Former MMA referee "Big" John McCarthy may have retired from working in the UFC Octagon but he will be a color commentator for the July 19th "Affliction Banned" pay-per-view event, featuring the WAMMA heavyweight championship fight between the most lethal MMA heavyweight of all time, Russian M1 superstar legend Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (27-1), and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (24-4), live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Quote from Big John himself:

"As I enter a new chapter in my life, I look forward to demonstrating my love and passion for the MMA world in my new role at The Fight Network. It's a perfect fit for me and I can't wait to get started."

Good find DreamFighters.com.

It's pretty cool, and about 7 minutes long. Enjoy!

We owe our friends at DreamFighter.com for finding these! Thanks guys!

DreamFighters.com has learned that BJ is set to take on the winner of GSP vs. Fitch, at UFC 87. Penn recently told Fighters Club TV that he is set to move up to 170 to face the winner of UFC 87's Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch contest.

It is reported that the fight, will take place at the UFC's annual New Year's Eve card this December 27th in Las Vegas, rumored to be a star studded card, as Wanderlei Silva has made it public he will be fighting on that card.

Penn also plans to retain his lightweight title and will likely face the winner of Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta, which also takes place at UFC 87, at a later date.

Thanks to Jason Perkins, at www.FightLine.com for the news release.

Found this interesting story in TopGunMMA:

As reported in MMAJunkie.com

Dan Henderson is beltless and on a mission to gain a middleweight or light heavyweight title. Unfortunately for Henderson that road back to a title shot could be a long and challenging one. The first fighter in his way will likely be Rousimar Palhares who impressed many with his latest submission win over UFC veteran Ivan Salaverry.

For Henderson, he was hoping for someone with more name recognition and feels a win against a UFC newcomer won't get him much closer to a title shot.

While a guest on TAGGRadio, Henderson commented on the potential match-up,

"I told [UFC officials] I was open to anything but to keep in mind that I wanted someone who would get me another shot at Anderson Silva.

[The UFC] got the weight class right, but I am not sure if [Palhares] is the right guy to get me another title shot right away.

It just depends on who you beat. If I beat three no name guys, it probably won't do much good. One big name guy will probably help quite a bit. I'm patient, but I know that I am getting a bit older. I might start asking for [bigger name opponents] pretty quick."

One big named matchup that has been on many people's minds is a fight between Henderson and Rich Franklin.

"Pretty much everyone has been asking me when I am going to fight him. I don't know, it's not up to me. That is definitely one fight the fans deserve to see."

Henderson says he is still set on capturing either belt and doesn't mind having to change weight classes in the process.

"I definitely want to go back and forth. I don't want to limit myself in possible match ups. That's one of the things I liked about PRIDE; they didn't really limit their fights by weight classes."

A win is most needed for Henderson, since rejoining the organization he is winless.

"At this point, I am pretty pissed off about my last two losses. I'm just happy to get back in there to beat somebody up."

Heath is currently on our radar here at Madness. With his fight against Lesnar fast approaching, I just cannot watch this video enough! I hope you all enjoy it AGAIN!

My gruff old high school basketball coach was about as mean as they come, and we knew it was wise not to ask him too many questions. One day, however, the boldest among us piped up and asked why he still had sideburns. This was the late 80s. Bushy hair was in; sideburns, not so much. Our coach pointed a knurled finger at him and in a voice that sounded like it came from a ninety year old lifelong smoker said, "Had them for fifteen years, everything, and I mean everything, works in cycles, won't be long before they come back...now give me a hundred fingertip push ups for asking a stupid question."

A couple years later, a TV show with a few bodacious "high school" students, in their mid-twenties, and even older guys with sweeping sideburns, premiered on Fox, Beverly Hills 90210, and Coach was right, sideburns were back.

As coach said, everything has cycles, and it seems MMA is no different. There has been a lot of talk of the "changing of the guard", the stars that built the UFC are on their way out, and fresh ones are on their way in. So the question is who are these stars, the next generation of household names? The answer remains to be seen, but here are a few that might have what it takes, and to add structure we've put them into nice categories:

read full article >

A member of the MMA Madness family, Ryan McKinnell, suffered a great loss when his friend Travis died while serving in Afghanistan. Please take a moment to read Ryan's words below and the articles dedicated to the serviceman's honor.

Ryan McKinnell:

Too often in this world, people need a "wake up call" to make them realize what really matters. It's sad that people never realize how beautiful life really is -- even in times of great loss.

The world lost a great hero in Travis Hunsberger in Afghanistan on Friday. I don't throw the word "friend" around like it's a joke. Travis was my friend. He was everyone's friend. A true man in all aspects of his life. He always took the road less traveled and he stood tall with dignity and pride. He passed doing what HE wanted to do. At this moment I just want to take the time to remember him and all the families that are dealing with this war. And as a respectful reminder to everyone, don't wait for that "wake up call." Make sure you tell the people you love, how much you love them and take nothing for granted.

Things like MMA, your favorite sports team, problems with your day to day lives, are truly unimportant. Cherish your lives, the people you share your day with, and cherish the memory of those who pass. My heart goes out to all people affected by this war. Never be afraid to say, "I love you". To anyone. My heart goes out to the Hunsberger family and everyone back home, wherever home may be. God bless you Travis, and I will always love you.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/22538904.html

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/22698849.html

As reported by Michael Rome, in Bloody Elbow:

Georges St. Pierre has been nominated for an ESPY in the "best fighter" category. He is up against four boxers, including Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, and Holly Holm. Last year, Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson were both nominated, but came up short. This year the boxing vote will likely be split, which gives Georges a good chance of winning if MMA fans sign up and vote for him.

In some ways he seems like a token Mixed Martial Arts nomination, but I think he's a good one. Nobody else besides Anderson Silva has had a better summer to summer period since the last awards in the MMA world.