UFC On FOX 2 Official Weigh-In Results

FUEL TV Preliminary Fights:

-Evan Dunham (155 lbs.) vs. Nik Lentz (155 lbs.)
-John-Olav Einemo (253 lbs.) vs. Mike Russow (251 lbs.)
-George Roop (145 lbs.) vs. Cub Swanson (145 lbs.)
-Charles Oliveira (144 lbs.) vs. Eric Wisely (145 lbs.)
-Michael Johnson (156 lbs.) vs. Shane Roller (156 lbs.)
-Joey Beltran (228 lbs.) vs. Lavar Johnson (252 lbs.)

FOX Main Card Fights:

-Demian Maia (186 lbs.) vs. Chris Weidman (185 lbs.)
-Michael Bisping (185 lbs.) vs. Chael Sonnen (185 lbs.)
-Phil Davis (205 lbs.) vs. Rashad Evans (205 lbs.)

UFC On FOX 2 goes down live on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois with the main card airing live on FOX (8PM ET / 5PM PT) and the complete preliminary card airing live on FUEL TV (5PM ET / 2PM PT).

Rashad Evans, Phil Davis turn up trashtalking heat in UFC on FOX 2 build-up

Insulting уour opponent, оr "talking uр the fight," іs part of the job bеing in tһе UFC, Rashad Evans believes.

"It's lіke personal, but not reаӏlу personal-personal," Evans (16-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) ѕaіd today during а pre-event press conference іn support of UFC оn FOX 2, wһісһ takes place Saturday аt Chicago's United Center аnd airs live on FOX.

Then he proceeded to put in a good day's work agаinst Phil Davis (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), wһо stands bеtwеen hіm аnd a shot at thе light-heavyweight title.

Davis gоt him working early wһеn the topic оf wrestling was brought up. He hаd previously asserted tһаt һе wоuld һaѵe won іf tһe twо һаd met іn college wһіle hе was аt Michigan State аnd Davis was at Penn State.

As a four-time Division I All-American аnd NCAA champion, tһe nоrmaӏlу congenial Davis tооk humorous exception to tһе claim.

"Cocaine's a helluva drug," һe said. "And іt's crazy whаt the kids do nowadays. I encourage imagination, аnd it's good tһаt һe һаѕ that, but no. He'll neѵer beat mе іn wrestling – nоt thumb wrestling, nоt аnythіng оf thе sort."

Clearly agitated, Evans corrected Davis whеn hе trіеd tо assert tһat thеу wrestled in the ѕame division (Evans competed at 174 pounds whіӏе Davis was аt 197 pounds) аnd sаіd Davis won һis NCAA title on а "soft" year іn competition.

"If I wrestled уоu іn college, I guarantee I wouӏd һаve beaten you," Evans said. "If you wrestled rіgһt now, I guarantee I'd beat yоu rіght now."

"That's interesting. ... How mаny years werе уou an All-American?" Davis pondered.

"You uѕed trash tо win," Evans shot back. "You соuld not win a world competition, man. You сould not win on аn international stage becаuѕе уou hаve trash technique."

"Really? You arе believing yоur own hype, mу friend," saіd Davis. "Who tells yоu theѕe stories?"

"I watch the wау you move," ѕaіd Evans. "You һavе trash technique."

"What haѵe уоu beеn watching?" an incredulous Davis asked.

So ended round one.

Despite һaѵіng tо endure ѕеѵerаl attacks оn һіs abilities, the undefeated Davis insisted һе hаѕn't bееn rattled in tһe buildup tо tһе fight.

But unlike before, hіs words hаvе а ӏіttlе mоre bite on them. Asked whether hе waѕ disappointed that they didn't get tо fight, Davis sаid he regretted nоt bеіng аbӏе to fight іn front of hіѕ family.

Unprovoked, Evans claimed Davis wаs afraid to fight.

"Notice һе ѕaіd һе dіdn't wаnt tо fight me, right? I juѕt want tо point that out," Evans said. "You notice һe ѕаid һе wаѕ upset becаuse һе dіdn't gеt tо fight іn front оf һis friends, but he dіdn't say bесаuse һе waѕ afraid."

"I don't know іf tһаt'ѕ wһat thеу heard," Davis said.

"Well, I mean, thаt's wһаt you said," Evans said.

Incredulous again, Davis exclaimed: "He's оn drugs! They're going tо test him. He's оn drugs. Anyhow, I was upset beсausе I'm from Pennsylvania..."

"Yeah, but уou dіdn't want to fight me," Evans interjected.

"Nobody heard that!" Davis shot back. "Chicago commission, tһiѕ man is on drugs."

Thus ended round two.

So it'ѕ clear Evans cӏearӏу gеts іntо hiѕ work. Still, tһe stakes remain high fоr tһe Saturday fight. On tһе line iѕ а title shot promised by UFC president Dana White. It's аn opportunity thаt hаs eluded hіm for onе reason or аnоtһеr for twо years, аnd potentially agaіnѕt аn opponent witһ wһom һе'ѕ alreadу punched tһe clock in advance – champ Jon Jones.

Should һе fall short, Evans' agony wouӏd bе unmistakable.

Now, іs һе taking ѕucһ great interest in һіѕ side job beсаuѕe he'ѕ aware оf аӏl this?

Hard to say, but entertaining tо watch.

King Mo Will Not Contest Positive Test, Blames Supplement

"King Mo" Lawal has no plans to appeal a positive drug test for performance enhancing drugs according to manager Mike Kogan.

Kogan told Ariel Helwani this week that the camp won't appeal due to Lawal not knowing taking the banned substance.

Kogan explained:

"Since we're not contesting the findings of the commission test, we're not challenging the chain of custody, we're not pointing fingers at anybody and we're not calling for conspiracy theories, I don't believe we'll actually file an appeal per se," Kogan told Helwani. "What we will file is an answer, and an answer would involve affirming their test results and providing our findings and our explanation."

The guilty party, according to Kogan and Lawal, is a supplement called S-Mass Lean Gainer by Rock Solid, which Lawal said he bought at a Max Muscle store in California and used only sporadically for "rehab stuff," the fighter explained. It was recommended to him by a Max Muscle employee some time in April of 2010, he said, though it's since been removed from the market, according to Kogan, who admitted he had no knowledge that Lawal was taking any supplements at all prior to his positive drug screening.

"To the best of my research, this product was taken off the shelves some time in mid-2011, for exactly the same reason that we're facing right now. Its primary and only relevant ingredient of that particular product is a substance known as Methyldrostanolone, which is basically just a pill format of Drostanolone," Kogan said.

UFC On FX 1: "Guillard vs. Miller" Results - January 20, 2012

FUEL TV Preliminary Fights:

-Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (elbows) at 0:22 of Round 1.
-Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via Submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:37 of Round 1.
-Fabricio Camoes def. Tom Hayden via Submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:03 of Round 1.
-Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds.
-Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:08 of Round 3.
-Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (punches) at 1:31 of Round 2.

FX Main Card Fights:

-Pat Barry def. Christian Morecraft via KO (punches) at 3:28 of Round 1.
-Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via Majority Decision after 3 Rounds.
-Josh Neer def. Duane "Bang" Ludwig via Submission (guillotine choke) at of Round 1.
-Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:04 of Round 1.

UFC on FX: Guillard Vs. Miller Weigh In Results

Main Event:

155 lbs.: Melvin Guillard (156) vs. Jim Miller (155)

Main Card (FX Channel):

170 lbs.: Duane Ludwig (170.5) vs. Josh Neer (171)
135 lbs.: Mike Easton (135) vs. Jared Papazian (135.5)
265 lbs.: Pat Barry (242) vs. Christian Morecraft (256)

Preliminary Card (FUEL TV):

185 lbs.: Jorge Rivera (185.5) vs. Eric Schafer (185)
155 lbs.: Khabib Nurmagomedov (155) vs. Kamal Shalorus (155.5)
170 lbs.: Charlie Brenneman (170.5) vs. Daniel Roberts (170.5)
155 lbs.: Fabricio Camoes (157.5) vs. Tom Hayden (155.5)
145 lbs.: Daniel Pineda (145) vs. Pat Schilling (145)
135 lbs.: Nick Denis (135.5) vs. Joseph Sandoval (135)

Mark Munoz Injured, Chael Sonnen Vs. Michael Bisping Booked

The scheduled UFC on Fox 2 bout between Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz has been changed due to Munoz suffering an injury in training and instead Sonnen will now face Michael Bisping.

UFC President Dana White took to his Twitter account to make the announcement yesterday. White also added that the bout would be a number one contender's match with the winner getting the next shot at Anderson Silva.

UFC On Fox 2 takes place on Janauary 28th.

Strikeforce's 'King Mo' Lawal tests positive for anabolic steroid, fighter denies use

Former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone at the Jan. 7 "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine" event.

That's according to Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer, who today emailed the event's drug-testing results to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

When today contacted by MMAjunkie.com, Lawal denied using any banned substances.

All other fighters from the Las Vegas show tested negative for performance-enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse.

Lawal (9-1 MMA, 4-1 SF) scored a second-round knockout of Lorenzo Larkin at the event, which took place at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Lawal, who was fighting for the second time since losing his Strikeforce belt, fought in the night's Showtime-televised main card.

Barring a successful appeal, Lawal faces a one-year suspension, a fine, and the overturning of the win to a no-contest.

Drostanolone (also known as Drolban or Masteron) often is used as a diuretic among weight-cutting and recovering/injured athletes, according to various online sources.

Other fighters tested at the event include Luke Rockhold, Keith Jardine, Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley, Tarec Saffiedine, Tyler Stinson, Nah-Shon Burrell, James Terry, Gian Villante, Trevor Smith, Ricky Legere, Chris Spang, Estevan Payan and Alonzo Martinez. All tested negative.

Dana White open to lightweight move for 145-pound champ Jose Aldo

With his 14th-straight victory in the featherweight division, UFC champ Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is beginning to run out of possible opponents at 145 pounds.

Sure, there's a few names making their way up the ranks right now, but is it time for Aldo to make the move up to lightweight in search of greater challenges?

UFC president Dana White said he's just fine with Aldo staying put at featherweight, but he certainly won't stand in the way if the champ decides to move up in weight.

"People have been asking me about Jose Aldo moving up to 155 pounds to take on Frankie Edgar or some of the top guys there," White said at Saturday night's post-UFC 142 press conference at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. "That's up to him. He's going to have to make that decision whether he wants to make that move or not.

"I would have no problem with him staying at his weight now and defending his title there or moving to 155 pounds – whatever he feels like he wants to do."

After earning a first-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Chad Mendes at Saturday's UFC 142 event, Aldo is now 11-0 during his combined time as a UFC and WEC fighter. Mendes was supposed to provide a stylistic challenge for Aldo, but the champion showed capable takedown defense before launching into a highlight-reel finish consisting of a knee and several devastating punches.

Following the first professional loss of his career, Mendes admitted he simply ran into a better man in the evening's main event.

"Jose is a great champion," Mendes said. "He's got very athletic moves and a style that's very hard to train for. We did our best.

"Honestly, this is the best camp that I've ever had. It's the best I've ever felt, so both mentally and physically, I was 100 percent prepared coming into this fight. But obviously, it just wasn't my night. My natural reaction was to drop down, and his natural reaction was to throw the knee. We collided, and I lost."

It was Aldo's first finish in the UFC after coming to the promotion when the WEC shuttered its doors. It was also one of the most impressive outings of his career, and it took place in front of his countrymen.

"I started hearing that Gray Maynard couldn't take him down in practice," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.con). "And you saw it tonight. Mendes couldn't get Jose Aldo down. And even when he did, he couldn't keep him there. That's scary when you're a wrestler."

White said he still believes Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre rate above Aldo in the pound-for-pound pecking order, but with the impressive performance, he thinks the featherweight champ and lightweight kingpin Frankie Edgar are a toss-up for the No. 4 spot.

"Aldo looked fantastic tonight," White said. "He was in tremendous shape. He came in, and you could tell his head was in this fight, and he came out performed against a real guy who was undefeated and came to take that belt away.

"I hate this pound-for-pound [expletive] now. You've still got to look at the year 'Bones' had. Anderson's run is tough to beat. But it does make it interesting for Frankie Edgar. It's crazy."

Aldo doesn't currently have any clear-cut challengers left at 145 pounds. There was a time when he toyed with the idea of taking a fight at bantamweight, but the 25-year-old has since added significant muscle in recent years and no longer appears capable of making the 135-pound limit. Names like Yuri Alcantara, Hatsu Hioki, Erik Koch and Dustin Porier all present potentially viable options for Aldo, but none seem to really signify must-have matchups.

So perhaps greener pastures lie in a division 10 pounds heavier.

White is leaving that for his champion to decide.

"Jose Aldo looked fantastic," White said. "Whatever he wants to do – 145, 155 – I'm good."

UFC 142 weigh-in results: 'Rumble' Johnson 11 pounds heavy, fined 20 percent of purse

Johnson, a former welterweight making his middleweight debut, badly missed weight and weighed 197 pounds for his bout with Vitor Belfort.

Today's festivities took place at at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, the same venue that hosts Saturday's pay-per-view event.

Johnson has been fined 20 percent of his purse as a fine, and it's been awarded to Belfort. Additionally, Johnson can weigh no more than 205 pounds for tomorrow's fight to go on as planned.

The headliners, meanwhile, made weight without incident. UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (145) and challenger Chad Mendes (144) were within the 145-pound limit.

The full UFC 142 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Champ Jose Aldo (145) vs. Chad Mendes (144)
Vitor Belfort (186) vs. Anthony Johnson (197)*
Mike Massenzio (184) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186)
Carlo Prater (170) vs. Erick Silva (169)
Edson Barboza (154) vs. Terry Etim (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)
Sam Stout (155) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
Gabriel Gonzaga (250) vs. Ednaldo Oliveira (229)
Yuri Alcantara (145) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (146)
Ricardo Funch (170) vs. Mike Pyle (171)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Felipe Arantes (145) vs. Antonio "Pato" Carvalho (144)

Fedor Emelianenko possible as Strikeforce's 'plus-one' heavyweight for new champ

Soon, the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix will come to a conclusion, and the entire division then will be sent to the UFC.

But first, the tournament champion – either Josh Barnett or Daniel Cormier – will get one more Strikeforce fight against an opponent to be determined.

While Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said some of those options were eliminated when the UFC gobbled up a handful of Strikeforce fighters for upcoming cards, one famous Russian remains a possibility.

Following Saturday's "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine" event in Las Vegas, Coker discussed the upcoming conclusion of the heavyweight tournament and the possible return of eliminated tourney fighter Fedor Emelianenko. The eight-man tournament began nearly a year ago, and if Cormier's hand is healed in time, it could conclude at a March event in Ohio.

"I'd like to get the tournament done," Coker said. "We started this in February (of 2010). I was hoping at most it'd take us a year. ... But we'll get it done."

The tournament, of course, is closing on a bit of a confusing note. When then-heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was pulled from the tourney (and ultimately signed by the UFC), officials shot down the possibility of the tourney winner getting the vacant belt. Then to add another head-scratcher to the situation, officials said the tourney winner will fight one more time before being moved to the UFC.

Coker said there is a reason for that.

"Showtime and Strikeforce put a lot of resources behind this heavyweight tournament," he said. "I think it was a historical day in New Jersey last year with all eight guys there. I think that lineup was impressive. I think we had an amazing heavyweight division. [Showtime] put a lot of resources behind it, and so did Strikeforce. So they felt like, 'Look, let the tournament final happen and have one more fight. That kind of puts an exclamation (point) on the division for Strikeforce.' And then let them go to the UFC and have some good fights there."

Recently, Strikeforce fighters such as Fabricio Werdum (eliminated in the tourney opener), Chad Griggs (tourney reserve), Shawn Jordan and Lavar Johnson have been booked for UFC fights. Admittedly, that affected Coker's plans for the "plus-one fight" planned for the tourney champion.

"I had a few ideas, but they were just booked for UFC fights," he said.

But when asked about Emelianenko, who lost his final three Strikeforce fights and recently has been fighting overseas, Coker left open that possibility. Emelianenko has won his past two bouts (over Jeff Monson and Satoshi Ishii), and while polarizing, he's still a draw.

So could Emelianenko fight the tourney winner?

"That's interesting," Coker said. "I'm not sure what Fedor has planned. I haven't spoken to M-1. I know (M-1 executive) Steve Bash was in the audience tonight, but we haven't had that conversation yet."

While Emelianenko recently has expressed interest in competing the UFC, UFC president Dana White has cast some doubt. In a recent TMZ video, he said the former PRIDE champion "sucks," and his struggles in negotiating with the fighter's representatives are well-documented. But a win over the grand-prix champion certainly could justify a UFC contract for Emelienanko.

Final Card For UFC 142: Aldo Vs. Mendes On January 14th

UFC 142 is set to go down on January 14th when the UFC returns to Brazil at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Jose Aldo will defend the UFC Featherweight title against challenger Chad Mendes in the main event of the evening while middleweights Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson clash in the co-main event.

The card airs live on FX and Pay-Per-View and is listed below:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes (for featherweight title)
Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Mike Massenzio vs. Rousimar Palhares
Carlo Prater vs. Erick Silva
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
Caio Magalhaes vs. Fabio Maldonado
Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio "Pato" Carvalho

Tito Ortiz Plans On Retiring July 4th, Wants Griffin Or Liddell

It has been speculated on for quite some time as to when Tito Ortiz will retire from MMA but it appears "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has made the decision himself and has decided upon July 4th weekend as the final time he will step into the Octagon.

Ortiz discussed his final bout over the weekend with The Middle Easy, and also talked about who he wants to see across the cage from him in that fight:

"After the fight against Nogueira, you know I got hit in the body, no broken ribs, so I was very stoked. A little bruised, my heart hurts more than I think my body does, but it's one of those things that happen as a fighter. You know some win and some lose, just as long as I can walk away knowing that I learned something from it. July, hopefully Fourth of July weekend I will be fighting my last fight and I will be done. That's it; it's time to walk away. You know, Forrest, or I know everybody would like to see me against Chuck (Liddell) and, I don't know. We will see what Lorenzo and Dana have to offer and see what they want to do. I'll sit down with Lorenzo and Dana next week and let's see, let's make a fight, my last fight and let's make a memorable one. "