UFC 122: Preview and Predictions

by Michael David SmithThe UFC is back in Germany and back on Spike TV Saturday, with a fight card that doesn't look particularly strong on paper, but should produce some fairly entertaining scraps -- and will produce the next title contender in the middleweight division.

What: UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami

When: Saturday, the main card begins at 3 PM ET and will be broadcast on tape delay on Spike TV at 9 PM ET.

Where: König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany

Predictions on the five televised fights below.

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Joe Morgan, Jon Miller Out of ESPN's 'Sunday Night Baseball' Booth

by FanHouse Staff

Filed under: MLB Biz, MLB Media Watch, MLB Rumors, Sports Business and Media

Play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and color analyst Joe Morgan will not return to ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" booth in 2011, ending the duo's 20-year run on the network's signature baseball broadcast.

Morgan's contract ran out at the end of this season and was not renewed, while Miller has been asked to stay on as the radio voice of ESPN's Sunday night broadcasts. He may elect instead to take on more duties as the radio voice of the San Francisco Giants.

"We've decided to make a change and introduce new voices and new perspective," Norby Williamson, an executive vice president of ESPN, told the New York Times. "Twenty-one (seasons) is an eternity in this business. And today is about acknowledging the contributions they made to the franchise."

Miller was given the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence by the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, and Morgan, of course, is a Hall of Fame second baseman, but ESPN wants to go in a different (read: younger) direction.

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Kent: Firing Legendary Broadcasters a Bad Call

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Michael Jackson's 'Hold My Hand' Debuts Online

Song featuring Akon is first single off posthumous album Michael.
By Gil Kaufman

Michael Jackson and Akon
Photo: Getty Images

"Hold My Hand," the official first single from the upcoming posthumous album from Michael Jackson album, was released on MJ's official website over the weekend. The lead track from Michael, due on December 14, is a universal plea for peace on which Akon and MJ weave their voices together over a wash of dramatic strings and a subdued beat.

Akon, who recently went back into the studio to put finishing touches on the song, spoke to MTV News back in 2007 about working with the King of Pop, who reportedly wrote a hand-written note in which he expressed a desire to have "Hold My Hand" released as a single.

"Just to be in the same room [with him], I felt like everything I wanted to achieve in life had already been achieved," Akon said. "That's how incredible that aura [is]."

Unlike "Breaking News," the beat-heavy anti-media screed that was streamed on the MJ site last week, the uplifting "Hold My Hand" is one of Jackson's classic love ballads, a heart-stirring call to unity with a touch of a Caribbean lilt.

"This life don't last forever," Jackson sings in the opening lines in his signature quavering falsetto. "So tell me what we're waiting for/ We're better off being together/ Than being miserable alone."

Then together, the men sing, " 'Cause I been there before and you've bee there before/ But together we can be all right/ 'Cause when it gets dark and when it gets cold we hold each other till we see the sunlight."

As the three-and-a-half-minute single comes to a close, the strings swell and a gospel choir comes in, clapping hands and giving the tune a majestic feel.

The 10-track album will also feature cameos from 50 Cent ("Monster") and Lenny Kravitz ("(I Can't Make It) Another Day".

Even though he worked with Jackson on tracks late in the singer's career on what was slated to be MJ's comeback album, one person who is not excited about the new MJ disc is the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am.

"Whoever put it out and is profiting off of it, I want to see how cold they are," he told Entertainment Weekly. "To say that what [Michael] contributed during his life wasn't enough. He just wasn't any ordinary artist. He was a hands-on person. To me it's disrespectful. There's no honoring."

Considering how meticulous and particular Jackson was about his music, Will said he thought it was callous of Jackson's label, Sony Music, to release what he suspects are unfinished works. "Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they're finished," said Will, who earlier this year revealed that he worked on the songs "Dreaming" and "Still the King" with Jackson, as well a tribute to James Brown called "I Will Miss You."

"Maybe if I never worked with him I wouldn't have this perspective," the producer told "Access Hollywood," noting that those songs will never be released because MJ didn't give his final approval on them. "He was very particular about how he wanted his vocals, the reverb he used. ... He was that hands-on. ... He kept his vocals and I kept the music. We had that understanding."

What do you think of the new Michael Jackson song? Share your reviews in the comments.

Related Photos

• Michael Jackson's 'Michael' Cover Decoded
• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos

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• Michael Jackson
• Akon

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This might sound crazy but...

I blew off my shrink appointment this morning because it was raining outside and I didn't want to get out bed, so I'm just going to show up tomorrow at the same time and pretend they got the day wrong.

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The new 'Prodigy' McDonald gets a chance to fight his way into the UFC

It's move on or move out time for many of the WEC fighters on the promotion's last two cards. The pressure begins Thursday night at WEC 52 in Las Vegas where some of the fighters are guaranteed spots in the UFC, but the rest of the guys are far from locks. Imagine that kind of pressure when you're only 19 years old? That's what bantamweight Michael McDonald is facing. 

Is he mature enough to handle this? Listening to McDonald talk about his short time on Earth, he sounds like a grizzled veteran. From The Canadian Press:

"I feel like I went straight from a kid to an adult," [McDonald] explained. "At 14 years old I started teaching in classes, at 16 years old I had grown men saying I was their hero. And that's not something a normal kid has to deal with. It seems like it's a great big honour but when you're not ready for that kind of stuff, there's side effects of course."

McDonald is 10-1. His only loss came against a pretty accomplished veteran in Cole Escovedo (16-6). The 19-year-old said he'd lost his focus before the fight.

"And when I was growing up in high school, I never got to go to a high school football game. I've only went to one dance which was my prom. I did miss out on a lot of teenage things and I struggled with it for a long time. And it kind of started adding up. In my immaturity I forgot why I was doing it (fighting)." [...]

"Fighting just wasn't what I wanted to do any more. I felt like it was just a burden, that it had cut me off from so many things in my life. . . . That's when I took the Cole Escovedo fight and I just got mopped."

The painful loss got him thinking.

"After that I had to take a little bit of a break and get my head back about myself, and ask myself why am I doing this? Why am I fighting? And it's because I love to do it. As much as I wanted to be liked every normal kid, I knew every normal kid on the planet wanted to be me. I just had to suck it up and say 'You know what, this is the life I chose. It's time for me to stop moping around myself . . . God blessed me with these gifts and I need to use them, not say how much I wish he would have given me other things to be a normal person. He made me special, you know. I've got to go out and I've got to do what I need to do. I've got to stop being a kid, I've got to grow up.'

"And as soon as I did that, I got back on track and started on my winning ways again."

McDonald pulled things together and crushed Escovedo in the rematch.

McDonald is far from a finished product, but he's clearly ahead of the curve as a fighter. He'll get a chance to prove if he's truly a prodigy Thursday against 28-year-old Clint Godfrey on the undercard of WEC 52. 

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Cameron Maybin Traded to Padres for Relievers

Filed under: Marlins, Padres, MLB Transactions, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Hot Stove

The Padres and Marlins have agreed to a trade that sends center fielder Cameron Maybin to San Diego, a major league source told FanHouse. The deal is pending a physical exam.

Maybin, 23, had a .398 on-base percentage in five minor league seasons but has flopped in the majors, posting a .302 OBP in 168 games with Florida. He was out of minor league options.

The Marlins will get relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica.

Mujica is first-time eligible for arbitration.

Webb and Maybin are not eligible for arbitration.

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'Harry Potter' Actor Tom Felton Gets 'Tips' From Celebrated Co-Stars

'The last thing I wanted was to be the pesky young guy who's asking them a thousand questions,' he says of high-profile castmates.
By Kara Warner

Tom Felton
Photo: MTV News

Never mind the success, fame and fortune the decade of filming eight "Harry Potter" films has brought the cast. One of the major perks the young actors received over the years was exposure to some of the most celebrated actors working today.

A common joke among the supporting cast — including Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs, Emma Thompson, Maggie Clark, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, etc. — is that the "Potter" films have employed all the British actors in equity at some point or another. The high caliber of acting royalty, as it were, was not lost on the young castmembers, who took advantage of any opportunity to learn from such seasoned professionals.

When MTV News caught up with Tom Felton recently, we asked him how it felt to be surrounded by such esteemed thespians — particularly in the scene at Malfoy Manor, where the Death Eaters gather with Voldemort.

"It was a three-day, maybe four-day scene, and needless to say, the first day, I was pretty quiet," Felton said of filming. "The last thing I wanted was to be the pesky young guy who's asking them a thousand questions about old projects.

"But realistically, they're the nicest people in the world," Felton said of his co-stars. "As soon as you ask them a question, they usually have a dozen answers to throw at you, especially Jason [Isaacs]," he added of the actor who plays Lucius Malfoy, the father of his character Draco. "He's been incredibly good with telling me stories. Also onscreen as well as offscreen tips, they're not necessarily telling you what to do, but you can just watch them and learn from their mannerisms, which is always exciting. You learn after a couple of days that these people are exceptionally normal and very kind people."

It's Harry Potter Week at MTV News! Join us Monday night at 6 p.m. ET on MTV.com as we live-stream from the red-carpet premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" and talk with all the "Potter" stars. And stick with us for interviews, photos, videos and much more about your favorite boy wizard before "Deathly Hallows - Part 1" hits theaters November 19.

Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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New Owners Thank Warriors Fans With Steep Discounts Monday

Filed under: Warriors, NBA Fans

Many Warriors fans surely feel the purchase of the franchise by Joe Lacob is gift enough. Golden State made the playoffs just once in 15 seasons while the team has owned by Chris Cohan. Lacob and a set of partners agreed to buy the Warriors for $450 million this summer; the NBA made it official last week.

Monday will mark Lacob's introduction to the local fans, as the Warriors return from a road trip to take on the Pistons. On occasion of the start of a new era, the team has announced all remaining tickets can be had for 50 percent off, and all food and drink concessions will be 50 percent during the game as well.

Despite the franchise's futility, Warriors fans have been remarkably loyal, regularly filling Oracle Arena in Oakland to capacity. In that single playoff season (2006-07), Oracle boomed as the No. 8 seed Warriors upset the overwhelmingly favored Mavericks. The Warriors are off to a good start this season, and Lacob surely hopes home excitement can help Golden State get back to the postseason.

 

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Kevin Love Goes for 31 and 31, Beasley Adds 35 Points, Wolves Win

Filed under: Knicks, Timberwolves

Kevin Love is known to be a constant double-double threat, but tonight, well, he had himself an extra special double-double.

The second-year pro out of UCLA scored 31 points, but more impressively, pulled down a franchise-record 31 rebounds. No, that is not a typo. Love's 30-30 game is the first to happen in the NBA since Moses Malone did it in 1982.

Minnesota, down 21 points to the Knicks at one point in the third quarter, rallied behind Love to win in surprising fashion, 112-103 at the Target Center.

Love's frontcourt mate and fellow reserve, Michael Beasley, continued his resurgent play with the T-Wolves. The 2009 draft's No. 2 pick of out Kansas State followed his 42-point, 9-rebound performance against the Kings with a 35-point, 6-rebound effort against New York, shooting an impressive 16-29 from the floor to help lead the Wolves to their second straight win in dramatic fashion.

For Love, who had been struggling with his shot and is still shooting just 39.4 percent, such an outburst was a welcome sight.

He is now averaging a robust 16.6 points and 12.8 rebounds, good for second in the league behind Joakim Noah.

And for the lowly and disappointing Knicks, the struggles and defensive woes continue. New York dropped its record to 3-6 on the season, having now lost four games in a row and ranking 23rd in the league in points allowed.

 

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British writer says with jump to UFC, Pickett could be next Hardy or Bisping

British fighters have done an impressive job of embracing the opportunity to move up the ranks quickly in the UFC.

Dan Hardy, Michael Bisping and  former UFC fighter Paul Daley positioned themselves as trash-talking heels and got themselves big fights. They recognized the promotion's need for British stars who could help grow the sport in the U.K. Now that the UFC has added the 135 and 145 pound fighters from the WEC, could Brad Pickett be the next guy who gets himself in the title mix?

The U.K.'s top MMA media personality, Gareth A. Davies, seems to think so.

In UK terms, Brad Pickett, the bantamweight fighter, immediately joins Mike Bisping, Dan Hardy and John Hathaway as an elite UK UFC fighter. Pickett is arguably the third ranked fighter in the division and could challenge for a UFC title in 2011, on the back of two to three wins.

That No. 3 claim is the point that caught my eye. Did we miss something on Pickett's resume? The 32-year-old, who is 2-1 in the WEC, is fighting Ivan Menjivar on the promotion's final card in December. If he loses, isn't there a chance he may be retained for the move over the UFC?

Anyone else have Pickett ranked No. 3 at 135-pounds in the WEC? Off the top of their heads, most casual fans would say Joseph Benavidez, Miguel Torres, Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles round out the top five behind champion Dominick Cruz. There's certainly room to leap up the rankings with some significant wins in 2011, but right now Pickett is only the No. 13 WEC bantamweight according to the USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings.

Is Davies overrating Pickett? Or is he onto something here? Is the UFC still in dire need of British stars? With the record-setting sellout at UFC 120 in London, we figured the need to aggressively push Brits into big fights was done.

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Roy Nelson stuck between a Shane and hard place

After Shane Carwin pulled out of their UFC 125 bout with a back injury, Roy Nelson Jr. was left in a tough spot. He didn't have an opponent for a bout just over two months away. What's a big man to do? How about calling out a smaller opponent who made a throwaway comment about fighting at heavyweight?

Calling out Quinton "Rampage" Jackson may seem extreme, but Nelson doesn't have many choices on who will fight him. The UFC is nowhere near as deep at heavyweight as they are in other weight classes, meaning that they have a limited pool of fighters to pick a replacement from.

The pool gets smaller when you take a close look at the UFC heavyweight division, and see that most fighters fall into two groups: former title contenders or up-and-comers. Nelson is a winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," but at the same time, he is an incredibly experienced fighter. He is also coming off of a loss to Junior Dos Santos. 

Obviously, Jackson is a bit busy getting ready for his UFC 123 bout with Lyoto Machida. Medical suspensions, injuries and timing are also working against Nelson. Frank Mir fought in late September. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is still rehabbing a knee injury. Brendan Schaub, who has three wins since losing to Nelson in the TUF finale, is still on a medical suspension from his UFC 121 win over Gabriel Gonzaga. Who do you think should fight Nelson?

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'Money' Mendes takes decision win at WEC 52

Chad Mendes (9-0) continued his undefeated record with a unanimous decision win over Javier Vazquez (15-5) at WEC 52 in Las Vegas on Thursday night. All three judges saw it 30-27 for Mendes.

As expected, Mendes used his wrestling skills to dominate the first round. Though Vazquez used the rubber guard to keep Mendes from passing card, Mendes punished him throughout the round with punches and elbows.

Mendes started out the second round with a flying knee and punches. Sensing he was in trouble, Vazquez jumped guard and again used the rubber guard to control from the bottom. Mendes tried to slam Vazquez out of the rubber guard several times, but Vazquez stayed calm and stayed active on the ground. After Vazquez reversed and returned to his feet, Mendes tried to somersault the fight to the ground. Vazquez defended well, but then Mendes did another roll and ended up on top.

In the third round, Mendes showed that his conditioning is among the best in his division. "Money" didn't slow for a second. He took down Vazquez early and beat on him for the rest of the round. In the final minutes, he opened a gushing cut below Vazquez's eye.

Mendes was a division I All-American wrestler at Cal Poly, and joined Urijah Faber's camp not long after graduation. In his ninth fight, he showed how his skills have evolved.

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There should be more buzz about getting Alvarez to the UFC

Bjorn Rebney's efforts to make an Eddie Alvarez-Gilbert Melendez fight have pretty much dried up. Alvarez shouldn't be too broken up about it. The lightweight phenom's  ultimate goal should be getting into the UFC, but Rebney realizes he has no chance at co-promotion with the MMA giant. Taking promoters out of the mix, the UFC is where Alvarez (21-2) belongs.

Anyone who didn't believe in Alvarez had to be swayed by his destruction of former UFC lightweight Roger Huerta at Bellator 34. Fanhouse just reported that the full extent of the injuries suffered by Huerta were vicious.

According to Huerta's manager Jeff Clark, the game lightweight suffered broken orbital bones in both eyes during the course of the bout.

"He's a little beaten up but how long he stays out really depends on the breaks," Clark said. "The doctors are looking at it."

Many thought that Huerta was forced to quit after the second round because of an injury to his leg. Alvarez's kicks were so nasty that it forced Huerta to switch from a southpaw to conventional stance just 45 seconds into the fight. Now we know it may have been the right hand that did the most of the damage. Huerta was just too slow to avoid Alvarez's straight rights.

Alvarez, 26, just destroyed a guy who went the distance, and was more than  competitive, with two of the UFC's top five lightweights, Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian. UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar would have his hands full with a guy like Alvarez.

One hitch there, Edgar was at the Huerta fight, rooting for his friend Alvarez. He and Alvarez train together at times. Down the road, Dana White may face another buddy issue when it comes to booking the fight. The first thing he needs to do is start sniffing around to see what the timetable may be on getting Alvarez into the big show.

We're all fans of Bellator, but there's little left for Alvarez to prove with Rebney's promotion. It's nice of the MMA media to ask White about non-UFC fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem, but Alvarez is the guy we should be focusing on.

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Survivor: Nicaragua?s Alina: ?It sucks to be me, but it really sucks to be NaOnka?

� With 12 contestants left, Survivor: Nicaragua took an interesting turn last night when both the La Flor and Espada tribes merged to become�Libertad. While the merge was met with excitement and a feast, it wasn?t long before the devious NaOnka was up to her old tricks. After NaOnka swiped the tribes? flour (used to make tortia?s) and some cooking utensils, a fellow player, 23-year-old Alina found herself privy to NaOnka?s shenanigans and sworn to secrecy.�

However, when questioned by her tribemates as to the supplies? whereabouts, NaOnka revealed to all she was the culprit and Alina was her accomplice, placing Alina?s head firmly on the chopping block. Following the individual immunity challenge, oldest player Jane and Fabio (Jud) were awarded immunity for the men and women, respectively, sending Alina into a flurry to secure a place in the game.� But sadly the damage had been done and no amount of campaigning amongst her tribe would save her. Alina was voted out seven against two (for Marty).

?I was the easy vote,? Alina tells In Touch. ?After a merge you don?t make easy votes anymore, you make big moves. I thought everyone would hear my argument and a light bulb might go off. If someone had wanted to take power of the game that was the chance.�But then everyone thinks they are the puppet master on Survivor.?

Given the villainous NaOnka placed the target on her back, it?s no surprise Alina has nothing nice to say about her. ?She threw me to the wolves and I am not fond of her,? reveals Alina. ?Then seeing all of her behind the scenes comments, she is even more disgusting than I thought. She has a major chip on her shoulder; she?s unpredictable, cold and disgusting. She?s setting a bad example for the kids she works with.?

Despite getting the shaft from NaOnka, Alina is pleased with the game she played and leaves Survivor: Nicaragua a more enlightened person and with one nice consolation. ?My consolation is ? it sucks to be me as I went home, but it really sucks to be NaOnka. She is the consolation to everyone on this season - I could have been portrayed as NaOnka.?

For more with Alina, click here.

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MMA Marketplace: B.J. Penn will watch you while you sleep

You may think you have a nicely decorated room, but it's missing something. It needs an extra pop of excitement, just a little touch that will really pull it all together. You know what it needs?

A Fathead of the former UFC lightweight champ. Luckily, you can now have one for just $49.95. For that price, B.J. Penn will only adorn your walls. You won't have to listen to any of his trash talk, because that is the stuff of nightmares. 

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Wisconsin Scores 83 Points in Destruction of Indiana

Filed under: Indiana, Wisconsin, Big 10

The Wisconsin Badgers came into the game a heavy favorite against Indiana. Sitting at No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the BCS standings, with an 8-1 record and facing a team that hadn't yet won a conference game at home certainly figured to be easy for the Badgers.

And, boy, was it -- to the tune of an 83-20 victory (no, that's not a typo).

After one drive for each team the score was knotted, 7-7, following a Ben Chappell-to-Tandon Doss touchdown pass for the Hoosiers. Indiana then tied the score again, 10-10, on a 48-yard Mitch Ewald field goal. From there, however, things got incredibly ugly. Fast.

Wisconsin scored four unanswered touchdowns to head to halftime up 38-10. The scoring barrage continued throughout the entire second half, as the Badgers scored six touchdowns and kicked a field goal. In all, Wisconsin racked up 598 yards of total offense and scored 10 touchdowns.

 

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Carl Edwards Breaks Phoenix Track Record to Win Pole

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Carl Edwards set a track record at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway on his way to winning the pole position for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500k.

Edwards ran a lap of 136.389 mph in his No. 99 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford to win the top starting spot. In the process, he broke the six-year-old track record of 135.854 mph, set by Ryan Newman in 2004.

"It was a good run," Edwards said. "The car was very easy to drive. Everything kind of lined up for us with this pole run. We had a great draw. The car was perfect and we focused on qualifying the whole time."

The seven-year veteran has 16 career victories, but hasn't won since the season-ending race at Homestead in 2008, a year he won nine races.

"Hopefully, we can end that here," he said. "There would be no better place. I love racing here and these last two races of the season, we'd like to go into the winter with a win, that's for sure."

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UFC 122: Krzysztof Soszynski Beats Goran Reljic

by Michael David SmithKrzysztof Soszynski and Goran Reljic went through 15 minutes of hard fighting Saturday at UFC 122, with Soszynski winning all three rounds on all three judges' scorecards to walk away with the unanimous decision.

"That boy's tough," Soszynski said afterward. "That boy is one tough SOB."

Soszynski's record improves to 25-11-1, while Reljic is now on a three-fight losing streak and has fallen to 8-3.

 

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British writer says with jump to UFC, Pickett could be next Hardy or Bisping

British fighters have done an impressive job of embracing the opportunity to move up the ranks quickly in the UFC.

Dan Hardy, Michael Bisping and  former UFC fighter Paul Daley positioned themselves as trash-talking heels and got themselves big fights. They recognized the promotion's need for British stars who could help grow the sport in the U.K. Now that the UFC has added the 135 and 145 pound fighters from the WEC, could Brad Pickett be the next guy who gets himself in the title mix?

The U.K.'s top MMA media personality, Gareth A. Davies, seems to think so.

In UK terms, Brad Pickett, the bantamweight fighter, immediately joins Mike Bisping, Dan Hardy and John Hathaway as an elite UK UFC fighter. Pickett is arguably the third ranked fighter in the division and could challenge for a UFC title in 2011, on the back of two to three wins.

That No. 3 claim is the point that caught my eye. Did we miss something on Pickett's resume? The 32-year-old, who is 2-1 in the WEC, is fighting Ivan Menjivar on the promotion's final card in December. If he loses, isn't there a chance he may be retained for the move over the UFC?

Anyone else have Pickett ranked No. 3 at 135-pounds in the WEC? Off the top of their heads, most casual fans would say Joseph Benavidez, Miguel Torres, Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles round out the top five behind champion Dominick Cruz. There's certainly room to leap up the rankings with some significant wins in 2011, but right now Pickett is only the No. 13 WEC bantamweight according to the USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings.

Is Davies overrating Pickett? Or is he onto something here? Is the UFC still in dire need of British stars? With the record-setting sellout at UFC 120 in London, we figured the need to aggressively push Brits into big fights was done.

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Contender or not? Couture wants UFC, fans and media to make a decision

Randy Couture is in a holding pattern. The 47-year-old doesn't want to retire from fighting, but he also wants folks in and around the MMA world to show him some respect. In his last two fights, he smashed one older dude in Mark Coleman and buried James Toney, an unqualified opponent. UFC president Dana White said Couture is top five or six at light heavyweight, so he wants to be in there with one of the best.  

It sounds like he's done with fights booked primarily to help sell pay-per-views. 

"My last two fights were of the novelty nature," Couture told Joyce Valdes from RawVegas.tv (3:22 mark). "I've been through the wars; I've had the battles. I don't know if I see myself stepping up for any more of those kinds of battles. And there's a lot of tough guys in the division at 205 [pounds] right now."

Fans, media and the UFC need to decide whether they want to see Couture make another championship run. 

"I think style-wise I match up better against [Mauricio] "Shogun" Rua or [Lyoto] Machida but I don't know if the UFC wants to throw me in for a title fight right away,"  said Couture (3:36 mark).

If he doesn't get a big fight, Couture sounds like he's comfortable walking away from MMA. When he said this to a British blogger around the time of UFC 120, fans freaked out.

"The chatter is always funny because when I'm actively fighting, they're like 'we think Randy should retire' and then [when there's] the inkling that I might actually retire, and everybody goes 'no, no, no stay in, fight some more.' You know, make up your mind,"  said Couture.

It appears that the retirement talk was an attempt to send the message -- it's a big-name opponent or bust.

Can Couture beat guys in the top five like Rua, Machida, Quinton Jackson or Rashad Evans? Don't scoff. Back in 2007, most of us thought that he had no shot to regain the UFC heavyweight title at age 44 and he did. Couture's been a good company man and is far from finished. He deserves to go out on his own terms.

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