Off the Record’ on the Canadian sports network TSN.

Both men squared off at the Tristar gym in Montreal in a friendly grappling match that pitted the 190 pound champ against the 275 pound hockey player.

In the end the UFC champ proved too much, taking down his fellow Quebecer at will, winning the battle of the two Georges on Friday night.

“I was surprised,” St. Pierre admitted. “He’s better than I thought he would be. I respect him a lot because he showed up. A lot of guys talk but don’t show up.”

Laraque, who was noticeably winded following the skirmish, was noble in defeat.

“That’s much harder than an NHL game or a hockey fight,” Laraque told Landsberg following the tilt. “It’s unbelievable, I couldn’t imagine fighting someone my own size.”

HT: TSN.ca

As we turn the page to a new decade with the coming of 2010, there’s no better time than the present to take an insiders look at the top of the food chain talent that is poised to make a significant impact on the landscape of mixed martial arts in the years to follow.

Come along as FiveOuncesofPain.com gives you dozens, upon dozens of reasons to get excited about the future of this passion driven sport we have come to understand and love.

So make sure to etch these names in your head and don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

Todd Duffee: Five fights, five wins, five knockouts and the fastest recorded KO in UFC history; How can you not get excited about this 6′3″, 250+ pound wrecking machine? Duffee used Tim Hague’s face as a springboard into the limelight with the UFC after a seven second knockout at UFC 102 served to put the entire heavyweight division on notice.

Mike Ricci: At just twenty-three years of age, this undefeated Bellator lightweight is a main training partner to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at the TriStar gym in Montreal. Rocking an untarnished record of 5-0 with three TKO’s and one submission to his credit, Ricci is already touted as one of the fastest rising prospects to come out of Canada in recent years.

Aaron Simpson: With a combined high school wrestling record of 142-1, Simpson went on to become a two-time NCAA All American for Arizona State University before joining the illustrious wrestling program as a coach upon graduation. As a professional in mixed martial arts “A-Train” has clearly established himself as a force to be reckoned with at 185 pounds, combining a top level wrestling foundation with a huge punch to mount an undefeated record of 7-0 , with three consecutive victories in the UFC.

Constantinos Philippou: Training out of Team Serra Longo in New York, Philippou has put together an impressive record of 5-1 up until this point in his quickly developing career, with the sole defeat on his resume coming in Constantinos’ fighting debut at the hands of the highly regarded Ricardo Romero. Fighting at middleweight, Philippou’s most recent outing was an impressive decision victory over the 8-1 Victor O’Donnell, who FiveOuncesofPain.com recently confirmed as a cast member on the upcoming eleventh season of the Ultimate Fighter.

Bobby Lashley: With a background in collegiate and professional wrestling much like current UFC heavyweight title holder Brock Lesnar, Lashley has strung together an unblemished record of 5-0. Bobby is almost too high profile currently to consider a prospect, but with his biggest victories coming over the likes of Wes Sims and Bob Sapp, Lashley definitely falls into this category. The hulking powerhouse recently stepped away from his professional wrestling obligations to TNA to focus solely on his training in mixed martial arts.

Billy Evangelista: Undefeated at eleven fights into his professional fighting career and training out of both Team Buhawe and the American Kickboxing Academy, Evangelista has clearly established himself as a top flight up and comer in the Strikeforce lightweight division. Evangelista holds notable victories over the likes of Marlon Sims, Nam Phan, and most recently, Jorge Gurgel.

Kris McCray: Just one of a handful of fighters that FiveOuncesofPain.com recently revealed as cast members for the upcoming eleventh installment of The Ultimate Fighter, McCray shines bright among the TUF 11 hopefuls with a completely unblemished career in MMA that includes five victories as a professional and four as an amateur. Training out of Gold Medal Grappling in Woodbridge, Virginia, not once has McCray allowed one of his victims the benefit of making it to the judges scorecards.

Lyle Beerbohm: Saved through MMA after being released from prison due to an addiction to crystal methamphetamine, “Fancy Pants” is a walking, talking redemption story in progress, having never suffered a defeat as either an amateur or professional during his 25 scraps in the sport. Fighting in the Strikeforce lightweight division with an untarnished professional record of 12-0, Lyle recently submitted UFC veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig in the very first round with a hybrid “Beer Naked Choke”.

Nick Ring: Fighting out of the middleweight division, Ring is an Intercontinental Muay Thai champion, and one of just four finalists during the PRIDE FC United States tryouts that were held several year ago. Nick currently boasts an unblemished record of 10-0 while securing seven finishes in his ten outings.

Roger Bowling: Bowling is one of the highest regarded welterweight prospects that few have heard of until now. At twenty-seven years of age, “Relentless” recently inked an exclusive contract with Strikeforce and sports an undefeated professional record of 6-0, with not a single one of his victims making it to the judges.

To check out Volume One, CLICK HERE

Volume two, CLICK HERE

Think you know of a prospect that needs to be on this list? Put it in writing in the comment section below and he or she could turn up in “Top MMA Prospects 2010 Vol. IV”…. coming soon.

After Japanese standout Takanori Gomi (31-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) reportedly signed with the UFC, rumors began flying around that his first opponent would be UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian (12-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC).

Well, those rumors have begun to take a credible shape. ESPN’s MMA Live has reported the bout will serve as the main event at UFC Fight Night 21 in North Carolina on March 31. MMA Live, a show in which Florian serves as an analyst, posted an updated on their official Twitter account this morning.

Florian has spent the vast majority of his professional career with the UFC. He has seen great success in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division, but has been unsuccessful in two title shot attempts.

After an August 2009 title bout loss to champ B.J. Penn, Florian mutually split with longtime trainer Mark DellaGrotte of Team Sityodtong. Since then, Florian has been training at the Tristar Gym in Montreal under Firas Zahabi. Tristar houses UFCs famed welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Last month, Florian rebounded with a dominating performance over Clay Guida—winning by submission in the second round.

Gomi, once ranked as the world’s top lightweight, dominated the PRIDE banner between 2004-2006. Critics have recently questioned Gomi’s work ethic and commitment to the sport.

With the announcement of Florian vs. Gomi, a bout that could easily be on the main card of a PPV, the March 31 “Fight Night 21” card is beginning to look quite strong:

Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi

Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera

Lucio Linhares vs. Yushin Okami

Cole Miller vs. Andre Winner

January 19/2010

Patrick “The Predator” Cote (13-5) has been out with a knee injury since his loss to UFC champion Anderson Silva when he contested for the for the UFC middleweight title in October of 2008. We caught up with Cote as he looks to make his come-back and once again climb the ranks to become the number one contender in the UFC. Cote took time to talk to The MMA News about his upcoming fight, his return to the cage, and how the MMA landscape has changed since his injury.

Terry(TheMMANews): Your last fight was October of 2008 against Anderson Silva for the UFC middle weight title; tell us a little bit about that fight and the injury you suffered.

Patrick Côté: “I felt great going into this fight, we had a good game plan and it was really fun to fight the best fighter in the world and to have a chance to win the title. Like I said I lost the fight but I don’t think he beat me. I felt good and I took his best punch and I didn’t feel bad, I think I was still in the fight when the injury happened. What happened was that my knee dislocated and everything broke inside except the bone, the ACL, MCL, meniscus and all the cartilage. It was just bad luck and bad timing.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Has the long layoff been tougher on you physically, or mentally?

Patrick Côté: “More physically because I am very strong mentally and I have no problems with that. I feel good and I’m back in the gym. I don’t feel any rust at all getting back into the sparring sessions, everything else is ok I am in good shape, it feels good to be back in the gym doing fight training again.”

Terry(TheMMANews): What kind of stuff did you do to pass time while being injured and unable to train?

Patrick Côté: “Last summer I spent a lot of time on my boat, and just hanging out with my friends. I couldn’t even work my conditioning because I was on one leg, so last summer I did a lot of hanging out with friends, boating, partying and gaining weight. Right now it’s all about eating and losing weight, I’m about 210 now and I feel good I’m back in shape and it’s awesome.”

Terry(TheMMANews): So how much weight did you gain, what was the peak?

Patrick Côté: “I went to I think 230, 235, and the food was great but right now I lost all this weight and I can see my abs again now so that’s good.”

Terry(TheMMANews): So are you back in training 100%?

Patrick Côté: “Yeah I’m back in training 100%, I do boxing sparring. I can’t do wrestling sparring yet but maybe in two weeks I will have the go ahead to do whatever I want. Right now I still have a little bit of restrictions but maybe in 2 or 3 weeks I will be able to do whatever I want.

Terry(TheMMANews): You are scheduled to fight Alan Belcher on May 1st on UFC 113, what made you want to take such a tough fight right away?

Patrick Côté: “That’s exactly what we wanted; we wanted a big fight right away because we want to get back to the top as soon as possible. I don’t think there is any easy fight in the UFC, everybody is good so why take a chance and fight a no name or somebody that nobody knows and shit happens and I lose the fight because of a cut. I think the smart move is me asking for a big fight right away, and that’s exactly what we have. Belcher is a tough guy, he’s a gamer with a good chin, good skill on his feet and I think it’s going to be a good fight for the fans.

Terry(TheMMANews): With you and Belcher both preferring to strike, is it safe to assume the fans can expect a stand up war?

Patrick Côté: “I don’t know about him, but I’m ready to come and go straight toe to toe with him. He has a really good chin, but that’s my style. I know he is a really good Muay Thai fighter, I think he has a couple holes in his game, especially when he exchanges toe to toe he becomes very open. We’re both purple belts in jujitsu and were both Muay Thai fighters too so it’s a pretty good match up for the fans.”

Terry(TheMMANews): In the past you have trained with Brazilian Top Team Canada, Tristar gym, as well as travelling to Boston to work with Mark Dellegrote. Do you plan on having a similar training camp for this fight or will you be making any changes?

Patrick Côté: “No, exactly the same, I am going to train a month in Boston with Mark. With BTT Canada my main trainer Fabio Holanda will come with me as well as Murillo Bustamante is going to help me with my training camp. So I will have a lot of good people around me and I will be ready for the fight.”

Terry(TheMMANews): You have said that if you do get a re-match with Anderson Silva that you are confident that you will win, what did you learn from the first fight that would allow you to get the win over Silva?

Patrick Côté: “If I fight him again I think I am going to do the same thing, I think I learned that if you’re not scarred of him right away you have a good chance to win and that’s what I did. I was there in the first second of the fight, I took the centre of the octagon and I showed him I wasn’t scarred of him. This guy is not a machine; he is a human like me and you, so you have to believe in yourself. The worst part of fighting Anderson Silva is that it’s so hard finding training partners like him, nobody moves like him and nobody fights like him. So if I fight him again the surprise aspect of how he moves and how he fights is not going to be a surprise anymore, I know him and how it feels to be in the same octagon with him, so that is going to be a huge advantage for me.”

Terry(TheMMANews): How do you feel a showdown in the middle weight division between Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva would go down?

Patrick Côté: “I think Vitor has a good chance, I like Vitor. I’m a big fan of him and I’m a big fan of Anderson Silva too, and I’m looking forward to seeing this fight. I think Vitor has the perfect style to finally hurt Anderson Silva and we will see how Anderson Silva will react if he gets hurt if Belfort punches him in right place. It is very important for Vitor Belfort to come into the fight 100% prepared mentally.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Before the loss you were on a 5 fight win streak, but you started your career in the UFC 0-4, what was it that helped you change your career around?

Patrick Côté: “Sityodtong in Boston changed a lot of my game, Mark Dellegrote and with BTT Canada it all worked well together. I think that I finally found a good combination and after that I fought Scott Smith and then I won 5 fights in a row, I think was just having some bad luck. My first fight was against Tito, and then against Joe Doerkson I was winning the fight before I got caught with the choke, I made a rookie mistake and against Chris Leban I lost by split decision and a lot of people thought I won that fight. Except for the Travis Lutter fight the others could have been wins for me, but the most important thing is that I’m really strong mentally.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Even in your losses you have put on some good fights for the fans, no one can say you don’t put on good fights.

Patrick Côté: “I don’t choose my fights; I want big fights all the time. I don’t do this sport to be number 2, to be second, I want to be world champion—I think I have the ability to be world champion.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Is there any aspects you are looking to improve post injury, are there any new skills your looking to bring into the cage against Belcher?

Patrick Côté: “I always try to improve every aspect of my game, everybody knows I’m a striker and I like to keep it on my feet. Everybody things that my jujitsu and wrestling aren’t that good, but I think that in my fight against Ricardo Almeida I proved that my BJJ is really good now especially my defense and that my wrestling has improved, I think I proved a lot of things against Almeida. Every day I try to improve, especially my wrestling because it is a very important aspect in MMA, every day I work to be better.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Looking at the landscape of fighters in the 185 pound class, do you think the division is tougher now, or was it tougher before you left?

Patrick Côté: “I think it’s tough now, there are a lot of good guys now. Nathan Marquart, Damien Maia, you have Dan Miller and Tom Lawlor. A lot of good new guys in the division, I think that a couple years ago the middle weight division was a weaker division but I think the middle weight division is stacked now.”

Terry(TheMMANews): One of your training partners Georges St Pierre trains with Greg Jackson and Nathan Marquart who comes up to Montreal, have you trained with Marquart? Is he a training partner of yours, and would you have any problems fighting him?

Patrick Côté: “He’s not my training partner but I have trained with him a couple times. I have no problems fighting him because we are not from the same camp. I box and I do wrestling at the same place as George, so when he comes to Montreal he comes to train with George so sometimes we are in the same place. I have a good relationship with Nathan Marquart and we train together sometimes but not very often. It’s just business, if I fight Marquart its going to be a big honor for me, I think he deserves a title fight over Vitor Belfort but maybe after he beats Chael Sonnan he will have it.”

Terry(TheMMANews): Do you have any words for you fans, or any words for Allen Belcher?

Patrick Côté: “My fans have given me awesome support, I have been out a year and a half and everybody has been behind me and looking forward to my comeback. It’s really nice to have this kind of support, and my manager did a lot of work for me for the last year even if I didn’t fight. He took this fight for me against Alan Belcher; we wanted this because we know it’s going to be a really good fight for the fans and a good matchup for me. I’m looking forward to fighting Belcher, like I said I respect him a lot and I don’t think he’s ever been hit hart like I can hit, I know he has a good chin and look forward to testing it.”

CHICAGO (January 18, 2010) — Undefeated Canadian lightweight Mike Ricci, a regular training partner to fellow Quebec native Georges St-Pierre, is the latest highly-touted MMA prospect to sign an exclusive contract with Bellator Fighting Championships, the promotion announced today.

The 23-year-old Ricci, who will enter Bellator’s 155 lbs. tournament with an unblemished pro record of 5-0, trains alongside GSP under the famed Firas Zahabi at his TriStar gym in Montreal. Zahabi told Bellator on Sunday that he thinks Ricci is “the next big thing” to come out of Canada.

“It’s a long road to become the next GSP, but Ricci is the farthest along that road of anyone we’ve got,” Zahabi said. “He’s still earning his stripes, so to speak, but if he continues to progress, I think he’ll be right up there with St-Pierre.”

Like GSP, Ricci brings a well-rounded approach to the cage that draws upon extensive training in Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling, Zahabi said.

“He’s up for a much bigger challenge on an international stage and Bellator gives him that chance,” he said.

Ricci is the first fighter to be named by Bellator as a participant in its eight-man Season 2 lightweight tournament. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 170 and 185 lbs. with the winners of this year’s tournaments being declared No. 1 contenders to Bellator’s current roster of champions. Season 2 begins April 8^th.

“It’s very exciting for Bellator to acquire a fighter with Mike Ricci’s pedigree,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This announcement should give everyone an idea of the kind of talent they’re going to be seeing in our lightweight tournament this spring.”

Ricci began training in MMA at the age of 19 while also playing college football for Vanier University in Montreal. Soon afterward, he elected to give up football in order to train full-time with Zahabi.

His maturation process as a fighter, he says, has been greatly accelerated by training alongside St-Pierre and other TriStar regulars like Patrick Cote.

“What’s made me improve so much in a short period of time is helping guys like Cote and GSP in their training camps,” Ricci said. “It’s also helped my confidence. When you set a goal of being a world champion, it may seem far-fetched—but not when you train alongside guys who’ve already achieved that.”

That experience, however, is only part of his close involvement with world-class competition. He also trains regularly with the Canadian Olympic wrestling team—which has helped hone his defensive skills.

“I really pride myself on my defense,” he says. “I think I’ve only been hit like twice in my whole career. I think that really separates me from my competition.”

Ricci said he is looking forward to Bellator’s Season 2 tournament both because of the high level of competition and the international exposure he hopes to gain from the promotion’s historic TV distribution alliance with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo.

“I’ve gotten to the point in my career where my coach thinks I’m ready and I think I’m ready to take the next step,” Ricci said. “I’m just very grateful for the opportunity.”

With their featherweight and welterweight tournaments quickly filling with notable talent, Bellator Fighting Championships officials today revealed the first competitor for its lightweight tournament: Mike Ricci.

Ricci, who trains with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre under the famed Firas Zahabi at Montreal's TriStar gym, owns a 5-0 career mark.

Ricci competes in the eight-man lightweight tournament, which commences
in April with live Thursday-night events on FOX Sports Net Affiliates.