One piece of the UFC 146 puzzle has been revealed after shuffling on the card was promised by UFC President Dana White on Saturday night.

Following the removal of Alistair Overeem from the card, and moving former champion Frank Mir into his slot to face Junior Dos Santos, there was a vacancy to face Cain Velasquez on the same show.

Now it appears that former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix fighter Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has been tabbed as the replacement to step in and face Velasquez on May 26.

UFC President Dana White revealed the news via Twitter on Sunday.

“Don’t believe any of the BS you read on the internet,” wrote White. “Cain (Velasquez) is fighting Bigfoot Silva May 26th in Vegas.”

Silva was originally set to face former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson on the all heavyweight main card, but instead he’ll get the chance to face Velasquez in a pivotal fight in the UFC’s biggest division.

Silva enters the fight coming off a loss to Daniel Cormier in the Strikeforce Grand Prix semifinals. Prior to that loss, Silva had dismantled former heavyweight and pound-for-pound king Fedor Emelianenko to mark the biggest win of his career.

The giant Brazilian has also returned to his roots as he mended fences and headed back to American Top Team after exiting the camp in 2011.

With Silva stepping in to face Velasquez, the vacancy on the show now shifts over to Roy Nelson who sits on the UFC 146 main card without an opponent.

White stated on Saturday that they hoped to have the final card put together in the coming days.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/bigfoot-silva-now-faces-cain-velasquez-at-ufc-146

The reshuffling of UFC 146 continues with another new match-up now set with former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson now facing Gabriel Gonzaga on the May 26 card.

UFC President Dana White first released the news via Twitter on Monday.

MMAWeekly.com sources had indicated on Sunday that potential fight between Nelson and Gonzaga could be in the works, but only one side had verified interest in the bout. Now it appears both fight camps are on board with the bout taking place at UFC 146.

Originally, Nelson was on the card with a fight against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva while Gonzaga was taking on former Strikeforce prospect Shane Del Rosario.

Once main event fighter Alistair Overeem was pulled from the show, the dominoes began falling with new match-ups being made virtually every day.

Silva is now slotted to face Cain Velasquez in the UFC 146 co-main event, while Frank Mir replaces Overeem in the main event against champion Junior Dos Santos.

With Gonzaga now facing Nelson, that leaves Del Rosario as the only man without a fight currently, but the UFC will likely find a replacement in the coming days.

Gonzaga made a successful return to the UFC in January where he won in his home country of Brazil, taking out newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira with a first round rear naked choke.

Now the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt will face a much stiffer test as former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson greets him at UFC 146 in May.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/roy-nelson-now-draws-gabriel-gonzaga-for-ufc-146

UFC 145 Winner Bocek Thinks Fight With Lauzon Or Sotiropoulos A Good Idea


Mark Bocek (11-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is as close to a sure thing as you can get on a UFC card held in Canada. The jiu-jitsu black belt has appeared on five of eight in the Great White North. He's 3-2 on native soil.

Now, he's looking for card No. 6 after a unanimous decision over John Alessio (34-15 MMA, 0-4 UFC) at this past Saturday's UFC 145, which took place at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

"I love being the hometown guy," Bocek told MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

By appearances, Toronto native Bocek would like to put his submission skills to the test for his next fight.

"I always thought Joe Lauzon and George Sotiropoulos would be good potential matchups," he said.

Both Lauzon and Sotiropoulos are coming off recent losses, so the timing on that request might not be right. But back-to-back wins over such opponents as Alessio and Nik Lentz have put a spring in his step.

At UFC 145, Tristar head trainer Firas Zahabi and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre helped Bocek stay on the right track. The team knew he had an advantage on the ground, but the veteran Alessio proved to be a tough guy to keep on the mat.

But when Alessio threatened with punches, Bocek was ready.

"Georges helped me out a lot with some footwork and angles for the fight," he said. "You just don't want to lose in general with Georges in your corner."

If Bocek has any regrets about the fight, it's that he couldn't dominate Alessio in later rounds.

"I was very happy with round one, but I really wish rounds two and three could have been more like round one, but he's an experienced guy," he said.

At the same time, Bocek believes his job was made easier with the fact that Alessio had fought five weeks prior to this past Saturday's event.

"Sometimes guys come in a little overtrained, and from my experience, I've done that too and I can tell you less is more," he said. "It's definitely better to be a little undertrained than a little overtrained. Either way, he's an experienced vet."

Experience wasn't enough to keep Bocek from winning all three rounds on two of three judges' scorecards.

As to what's next, there's nothing scheduled for the Canadian. But UFC 149 just so happens to be scheduled for July 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And by the way, Bocek said a rematch with Mac Danzig, who submitted him in his first turn as hometown hero in the UFC, would be just fine, too. So would a fight with Matt Wiman, whom Alessio replaced when injury struck.

Now, is the UFC listening?

http://mmajunkie.com/news/28393/ufc-145-winner-bocek-thinks-fight-with-lauzon-or-sotiropoulos-a-good-idea.mma

Teammates Fighting? UFC Prez Says MacDonald Just Needs To Look At GSP's Bank Account


UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and his training partner, UFC 145 winner and fast-rising prospect Rory MacDonald, both have publicly stated they won't fight each other.

We've heard that credo before, but UFC president Dana White thinks that could easily change in this case.

"I guarantee you if Rory looks looks at GSP's [expletive] bank account, he'll want to beat the [expletive] out of him," White said.

The teammate vs. teammate possibility was a popular storyline heading into UFC 145. MacDonald (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), the 22-year-old phenom from Tristar Gym, took a co-headlining slot at Atlanta's Phillips Arena. Against an overmatched Che Mills (14-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he dominated and scored a second-round TKO for his fourth win in five UFC fights.

MacDonald's only career loss came two years ago to now-interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 115. MacDonald was seven seconds away from winning that fight until Condit staged the late comeback.

But despite the setback, he's been tapped the next big thing in MMA, and a showdown with longtime reigning champion St-Pierre is a very real possibility. Both fighters, though, have suggested they'd rather move up in weight class than fight each other. The fight, they said, wouldn't be worth souring the mentor-protege relationship.

"Me and Georges are teammates and friends," MacDonald told MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) prior to the event. "So it's not going to get to that point of Rashad (Evans) and (Jon) Jones. I understand people want to see that drama, but I'm not bringing the drama. Me and Georges will work together and hopefully he retires or he moves up (in weight) or whatever. I'll wait my turn."

But that irks White. He said a fighter's time in the sport is limited, and avoiding what could potentially be blockbuster fights is good for no one.

"Here's what it always comes down, and we've had this conversation a million times, guys," White said. "Why are you in this? You're in this to be the world champion.

"That's what it's about. It's about winning, and becoming – see, everyone around the world knows GSP, and they love this guy. He makes [expletive] loads of money and the list goes on and on. Rory wants that. And it's not like we're setting up this fight where you're going to fight and you're going to have to hate each other after."

White points to the boxing world, where countless sparring partners have worked their way up to fight bigger names in their gym. St-Pierre, though, said he and MacDonald are more than simple training partners.

And for a fighter who has a hard enough time wanting to punch opponents he likes, fighting MacDonald would be impossible.

"I have a hard time fighting guys I like already," he said. "When I fought Jake Shields, I had a hard time fighting him. So fighting a friend? I can't do it."

White likes both fighters, but he thinks their rationale is flawed. Then again, White is obviously a biased party. As he saw this weekend at UFC 145, the teammate vs. teammate storyline can do big business. Sure, Jones and Evans had a falling out and had no trouble fighting each other, but the novelty of the situation struck a cord with ticket and pay-per-view buyers.

While St-Pierre and MacDonald are at least a year or two away from colliding in the division, White hopes they can reconsider in the meantime.

"This is the fight world," he said. "This is the world of fighting. Like I said the other day, I said this is the fight business, not the friend business. It's not.

"It just makes no sense. When people say that, it's just so stupid. So stupid."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/28377/teammates-fighting-ufc-prez-says-macdonald-just-needs-to-look-at-gsps-bank-account.mma

Alistair Overeem Denied License, Not Allowed To Fight For 9 Months


Alistair Overeem appeared before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to answer to the charges of elevated levels of testosterone-to-epitestosteron from a surprise drug test in March. The final result will keep the UFC heavyweight out of action for almost all of 2012.

In a unanimous vote, the Nevada Commission opted to deny Overeem his fight license, but instead of the normal one-year ban before he could re-apply, they lessened the sentence down to nine months.

The over two hour hearing first started with Overeem’s lawyer David Chesnoff requesting for a continuance for 30 to 45 days to allow additional scientific witnesses to be called, but ultimately the commission denied that and the hearing went on as scheduled.

Overeem made his case that following a series of injuries sustained before and after his Strikeforce bout against Fabricio Werdum in 2011, followed by his fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in December 2011, he needed additional medical treatment.

While on a press tour that first stopped in Texas, Overeem received the name of Dr. Hector Molina from former UFC fighter Tre Telligman, who suggested the Dutch fighter see the physician about his nagging injuries.

After an examination, Dr. Molina prescribed Overeem with a “cocktail” mixture of drugs, one of which was a substance that increased testosterone levels. Molina stated he did not disclose the particular drug’s side effects to Overeem when he administered the injection to help a rib injury that was causing him a great deal of pain.

Overeem was given an additional vial of the substance that he was told to personally inject as well, which he did twice following the initial visit with Dr. Molina.

During the hearing, Dr. Molina, who was present along with Overeem, seemed to stumble and fumble over his words as he tried to explain the drugs given to the UFC heavyweight. As Dr. Molina revealed, the four parts of the cocktail given to Overeem included Vitamin B-12, Dexamethasone, Toradol, and an aqueous form of testosterone.

Dexamethasone is a steroid drug used as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant, while Toradol is another anti-inflammatory drug as well. Molina stated that he has worked with many pro athletes including professional baseball and hockey players.

Ultimately the argument by Overeem’s defense counsel was that he was taking a drug given to him by a physician that was prescribed as a pain medication, but in no way was being taken as a performance enhancing drug.

After a brief deliberation, the commission suggested a reduced sentence along with the denial of a fight license. Normally, if the commission denies a fight license, a fighter cannot re-apply in the state for one year.

In this case, the commission opted to lessen the time period down to nine months from the date of the testing, which happened on March 27, and after that time Overeem would be allowed to apply for a license again. Also as part of the agreement, Overeem will not be eligible to take a fight in another state or other location.

The commission voted unanimously and now Overeem will not be able to re-apply for a fight license in the state of Nevada until after Dec. 27, 2012. The UFC has already stated they would not use Overeem in any fight in any other area if he were denied a license by Nevada.

Following the hearing, Overeem’s lawyer appeared at least somewhat pleased with the final verdict considering it could have gone worse.

“I’m glad they made a concession. I mean, the statute is very strict,” said Chesnoff outside the hearing after its completion. “It says you can’t have this in your system. Unfortunately, (Overeem) did. In my opinion, it was not performance enhancing at all.”

Overeem has already been pulled from the May 26 fight card at UFC 146, where he was slated to face Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title. Former champion Frank Mir has since replaced him.

Now Overeem will serve out his sentence, which will keep him sidelined for most of 2012, and wait to see if the UFC will opt to issue their own punishment in the form of a release from the promotion or if they will keep him around to fight on another day.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/alistair-overeem-denied-license-not-allowed-to-fight-for-9-months

Stephan Bonnar Details Crazy Bahrain Trip, Camel Spider Bite


UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar was a guest on HDNet's Inside MMA last night, and had an amusing story to tell about an overseas trip to visit U.S. troops. Bonnar, Rich Franklin, and Keith Jardine went to Bahrain, and it took "The American Psycho" a while to get out. And he didn't get out unscathed. Here's the story (transcription via MMA Mania):

"We're getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They're asking me all these questions, and they're furious. One guy's coming in the room and pointing at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the 'Young Assassin' shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there's a guy with a turban with his brains spillin' out. I don't think they liked that too much."

Here's the shirt he's talking about. Catch the rest of the story, including what caused the nasty wound the in picture, after the jump.



"There was only one flight out for the day at 9:30 p.m. The United flight that I was on. They kept me at the airport so long, I missed my flight. I had to wait till the next day to get on the flight. So, I'm tired. I'm sleeping at the airport, and all of a sudden, I wake up to a burning sensation on my leg. It scared me. I went and brushed down on my leg and, sure enough, a spider about the size of my hand comes crawling out of my pant leg and takes off running! I couldn't believe my eyes! This big camel spider goes under the door. I try to chase it. I lose it, and then, my God, my leg swells up, I get a fever, it's getting infected...but, hey, I'm getting the heck out of there. The next night, I'm on that 9:30 flight, I'm ready to board that flight when, lo and behold...THAT flight gets canceled! So I'm stuck there another day! So, I had the option of going in for an antibiotic IV or stay in the hospital a few days, but instead, I opted to go the oral route, three different kinds of antibiotics, and I got on that flight that next day and got the hell out of there! God bless America!"

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/4/24/2972750/ufc-stephan-bonnar-details-crazy-bahrain-trip-camel-spider-bite-mma-news

Bellator Fighting Championships is losing one its champions.

With no “champions clause” in Bellator contracts and his four-year deal coming to a close, Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard is leaving the promotion and heading to the UFC.

“I am in the UFC it is official,” Lombard tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.

Lombard is a big loss for Bellator, and a solid acquisition for the MMA juggernaut.

Lombard is the only middleweight champion that Bellator has ever had, although the promotion has had a difficult time keeping him busy, primarily having him fight in non-title bouts. He’s also fought several times during his Bellator tenure for other promotions on his home turf in Australia.

Lombard brings with him a 31-2-1 record to the Octagon. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2006, having when 20 consecutive bouts.

No word yet on just when we can expect to see Lombard in the Octagon, but he’s sure to be a welcome addition to a division that is swiftly being cleared out by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/bellator-champ-hector-lombard-jumps-to-the-ufc

UFC president Dana White went on the Jim Rome radio show today and answered questions regarding the suspension of UFC Heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem. Perhaps the most interesting comment Dana made was his admission that he hadn't heard the outcome of Overeem's hearing yesterday before the Nevada State Athletic Commission until Rome told him.

White has been traveling a great deal. He returned from Brazil to Los Angeles yesterday and is headed home to Las Vegas today. In Brazil he announced the move of the UFC Middleweight championship bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen from Brazil's UFC 147 to UFC 148 in Las Vegas.

Rome wasted no time in cutting to the chase and immediately got White on the record regarding Overeem. It wasn't pretty.

Dana's comments after the jump...

Jim Rome: Dana Alistair Overeem failed a random drug test for elevated testosterone last month. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended him for 9 months. What was your reaction when you first heard it?

Dana White:Actually I didn't hear it until you just told me right this second.

Rome: You don't know that story?

White: I'm in Los Angeles. I was in Brazil yesterday with Anderson Silva. I landed at 4 in the morning. I flew like 22 hours yesterday. I flew down to Miami and then to Rio and back to L.A. So it's the first I'd heard that. I knew he was going before the Commission but I didn't know what happened.

Rome: So what is your reaction to that?

White: I wasn't very optimistic about his chances. I didn't think things were going to turn out very well for him. So as expected. 9 months? 9 months isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Rome: What did you expect?

White: I thought he'd get a year, easily a year.

Rome: So he blamed it on elevated levels of anti-inflammatory meds he was taking at the time.

White: Here's the rules. If that's the case, if he was on anti-inflammatories meds, whatever the deal was, you're supposed to disclose that to the commission before the test whatever you're taking. You're supposed to disclose that to the commission before the test not after the test.

Rome: Am I allowed to say this Dana? It sounds like garbage.

White: I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan at all. You're not going to hear me on your radio show defending Alistair Overeem believe me.

Rome: So is that going to cost him his spot with your company?

White: I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens man. You know he went before the commission and the commission gave him 9 months. I'm sure he's going to have to go in and get tested again. Before he went in there he sat down to lunch with me and my partner looked us in the face and said 'I'm the most tested athlete in all of sports they can test me whenever they want to." Well he flew in for the press conference, they tested him and now he's on a 9 month suspension.

Rome: Do you feel he lied to you?


White: I do yea. I know he lied to me.

Rome: I'm guessing you don't like guys lying to you Dana.

White: I don't like it. You know you sit down and you have these guys that you do business with and you say let's sit down, be honest with me and let's figure out how we can work together. And then they sit there and lie to your face. I don't know. Not the kind of guys I want to do business with.

Rome: He may have been the most tested athletes in your sport but now he's one of the most suspended athletes in your sport.

White: Yeah. So we'll see what happens. I've been on the road non-stop. I just got into L.A. and I get into Vegas tonight. I don't really know the full story of what went down but we'll figure out what happens from here.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/4/25/2974806/ufc-interview-dana-white-jim-rome-alistair-overeem-lied-to-me