Jason Brilz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko possible for UFC 122

A light heavyweight bout between Jason Brilz (18-3-1, 3-2 UFC) and Vladimir Matyushenko (24-4, 5-3 UFC) is expected for UFC 122, sources close to the event told MMAjunkie.com.

Verbal agreements are reportedly in place, with the bout expected to be finalized shortly.

Both fighters are looking to rebound from recent losses. Brilz stepped up on short notice to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114, battling to a close split-decision loss that many felt he won.

Matyushenko was expected to Jon Jones' toughest test in the octagon, but he was stopped in just 1:52 by the fast-rising Jones in their main event bout of the last UFC Live on Versus.

UFC 122 is expected to take place Nov. 13 at Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.

Brilz last three fights:
Loss (Split Decision): Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - UFC 114 (05/29/10)
Win (Unanimous Decision): Eric Schafer - UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones (03/21/10)
Loss (Split Decision): Eliot Marshall - UFC 103 (09/19/09)

Matyushenko last three fights:
Loss (TKO): Jon Jones - UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko (08/01/10)
Win (Split Decision): Eliot Marshall - UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones (03/21/10)
Win (Unanimous Decision): Igor Pokrajac - UFC 103 (09/19/09)

New Blood: UFC 118 Edition

We would like to present a new feature here on the official TapouTVTC.com blog called 'New Blood.' Every UFC event, we will introduce you to the fighters making their debut with the organization. Enjoy!


Name: Amilcar Alves

Weight class: Welterweight

Fighting: Mike Pierce

Record: 11-1 with seven stoppages for various fight promotions in Brazil

Recent body of work: KO'd Fernando Paulon in 0:59 at Platinum Fight Brazil 2 last December.

Name: James Toney

Weight class: Heavyweight

Fighting: Randy Couture

Record: 0-0 MMA, 76-6-3-2 boxing

Recent body of work: Started training with Juanito Ibarra (briefly), has released some of the greatest Youtube videos of all time.

Markham Out, Stinson In at Bellator 26

Rory Markham (16-6) will not fight at Bellator 26 because he has not been medically cleared, Bellator announced today.

Bellator also announced that Tyler Stinson (18-6) will replace Markham and face Steve Carl (10-2) at a catchweight of of 175 pounds.

Stinson's last loss came against Dan Hornbuckle in Bellator's season-two welterweight tournament. Since then, he has won two straight fights, both by stoppage.

Carl also competed in the season-two welterweight tournament, and was also defeated by Hornbuckle. He had been on an eight-fight win streak before that loss.

The winner of this bout will earn a spot in Bellator's season-four welterweight tournament.

Dana White UFC 118 Video Blog Episode 1

Dana White spends some time with Mike Tyson.

@ 2:15: Tyson breaks down James Toney vs. Randy Couture

"King Mo" Sidelined Nine Months for Knee Surgery

Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal could be out nine months with a knee injury, Sherdog.com reported.

Lawal's manager Ryan Parsons told Sherdog that Lawal will undergo knee surgery to replace both his anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee.

Lawal injured the knee last Saturday when he lost his Strikeforce light heavyweight title to Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante at Strikeforce: Houston.

Parsons said that Lawal will undergo surgery next Tuesday in Los Angeles.

TapouTVTC.com with the TapouT Crew

From left to right: Skrape, TapouTVTC.com producer John Vasseur, Denver Nuggets forward Chris "Birdman" Andersen, and UFC welterweight Anthony "Rumble" Johnson

Dana White Confirms Silva vs. Sonnen II

Chael Sonnen will indeed get the rematch he was hoping for.

UFC president Dana White confirmed on ESPN's 'Sportscenter' this morning that Sonnen again face middleweight champion Anderson Silva after he came within minutes of shocking the world at UFC 117.

The confirmation came a day after Lance Pugmire of the LA Times tweeted that the UFC would stage a rematch between Silva and Sonnen on either a New Years Eve card or a Super Bowl card, depending on Silva's injured ribs.

White did not confirm when the rematch would take place.

Randy Couture: "It's My Job to Point Out [Toney's Delusion]"

Randy Couture isn't buying in to the media hype.

For Couture, his UFC 118 bout isn't boxing versus MMA, but Randy Couture vs. James Toney.

"... to have a guy like James, who's a four-time world champion in boxing, sign on the dotted line and step up and want to try his hand in mixed martial arts, I'm honored to be the guy to welcome him," Couture told TapouTVTC.com.

But just because Couture isn't "plugged in" to the media hype, that doesn't mean that he hasn't heard Toney talking.

The way Couture sees it, it is his job to set Toney straight.

"I think he's a little deluded  in his perspective in how well just boxing alone is going to do in a mixed martial arts fight," Couture said. "It's kind of my job to point that out to him."

So while Toney talks of first round knockouts, Couture has prepared for a full MMA fight.

"I know James is going to be dangerous, especially early in that striking realm of the fight, but there's a lot of other things that can happen in a mixed martial arts fight and I've trained, I've worked hard, and I'm ready to go," Couture.

Come this Saturday, Couture will get the opportunity to prove that his training can overtake one of the most ferocious punchers to enter the UFC heavyweight division

FightMetric Scores for Strikeforce: Houston

FightMetric.com has released their report for Saturday's Strikeforce middleweight championship fight between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Tim Kennedy, and the results show just how close the fight was, at least statistically.

Leger: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (RJ), Tim Kennedy (TK), Total Strikes (TS), Significant Strikes (SS), Takedowns/ Attempts (TD/ATT), Fight Metric Effectiveness (EFF), Ten-Point Must System (Score)

	TK TS	RJ TS	TK SS	RJ SS	TK TD/ATT	RJ TD/ATT	TK EFF	RJ EFF	SCORE
ROUND 1	9	15	9	15	0/0	0/0	42	95	10-9 RS
ROUND 2	11	9	11	8	0/1	0/1	57	54	10-10
ROUND 3	19	19	7	7	1/2	0/0	59	64	10-9 RS
ROUND 4	14	5	0	0	0/1	0/1	35	20	10-9 TK
ROUND 5	16	12	16	12	1/2	0/1	77	71	10-9 TK
TOTAL	69	69	48	47	2/6	0/3	270	303	48-48 DRAW

The hard part of using statistics in MMA is that the numbers are not as cut and dry as they are in other sports.  When a baseball player hits 40 home runs, you know he hit 40 home runs. In MMA, just because fighter A lands more strikes than fighter B, fighter A doesn't win the fight every time.

This is the case for "Jacare," who we scored winning the fifth round 10-9 despite being outlanded 16-12 and giving up a takedown. We scored it as such because the punches "Jacare" appeared to be more damaging. So while looking at numbers are helpful, they don't always tell the whole story.

FightMetric is an awesome tool, but it is also important not to take statistics at face value.

Behind the Scenes at Jackson's MMA: Part I

Last week, we released some behind the scenes pictures from one of our recent shoots. What we didn't release was who we were shooting.

We spent the day at Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts Academy with two of their best coaches. Here are a few shots from our first coach, striking coach Mike Winkeljohn.