In the opening round Soto showed total dominance in the striking, lighting up Warren with stiff jabs, left hooks and right uppercuts throughout.  To his credit Warren hung in there, but with Soto also doing a good job of stuffing his takedowns things were already looking bleak for season two’s winner.

Soto came out looking supremely confident at the start of the second round, but the fight quickly took a dramatic shift in direction as Warren dropped the champion immediately with a straight right and began raining down blows.

Fighting back to his feet Soto was still trying to regain his senses as the wrestler crashed a knee into his face followed by a left hook which collapsed him back down to the canvas and brought an end to the fight via KO.

It was a remarkable come-from-behind victory for Warren who looked out of his depth in the opening round.

Bellator’s new champion now heads to DREAM later this month and hopes to become the Japanese promotion’s featherweight champion by the end of the year.  Warren also stated earlier today that he now has his sights set on competing as a wrestler at the 2012 Olympics, which could keep him out of MMA action for two years.

As for Soto, this will be a tough loss to swallow given his first round showing, and he’ll perhaps look back and regret his overconfidence heading into the second against a dangerous opponent like Warren who seems to have an uncanny knack for finding a way to win.

(Press F5 as required to refresh the page for the latest results)

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Main Card:

Ulysses Gomez defeats Travis Reddinger by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Joe Warren defeats Joe Soto by KO at 0.33mins Of Rd2

Zach Makovsky defeats Nick Mamalis by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Ed West defeats Bryan Goldsby by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

It was fascinating because he was taking a unique path through life, and one that had plenty of twists and turns along the way.  More than anything else I just liked how humble and sincere he was.

At the same time some days I just checked his blog to make sure he was OK as you were never quite sure what was going to happen to him from one day to the next.

I still remember the uneasy feeling I got when I read him document his plans to head out to the desert on his motorcycle for a few days, despite his assurances that everything was going to be OK, and the sadness I felt when I read that he had died during the trip.

Now, almost two years after his death, a long-planned documentary on his life is finally nearing completion, with only UFC president Dana White’s thought’s still to be recorded and added to a huge collection of family, friends and fighters who have contributed to the film.

Below you can hear a brand new interview with the director of the film, Gerard Smith, along with some outtakes from the production, including the thoughts of Rich Franklin, who fought Tanner in his UFC debut back in April of 2003.

Also, be sure to watch more clips from the film via YouTube.

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Director Gerard Smith:

Rich Franklin:

Evan’s Friend Johnny:

Evan’s Friend Wade:

In a new interview with the Bloody Elbow site, Jardine talks about his release for the UFC, his upcoming fight, and his goal to return to the UFC as soon as possible.

The 34 year-old spent five years in the UFC, and he says that since getting his walking papers in June he’s not had much of a chance to feel sorry for himself.

“You know, I haven’t had much time to think about it, really, because once the UFC released me, I was basically– first of all, all the offers that came in for fights were just incredible and made me feel pretty good. And I just wanted to get a fight as quick as possible, and then Shark Fights called right away – I mean, like, the next week – and I accepted the fight.”

So now he faces former UFC and current Strikeforce fighter Trevor Prangley, not exactly the easiest opponent he could have chosen to get back to winning ways.

“If I was a smarter guy, then I’d go beat up a couple guys and get a couple knockouts and get back in there,” he confesses.  “But, yeah, my ego gets in the way and I’m not that smart sometimes when it comes to my career.”

To Jardine, Prangley represents a tough challenge, and that’s something that Jardine appears drawn to.

“it’s not quite the way it was supposed to happen, but, you know, that’s why I fight. I wanna fight all the best fighters, and Prangley’s an incredible fighter. He’s not the most exciting fighter in the world – that’s why he’s not beating up people in the UFC – but he’s definitely a tough guy.

The Shark Fights event is scheduled to be shown on pay-per-view on the 11th of September, but regardless of whether it’s a success or not, if he wins Jardine doesn’t plan on sticking around for future shows.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to fight for these guys again, because I’ll never forget this opportunity they’re giving me, but my goal is always to get back in the UFC and get back in the title picture.”

When he was released from the UFC Jardine was given assurances that if he could get get a few wins under his belt then they’d bring him back, though the fighter isn’t quite sure how many it will take.

“You know, I figure two. But if I have an impressive showing in a couple weeks, it could happen as fast as that. But I’m not preoccupied right now with that because I’m in training mode and this one fight is so big for me. But if I take myself out of that a little bit, I see two fights and I’m back in.”

It won’t be easy, but Jardine believes he’ll get the first win under his belt against Prangley, who he sees as similar in style to his recent opponents in the UFC.

“This is my third wrestler in a row and he’s very similar to some of the guys I’ve fought. He’s got very good boxing, but just nothing really special. He’s just really almost boxing by the numbers, real orthodox, and he’s a good wrestler. He just wants to find a clinch and take you down. And that’s the third wrestler in a row I’ve fought, and he’s not quite the caliber of the last two wrestlers I fought.”

I think he’s correct in his assessment.  Prangley is a tough, durable veteran, but he’s no more challenging than his recent opponents like Matt Hamill who he went to a split decision just a few months ago, or Ryan Bader who is a younger and significantly better version of Prangley.

It is still a risky fight though, particularly as at this stage of his career Jardine’s chin, which was never strong to begin with, has let him down on a regular basis over the past few years.

I still think he can defeat Prangley though, and if he does so he won’t be far off a recall to the big stage.

The conversation starts with a discussion of Lesnar’s previous fight with Shane Carwin, with Paulson recalling his thoughts in the opening round when his fighter appeared in serious danger of being stopped.

“Brock kind of fetaled up which was weird for me because I thought he would have scrambled, so I think he really got rocked with that shot,” Paulson says.

Lesnar survived the enslaught, but Paulson admits, “It was close, we were all nervous.”

The fight eventually swung Lesnar’s way and though few would have predicted the wrestler finishing with a technical submission move, Paulson says he actually predicted it would end that way.

“I have a piece of paper that I wrote.  It said ‘Brock will win, round 2/3 via shoulder triangle choke.’ and it’s sitting on my desk at home right now.”

Moving on to Lesnar’s next challenge against Cain Velasquez,

“What I think Brock needs more than anything is good sparring partners who can kickbox and grapple. So he’s got to get some guys in his camp that can actually throwdown with good striking, good takedowns, good takedown defense.  So I’m sure the goal for that camp will be to bring some good strikers in.”

From the sounds of things Paulson isn’t going to have the final say on how this camp is run though.

“I already know a game plan that would work for him should be like, but it’s just word of advice,” he says. “Whether or not he  follows through with that is up to him, I don’t know. Marty (Morgan) is in charge of his camp and he brings a lot of different guys in so, it’s their choice. All you can do is offer a comment.”

Finally Paulson gave his view on Velasquez, who many believe could be the champion’s toughest test to date.

“He’s real tough.  There’s a big size difference though with Brock and him.  So the power factor…but he hits hard, he’s fast, he’s in and out.  He’s a good wrestler so he can actually stop stuff and get out of stuff.  I don’t know if he’s used to dealing with someone as big and powerful as Brock.  I think that’s a big thing.”

Watch the full interview below.

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Parisyan is believed to have verbally agreed to fight veteran Dennis Hallman at November’s UFC 123 event in Michigan.

Once one of the most respected welterweights in the promotion, Parisyan’s troubles with injuries, a painkiller addiction and anxiety attacks set his career into freefall and eventually led to him being booted out of the UFC after pulling out of a fight at short notice.

At that stage it seemed there would be no way back for ‘The Heat’, with Dana White stating that he had ran out of second chances.

It seems that a year later, and after Parisyan got back to fighting with a win over Ben Mortimer at Impact FC 1 in Australia earlier in July, that they are willing to offer him an olive branch.

I can understand why the UFC would do so.  In his prime Parisyan was an exciting fighter who had shown an excellent aptitude for incorporating Judo into MMA.

At the same time I fear that this may be too much too soon for the troubled fighter.  For a better understanding of why, feel free to read the article I wrote about Parisyan’s behavior at Impact FC.  It was clearly evident in the days leading up to that even that he is still battling his demons and his anxiety issues appeared to be running rampant.

I was happy to see him get the win under his belt on that occasion, but really he needed several more like it to get some stability before returning to the big stage.

At the time even Parisyan seemed to acknowledge that fact.

“I need more time. My body looks like a third-grader body. But I’m trying to get back,” he told Sherdog’s Jordan Breen after the event.

It looks like he’s going to get thrown back into the deep end again though.  From a financial perspective perhaps it was necessary, and you can’t blame him for jumping at the opportunity.

I just hope it doesn’t end badly again as, while no one doubts his skills, this is surely his last chance to prove that he still has what it takes, both mentally and physically.

That made Toney the highest paid fighter on the show, and equaling Chuck Liddell as the highest paid star in the UFC.

For his win Couture took home £250,000, while BJ Penn pocketed $150,000.  Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar’s salary fell just under the six figure mark at $96,000.

See the full list of official salaries from the event (which does not include extras such as sponsorship, locker room bonuses, etc) below.

• Frankie Edgar: $96,000 (Includes $48,000 win bonus)
• B.J. Penn: $150,000

• Randy Couture: $250,000
• James Toney: $500,000

• Demian Maia: $68,000
• Mario Miranda: $8,000

• Gray Maynard: $46,000 (Includes $23,000 win bonus)
• Kenny Florian: $65,000

• Nate Diaz: $120,000 (Includes $30,000 win bonus, $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus)
• Marcus Davis: $91,000 (Includes $60,000 “Fight of the Night bonus)

• Joe Lauzon:  $84,000 (Includes $12,000 win bonus, $60,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus)
• Gabe Ruediger: $8,000

• Nik Lentz:  $22,000 (Includes $11,000 win bonus)
• Andre Winner — $10,000

• Dan Miller:  $30,000 (Includes $15,000 win bonus)
• John Salter:  $8,000

• Greg Soto — $12,000 (Includes $6,000 win bonus)
• Nick Osipczak — $10,000

• Mike Pierce:  $24,000 (Includes $12,000 win bonus)
• Amilcar Alves:  $6,000

As we reported when news of the injury first broke last month, a detached retina is a serious problem that could affect his sight permanently or even lead to him going blind in that eye.

At that stage Belcher had already underwent surgery and was waiting for a couple of months to see if his vision would improve.

Unfortunately the latest news from the 26 year-old’s wife yesterday was that he has had to return to hospital for another operation.

“This is alans wife @Ashleebelcher Yesterday his vision was blurry again today heading into another surgery on same eye please keep praying”

“We are home He is in a lot of pain though Next few weeks are really important He has to lay face down :( thanks for prayers)”

Needless to say this an extremely tough period for Alan and his wife who celebrated the birth of their first daughter Ava earlier this year, and we’d like to take this opportunity to wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Ironically, Belcher had been experiencing his best spell in the octagon before the injury, putting on a ‘Fight Of The Night’ performance at UFC 100 in  a close decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama before rallying with two stand-out victories over Wilson Gouveia and Patrick Cote.

His main event fight with Maia at UFN 22 had been seen as a possible stepping stone to title contention at middleweight, but unfortunately the fight had to be canceled, and Belcher has admitted that in the worst case scenario he may now have to retire from the sport.

That’s far from a foregone conclusion though and there’s still every chance that he will battle back from this set-back and get back to doing what he does best.

Ashlee Belcher has given an address to which fans can send their get well messages: 10322 Gorenflo Rd, Diberville, MS 39340.  The address is the location of Belcher’s

This is something that’s perhaps been long overdue but I’m glad the UFC have chosen Fightmetric who in my opinion provide the best service in their field.  It’ll be interesting to see how heavily the promotion now uses the data they are being given.

Strikeforce for instance features CompuStrike heavily during their live broadcasts, providing up-to-the-minute stats on the number of punches and kicks, etc as a fight is happening.  Whether Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan will follow that route, or perhaps just incorporate key stats prior to the fights remains to be seen.

Either way there’s a lot of interesting information to be derived from the in-depth stats that Fightmetric can provide which will only enhance their broadcasts.

Check out the full press release from Fightmetric below.

FightMetric® is now the official statistics provider of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), supplying the world’s first comprehensive mixed martial arts (MMA) statistics and analysis system to the largest MMA organization in the world. The inclusion of official FightMetric data into the evaluation of both fights and fighters will, for the first time ever, provide media members and fans with a chance to track the history and performance of UFC competitors beyond simple wins and losses.

The FightMetric system utilizes a precise and scientific methodology to analyze MMA bouts across 67 statistical categories, encompassing all strikes, takedowns, submissions, and position changes. In addition to raw statistics, FightMetric is at the vanguard of advanced MMA analytics, creating a proprietary algorithm to produce an overall Effectiveness Score and pioneering the use of other metrics to foster greater understanding of how MMA bouts are fought.

“We are very proud to be the official statistics provider of the UFC, who we have worked closely with for several years,” said Rami Genauer, FightMetric creator. “As the industry-leader in MMA statistics, FightMetric is poised to provide its unique brand of combat intelligence to the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. We are also thrilled to bring enhanced use of our statistics to the new design of their website.”

Genauer continued, “UFC fans will now have access to a set of data more powerful than anything previously available in MMA history. Our hope is that access to this data will only increase appreciation for the amazing athletes who compete in the UFC. Sports fans who are accustomed to seeing performance data on their favorite baseball and football players can now engage UFC fighters on a similar level.”

FightMetric provides its clients, including the UFC, with live round-by-round data during MMA events. The information is available online at UFC.com and other FightMetric partner sites, with FightMetric statistics powering fighter profile and events pages.

Usually you’ll see him interviewing the sports stars at major MMA events for MMAfighting and Versus, but on this occasion we get a rare chance to watch him being interviewed instead.

At the UFC fan expo in Boston last weekend the Cage Potato site caught up with Helwani and asked him about his rise to prominence in the sport.

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