The UFC's tour of San Diego continued on Friday as Jon Jones hit PETCO Park to throw out the first pitch before the Padres-Florida Marlins game. Along the way, he's tortured by the smell of ballpark food. Jones he weighed 213 pounds roughly 22 hours before he had to weigh-in this afternoon. He's normally calm and collected but he did look nervous about having to get on the PETCO mound. Maybe this is why:

"The last time I threw a baseball was my senior year (in high school) in gym class, and I sucked at it," says Jones. "I can’t catch a football. I’m a 6-4 black guy who can’t dunk. I think what sets me aside is my passion."

The southpaw threw a solid pitch that was snagged just outside the zone by the catcher. He looked more comfortable checking leg kicks from The Swinging Friar, the San Diego mascot.

Jones has a slightly different look to his entourage this week. Well, sort of. His brother Arthur couldn't make the trip. The rookie NFL defensive tackle is in Baltimore Ravens camp. But his taller, leaner clone, Chandler, a defensive lineman at Syracuse is traveling with Jones and his wife.  

Tip via MMAforReal

When Zuffa re-upped with Versus back in 2009 it seemed like an odd move. Then it looked disasterous when DirecTV dumped the network. Dana White couldn't give specifics but there was a masterplan in place.

With the growth of the WEC product (135-155 pound fighters) it appeared there might be some bigger suitors that would want to buy into the smaller weight class promotion. In addition, there were thoughts that the WEC might be eliminated, folded into the UFC and the little guys would be branded as UFC as well. That was inaccurate.

The masterplan was to expand MMA coverage on Versus by adding UFC cards to its MMA lineup. Network television may also be part of the plan. It didn't hurt that Versus' parent company Comcast, is in the midst of purchasing NBC. 

Versus' president Jamie Davis sat down with USA Today and talked about the win-win situation developing between the network and Zuffa. UFC on Versus 1 beat every single regular season hockey game on Versus with 1.4 million viewers. Davis points out it's not simply the numbers that are important but the type of viewers UFC is bringing to the table.  

... it helped us bring the average age of our viewership for the network too. The UFC and the WEC have a younger demographic than what we used to have, for example, when we were OLN (Outdoor Life Network), and has brought our average down to about 44 years old, from what was over 50 years old when we were OLN.

And in turn, the UFC gets some of the unique viewers who are loyal to Versus. 

We carry fewer sports than some of the other sports networks, but ... we have very passionate fan bases in there. So for example, when you come to Versus, we are still the largest hunting and fishing network in the nation. In addition that, we have this very passionate hockey audience. In addition to that, we have this very passionate IndyCar racing audience. We have the PBR audience. We have a college football audience as well. And the Tour De France, for example, as well.

Before you scoff at the Tour De France, the network is pulling in big numbers especially on the ad sales side:

What we work very hard to do is to heavily promote within the other sports, each others' sports. So, for example, we've been promoting very heavily this fight coming up this Sunday all throughout the Tour De France. We did the same thing for the March fight, in the hockey games that we were doing, and in the IndyCar series, and in the PBR, etc. Some of those audiences are those that are traditionally not viewers on Spike, for example, and therefore we bring a new audience to UFC who are loyal fans on Versus.

The younger audience is really the key. With the explosion of portable entertainment options along with the amount of time 18-34 year olds spend on their computers, television is fighting like heck to hook the young demographic.

Headlined by Jon Jones versus Vladimir Matyushenko, UFC on Versus 2 hits the airwaves tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. 

All over the San Diego area, the UFC is pushing ticket sales hard for Sunday's UFC on Versus 2 card. Fighters made multiple appearances on Fox 5 San Diego this week, including main-event fighter Vladimir Matyushenko along with Antoni Hardonk.

Weather hottie Chrissy Russo did a long Q&A with the fellas and then starting throwing punches herself.

She was pretty spunky the next day, shadow boxing in the studio. So it's clear some media members are fired up for the fight card. And the event needs the help. Remember, this card was moved from Salt Lake to San Diego because of lackluster ticket sales. It'd be a nice showing to get 8,000-9,000 paid in the rather spacious San Diego Sports Arena.

Update: Russo will grow you especially if you watch the video where she talks about wearing skimpy bikinis and her buns smelling like cinnamon. 

Bad news for the UFC and MMA comes with the observation that the local paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune has been lukewarm about covering the event. In fact, it sounds like both local columnists, Nick Canepa and Tim Sullivan, may be skipping fight night. The Union-Tribune isn't sending any other staffer to cover the card either. A freelancer from outside the market will provide the recap for readers on Monday.

Update II: UFC P.R. convinced the local paper to write some advance stories. Today, the San Diego Union-Tribune has a good story on Jon Jones and his rise to potential MMA superstar.

It sounds like the fight night coverage may a case of the staffer, Marc Zeigler, not being comfortable with his knowledge of the sport, so the paper is using Matt Youmans, a writer from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Zeigler will be attending the event as well. In the end, it all works out for the MMA fan and non-fan. They all get to read about the event.

This is a battle the promotion faces in most cities. It's good to see MMA comes out the winner here. 

No one's going to question Mauricio Rua's heart. His head is another issue. The Brazilian loves to fight, but he's also battled multiple knee injuries over the years. When it was brought to his attention that "Shogun" plans on a December return from his knee surgery, UFC president Dana White shot it down immediately.

"This kid keeps pushing it to get out there faster and faster," said White when asked about Rua's status by Rashad Evans on ESPN2's MMA Live. "I completely respect him for that. He's an animal. I love it. But there's no way he's going to be ready by December."

According to White, the promotion sent Rua to the best doctor in the country.

"People keep asking why he's had so many knee surgeries. That's exactly why he's had that many knee surgeries," White said. 

White pointed to spring or early summer of 2011 as the return time for Shogun. Evans responded, "That's a long way for your boy." Then he asked if there would be a interim title belt up for grabs at 205 pounds.

"I doubt it. When we did the belt for Brock [Lesnar], we didn't know if Brock was ever going to come back or if he'd be out for a year or two. No interim title. We know this kid is coming back. He's already had the surgery. He knows exactly the date he can come back."

Evans was offered a chance to fight at UFC 119 against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a co-main event with Quinton Jackson versus Lyoto Machida. He turned it down. Evans could be facing roughly 12 months off if Rua is out until early June.

White also said the winner of Junior Dos Santos-Roy Nelson at UFC 117 next week will get the winner of the October fight between Lesnar and Cain Velasquez. 

Sunday night presents the next step for light heavyweight dynamo Jon Jones. He's a huge favorite over veteran Vladimir Matyushenko. He's hearing how great he is from all corners. He's working with the famed Jackson's Submission Fighting Camp against some of the best in the world. Can Jones keep his head on straight? We find out at UFC on Versus 2. 

UFC on Versus 2 betting odds (Courtesy Venetian and Lagasse Stadium)
Official betting plays posted after the weigh-in

Vladimir Matyushenko (+500) vs. Jon Jones (-800) - Light heavyweight
Mark Munoz (+170) vs. Yushin Okami (-200) - Middleweight
John Howard (+140) vs. Jake Ellenberger (-170) - Welterweight
Takanori Gomi (+240) vs. Tyson Griffin (-320) - Lightweight
Jacob Volkmann (+115) vs. Paul Kelly (-145) - Lightweight
DaMarques Johnson (+160) vs. Matthew Riddle (-190) - Welterweight
Igor Pokrajac (+110) vs. James Irvin (-140) - Light heavyweight
Brian Stann (+130) vs. Mike Massenzio (-160) - Middleweight
Darren Elkins (+170) vs. Charles Oliveira (-200) - Lightweight
Steve Steinbeiss (+180) vs. Rob Kimmons (-220) - Middleweight

If you thought Sarah Kaufman's win over Roxanne Modafferi was a great brawl, you should follow the throwdown over female MMA going down between several MMA blogs. One side thinks female MMA is unathletic, stinks and doesn't belong in a prime spot on television. The other is irked by the lack of respect.

The Kaufman flap began when she blogged that she was unhappy with her placement on Strikeforce Challengers 9. Kaufman (12-0) delivered a nice finishing slam to end things against Modafferi, but MMA Payout says the slam only backs its argument that female fighting is where it belongs. 

If anything, the slam is further support for the idea that women lack much of the speed, strength, and damage threshold that make MMA so dynamic and exciting. The Kaufman slam pales in comparison to Rampage-Arona (or even Harris-Branch), which perfectly summarizes the difference between the two sports and why women’s MMA has such a tough row to hoe.

The slam has become a lightning rod for backers of female MMA and Kaufman. Fightlinker dished out its own slam calling MMA Payout's analysis "asinine" and that it didn't belong on a site analyzing the business side of MMA. 

Fight Opinion wasn't happy with the prefight criticism Kaufman got for complaining about exposure:

She stated her demand to fight on Strikeforce main cards. Who came blame her? The fans didn’t.

Apparently the media, however, in large part is not happy with her attitude. Memo to those criticizing her with largely manufactured outrage — who else is going to promote her if the promotion she works for isn’t doing a good enough job promoting her or themselves?

FO says men do it all the time, so why can't Kaufman? 

Let’s call it for what it is — Sarah did something that other fighters in the promotion have done (promoted themselves) and yet she gets heat for it while everyone else who goes into business for themselves in Strikeforce gets a shrug of the shoulders from beat writers. She doesn’t have a contract like Dan Henderson and making a living at a business that requires 100% devotion means you have to scratch and claw to get every dollar you can make. Whether that’s through sponsorships, commercials, fight salary, or whatever the revenue vehicle may be, she’s got to make a living.

Zach at FO thinks several bloggers ripped Kaufman because it made for a nice story during a slow news week. 

So why the heat against Sarah by writers, which is a completely different reaction to the supportive response from fans? It’s a melting pot of reasons. First, it’s a dry news cycle. Writers are looking for material. Second, she’s a woman and there’s plenty of vocal fans who are not on the female MMA bandwagon.

If you read Cagewriter on a regular basis, for me the jury is still out on female MMA. I thought the Gina Carano-Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos fight was as good as any I'd seen during 2009. But that type of female fight is too often outnumbered by unathletic-looking clinchfests.

Fight Opinion is right, ultimately it's up to you guys. If you tune in on a regular basis, producing large viewership numbers, and female MMA helps to fill up arenas around the country, it's got a future. It's certainly a much better product than female boxing but so is the WNBA and for some reason men have consistently snubbed it.    

Jon Jones tries to take the next step toward the top 5 in the UFC's light heavyweight division on Sunday night. The 23-year-old phenom will face Vladimir Matyushenko as an 8-to-1 favorite. It's no surprise to see the unflappable Jones, not freaking out at the possibility that he might miss his flight to San Diego in this vlog. Above, we finally see something that causes Jones to flip his lid, some pristine-looking beds in his "Holiday Inn" suite (0:36 mark).

Brian Stann is also featured during the series of mini-vlogs. It's good to see Stann co-existing nicely with Jones even after he was quoted saying the youngin' couldn't handle their campmate Rashad Evans.

Stann is dropping to middleweight for the first time to face Mike Massenzio and says he hasn't lost any strength. 

Never heard the name Antonio McKee? Most casual fans of mixed martial arts haven't. The 40-year-old with a 24-3-2 record has never reached the bigs or gotten the exposure he feels he deserves. Part of the problem may be that the takedown artist, who hasn't lost since 2003, has turned in decision victories in 12-of-14 fights. So McKee is pulling out all the stops to get eyes on his next fight saying if he doesn't finish Luciano Azevedo on Sept. 10, he'll retire. McKee told Fanhouse's Ben Fowlkes:   

"This is what I said. I said, if this fight goes to a decision and it's a boring decision, I retire. If this fight is not the fight of the night, I retire. Basically, if I don't go out there and put on a show, just destroy and annihilate this guy, then I'm done. If it's one of those matches where I take him down, ground and pound, holding him there, I retire. I'm done. [...]

"I don't have to stand up and get hit in the face. No one can stop me from taking them down and no one can hit me when we're standing. What the fans want to see are the knockouts, the blood, the gory stuff. They want to see that, and I'm not about that."

Without a loss for seven years, why hasn't he been signed by the UFC? Pointing to the popularity of ground and pound fighters like Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and Sean Sherk, McKee says those guys have one thing going for them. McKee, again from Fanhouse:

"I think a lot of it is racist. And I'm not saying racist against all black people necessarily, but racist towards me. You have these white guys who do the same exact thing, why doesn't anyone say this stuff about them?"

McKee says no one gives the UFC welterweight champ guff for his deliberate style.

"Georges St. Pierre, he doesn't even get hit anymore. And afterwards, he says, 'I'm not a brawler; I'm a mixed martial artist.' And then you have people talking about how great he is. I do exactly what you saw him do, but better!"

He said just look at fellow African-American Yves Edwards.

"The guy that had stood with them the longest there was Yves Edwards. He lost one fight, got triangled, then had a stoppage due to a cut against Joe Stevenson and they cut him. What? You got white guys who have been knocked out three or four times and keep coming back. Chuck [Liddell] has been knocked out so many times they need to make a stone with his name on it."

Maybe this stunt will work. Who knows? Is McKee right? Did he play it smart? By taking no chances over the years, he got wins but he got no one's attention. Congrats on a good career. 

Jake Shields finally jumped on board with the UFC last week and has been the recipient of some criticism from several directions. Some called his fighting style boring. Others wonder why the middleweight champ from Strikeforce is fighting for his new boss at welterweight. Miguel Torres, a former champ down at 135, suggested that Shields was afraid to fight Anderson Silva.

"I think he's getting out of 185 because he's a little bit afraid of Anderson (Silva)," Torres said during last week's stint as a guest host on ESPN2's "MMA Live" (starts at 26:30 left mark). "Anderson's a tough guy to fight at that weight class and he's thinking St. Pierre's an easier fight."

ESPN was nice enough to include me in the discussion. I disagree with Torres. Shields' biggest strength is his grappling. Takedown defense might be Silva's only weakness. So in theory St. Pierre, with his excellent MMA wrestling, is actually a more difficult challenge for Shields. Shields explained to MMAWeekly Radio that it was simply a case of looking at the quickest path to a title shot (video below).

"Obviously if I'm close to getting a title shot it's a huge factor," Shields commented about his weight class choice. "I'm not really sure if this is going to be a number one contender's fight or not, it hasn’t been mentioned to me, but there's a good chance if I go out there and look really good doing it, it's definitely a possibility."

He might be right. If GSP beats Koscheck, the UFC may be looking for a fresh face to step up. That could be the winner of Shields and his opponent at UFC 121 in October, Martin Kampmann.

Torres also didn't the like the choice because he believes Shields is now a natural middleweight.

"I think it might be too much of a weight cut," Torres said on MMA Live. Sometimes trying to cut that it's a little bit too much for you and I think Shields is going to find out right off the bat. He'a a great wrestler but at that weight class, cutting that weight is going to be rough," said Torres.

Every guy's favorite piece of exercise equipment, Shake Weight, has arrived on the MMA scene. Not really. But one jokester posted a GIF of heavyweight powerhouse Shane Carwin using Shake Weight. As "Saturday Night Live" pointed out, it seems like a product that might be more appropriate for an MMA spokesperson on the female side.

There's going to be some competition for the fight-night bonuses at UFC on Versus 2. Tuesday, we told you about John Howard and his 1994 Honda Accord. Wednesday, it's Mark Munoz and his 1992 Honda Accord. It proves two things, Hondas last and the crew of contenders on this card are still climbing the ladder to riches.

Munoz, a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State, was having trouble supporting his wife and four kids. That's while he was the wrestling coach at UC Davis. So he decided to get into prize fighting and mixed martial arts.

"There were times where I couldn't even provide for my family," Munoz told the Orange County Register. "I accumulated much debt. The car got repossessed. The house foreclosed."

Munoz (8-1) seems to be on the right track now as he preps to face Yushin Okami (24-5, 8-2 UFC). He's entering his fifth fight in the UFC and owns his own gym, Reign in Lake Forest, Calif. But his frugal ways continue, he still has that old Honda.

He also trains a lot with Blackhouse MMA, the famed Southern California gym that houses Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Lyoto Machida and the Nogueira Brothers. Munoz has served as a stand-in for Chael Sonnen as Silva preps to defend his title next weekend at UFC 117. Silva also has a win over Okami on his ledger. Munoz said via Examiner.com:

"Anderson actually told me that after sparring with me, and after fighting Okami, Yushin has nothing for me. He knows what Okami has, so we've been working really hard to understand how he moves and how to counter back. He's got a lot of great stuff that he's showing me."

Okami was once considered one of the top-five middleweights in the UFC. He's a solid ground and pound fighter but his takedown defense was a big issue two fights ago against Sonnen. That would seem to play right into Munoz's hands. Okami did show a more dangerous standup game in his last fight against Lucio Linhares.  

Boorish, disrespectful, clownish, obnoxious, rude and even insubordinate. Those are just some of the derogatory terms used to describe Anderson Silva's behavior during the main event at UFC 112. Between the gyrating, dancing and his failure to engage during much of the fight, Silva sent Dana White over the edge, disrespected the UAE royal family (his new bosses) and turned off many fans. Silva showed a little contrition in the immediate aftermath but during a UFC 117 teleconference, to preview next weekend's main event, it was good to find out the old Silva is still alive and well.

Showing once again he doesn't get it, the UFC middleweight champ made gave plenty of one-word answers and mocked most of the questions. It's the fight game. Part of your job is to sell the fight and in doing so raise your own profile. It's fine Silva's a jerk, we get that. But at least embrace it.

Floyd Mayweather is a genius. He gets it. As long as you pick a side, Floyd is happy. That's why he's making $25 million a fight. Silva is on the opposite end of the spectrum. His approach during an incredible 11-fight UFC win streak is still why almost no one outside of MMA has any idea who he is. Chael Sonnen, who is the antithesis of Silva with the media and fans, gets it and wrapped things up nicely. 

"He comes on here and says something stupid as if he's saying some sort of Nobel Prize winning statement. He truly believes the answer he gave few minutes ago, that people are tuning in to see a fight, and not see anything else. He really means that,"  Sonnen said (5:15 mark). "He feels like he's taking the moral high ground."

Just as he's been doing for the last few months, Sonnen talked lots of trash during the call. Silva chose to basically mock every question he was asked and then hid behind the excuse that he refused to get into a war of words with his opponent. One problem: the majority of the questions were legitimate questions about the fight and had nothing to do with Sonnen flapping his gums.

"He couldn't be anymore wrong," Sonnen said. "Does he know anything about business? That's not what people are tuning in to see. People don't just tune in to see people fight. They want to know why they're fighting? He couldn't have this industry anymore backward." 

Silva came out firing blanks and it never got better. AOL Fanhouse's Mike Chiapetta then pushed more (2:50 mark) by invoking his best Joe Pesci from "Goodfellas" (VIDEO - 2:50 mark). Silva's manager/translator Ed Soares said he had trouble understanding the question. 

The one time Silva showed passion was when he said he didn't care about White's opinion.After UFC 112, White said Silva could face termination.

You get the feeling this is all going to end badly. Maybe we're headed toward another cold war with Silva on the outside looking in, like Tito v. Dana.  

John Howard has been yeoman-like during his early days in the UFC. Sure the dude can talk trash with the best of them, but it's his down-to-earth nature that may take him into deep waters in the welterweight division.

Howard has slowly worked his way up the ladder with wins over Dennis Hallman, Daniel Roberts, Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson. All solid fighters but none spectacular. He was staring at an opportunity for a signature win against the highly touted Anthony Johnson but that fight was cancelled because of a Johnson injury. But you didn't hear Howard whine and he isn't complaining that his next opponent is a relative no name. In fact, he's giving Jake Ellenberger an unusual level of respect. From Heavy.com:

"I’m expecting him to come out hardcore and I’m prepared for that," Howard said. "I know he has heavy hands but I have heavy hands too. If he wants to brawl with a boxer then all power to him. Obviously I’m nervous, but I’m actually excited too. We have main card, on TV, and we’re going to have some fun."

You'd expect that kind of straight talk from a guy who grew up in a gritty section of New England. The guy has made pretty nice money thus far with the promotion, having earned two bonuses on fight night. Yet he still hasn't replaced his 1994 Honda Accord.

"It’s messed up. The locks are messed up, the tires. It’s my favorite car. I love it," Howard said. "That’s what makes me happy. That’s the type of guy I am. I don’t need certain things to make an impression. I tell people be happy with what you got. I am too."

Howard (14-4, 4-0 UFC) and Ellenberger (22-5, 1-1 UFC) square off on Sunday during UFC on Versus 2. Ellenberger has less UFC experience than Howard but his competition may have been stronger, splitting fights against Mike Pyle and Carlos Condit. 

Karyn Bryant sat down with Vladimir Matyushenko and it's almost shocking to hear the veteran light heavyweight talk about who he'd like to fight next. He doesn't do it out of a lack of respect for Jon Jones, he was simply answering Bryant's question. But it is odd.

How many fans have actually considered the scenario where Matyushenko pulls the upset? How will he do it? Watching Monday night's replays of Jones versus Matt Hamill and Jones versus Brandon Vera, makes the 22-year-old looked unstoppable. 

Tito Ortiz just signed his contract to meet former protege Matt Hamill in October. While doing so, he didn't exactly seem chipper in this video. Ortiz worked a lot with Hamill during Season 3 of "The Ultimate Fighter" to the point where the rest of castmates got angry with the MMA prospect. Hamill also worked Ortiz after the show. Four years later, the UFC is throwing teacher and student together into the Octagon.

"It sucks, but this is business. I had another friend who was close to me and ended up losing a friendship," said Ortiz referencing Chuck Liddell. "So I come to realize that anyone at 205 can't be my friend."

That's probably not disappointing news to most of the light heavyweight class, who would all love the attention coming from a fight and victory over Ortiz. Hamill, who is the only deaf fighter in the UFC, is a difficult guy to smash and get riled up via trash talk. The only person to attempt it was Michael Bisping. He's now got a hate-hate relationship with the majority of MMA fans.

Cage Potato says Ortiz is a good-sized underdog at offshore sports books. A check with Las Vegas sportsbooks indicate that Hamill will likely be around minus-150. That's a real indication of how far Ortiz has fallen. Hamill is 8-2 in the UFC but his top victories came against Mark Munoz (now at middleweight) and Keith Jardine. He also has a DQ victory over Jon Jones but was getting destroyed in that fight.

Ortiz (15-7) hasn't won a fight since 2006 and is still recovering from serious back and neck surgery the last two years. Hamill is essentially a younger version of Ortiz. Both have gas-tank issues, but it doesn't appear Ortiz has the athleticism anymore to stay off the mat against Hamill, who is an excellent takedown artist. They meet Oct. 23 at UFC 121 in Anaheim.

The hype has begun for a possible Nick Diaz-Jason Miller fight. Diaz is already 1-0 against "Mayhem" via technicality. Miller lost a handicap match during the CBS brawl as Diaz spearheaded a 7-on-1 melee. Apparently Diaz watched a teaser for HDNet's upcoming interview with Miller where he was blamed for the brawl and decided to tape a video response while driving. This one's a doozy. Diaz rambles for five minutes, used the f-bomb in some fashion 29 times and we're still not sure what the message was (NSFW).

We think Diaz called Miller a phony who's more concerned with his image than fighting.

"Look at you mother[expletive], you've got gold teeth and funny hair," said Diaz. "I don't know why you want to live your life like that. Whatever dude."

Update - In what appears to be a shocking development, someone may have talked some sense into Diaz possibly telling him his rant was a bit juvenile. The video has been changed from public to private. 

Diaz is taking Miller's challenge head-on.

"I don't think you can make the weight anyway," said Diaz. "Why don't you come down to 170? You can't make weight at 170, so why are you talking [expletive]?"

The best part comes towards the close (3:44 mark) when Diaz says, "It's whatever. How? Why? You know. What the [expletive]?"

Tip via MMA Convert

A good small man can whip an average big man. That was the point Showtime color analyst Pat Miletich tried to get across to his announcing compadres during the main event of last night's Showtime Challengers card. Shane del Rosario made Miletich look like a genius a few minutes later when he landed some really athletic knees to stop 264-pound Lolohea Mahe at 3:48 of the first round. In the co-main event, Strikeforce 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman finally got the stoppage she was looking for when she knocked Roxanne Modafferi stiff after slamming her way out of an armbar attempt late in the third round. 

The male heavyweight discussion began midway through the first round concerning del Rosario's place in the Strikeforce heavyweight ranks. The 26-year-old is huge at 6-foot-4, 243 pounds but Showtime's announce team of Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros started squawking about the need for a 225-pound division or even the possibility of del Rosario dropping to light heavyweight. The California proved that was pure nonsense. He consistently beat Mahe (6-2-1) to the punch and when the fighters clinched del Rosario had little trouble in the power department.

The real difference was his athleticism and speed coming from his kicks and knees. He showed some nasty left head kick attempts that just missed. With just under two minutes left in the first round, as Mahe charged forward, del Rosario drilled him with a perfectly timed straight left. It stopped the Samoan in his tracks. He backed up to the cage and tried to slow things down. That's where Del Rosario (10-0) showed awesome flexibility by landing a knee to Mahe's head from the clinch. He landed two more knees to the body and Mahe crumbled to the floor.

This kind of main event finish hould make it easier for Strikeforce to legitimately sell a del Rosario-Bobby Lashley fight. Lashley, who has been long rumored to face del Rosario, has a fight upcoming in August against Chad Griggs.

Del Rosario is destined for big things and Kaufman is hoping the same happens for her. She complained before the card that she deserved to be on the bigger stage, the regular Strikeforce cards.

After three straight decision victories with Strikeforce, Kaufman (12-0) needed a big finish to open the eyes of management. Through two rounds against Modafferi it looked like she may be a Strikeforce Challengers lifer. She was able to unload with several good flurries but most of the time was spent in a clinch very light on action. The third was going same way until the final minute when Modafferi pulled guard and attempted an armbar. Kaufman showed good power, lifting Modafferi off the mat and slamming her down (4:55 mark). It wasn't quite Quinton Jackson versus Ricardo Arona, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

Strikeforce has announced a 135-pound women's tournament that will begin in August. Hopefully, that'll produce a few more well-rounded fighters who can compete on the feet with Kaufman. Modafferi (15-6) was so sloppy standing, trying to mix in superwoman punches and spinning backfists behind a half-hearted jab, that she was forced to slow the pace to survive.

NFL insider/MMA trainer Jay Glazer was the fill-in host on the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show on Friday morning. Give him credit, he mixed in several segments of MMA discussion during the three-hour show. The day's poll question was "Which NFL player would make the best MMA fighter?"

The candidates were Jared Allen, Ray Lewis, Shawne Merriman and Stephen Neal. If hardcore fans were voting, the results may have had Neal winning with 99 percent while the other three split the remaining 1 percent. After all, Neal was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champ back in 1999. He won the title by downing current UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.

Neal actually finished last in the poll with just 6 percent of the vote. Ray Lewis smashed the field with 45 percent. Glazer said several times that Lewis has an amateur boxing and wrestling background. Are you buying that he'd have a chance against someone with Neal's pedigree? 

Two of the best in female MMA are on display Friday night in Everett, Wash., and on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT). Sarah Kaufman defends her 135-pound title against Roxanne Modafferi. Kaufman (11-0) is a slugger with eight stoppages on her record while Modafferi (15-5) will favor the fight getting to the ground. There was a little controversy this week when Kaufmann blogged that she didn't enjoy being the Strikeforce Challengers cards. She views this card as inferior to many of the regular Strikeforce cards that Showtime airs.

Sergio Non from USA Today broke down the fight:

Although she lacks one-punch knockout power, she can erupt with flurries to the head that often leave opponents reeling.

"I just think there's something very primal about it," Kaufman told USA TODAY in February before the Hashi fight. "It's so technical. There really are so many different facets to it."

Like Hashi and most of the other top-ranked female fighters, Modafferi (15-5) has a penchant for groundwork rather than boxing or kickboxing. Most of her victories saw her take down opponents before battering them on the mat or catching them with submission holds.

"I don't really like stand-up, to be honest," Modafferi says. "But it was my weak point, and I've worked really hard at it."

In the main event, it's a battle of heavyweights as Shane Del Rosario butts heads with Lolohea Mahe. Del Rosario has often been rumored as a future opponent for Bobby Lashley. Instead, Lashley is fighting Chad Griggs next month in Houston.  

Strikeforce: Challenger weigh-in (Courtesy MMAJunkie): 

Fight fans will eat it up on both sides of the fence. MMA fans will root for Randy Couture while boxing fans will tune in to see if James Toney can represent he sweet science when they meet at UFC 118.

The fight pulls from the origins of MMA. Can a brawler beat down a jiu-jitsu fighter? Is karate better than kick boxing? And can a boxer beat a wrestler? It has all the making for a monster pay-per-view in late August. Or does it? Deadspin says the fight proves little and you shouldn't care:

1. James Toney is 41 years old. Forty-one! Muhammad Ali was getting beaten by Trevor Berbick at 39. Mike Tyson, who never met a payday he didn't like, hasn't fought since he was 39. And Evander Holyfield, at 41 years old, was beaten by, yes, James Toney. What does Toney have left in the tank? Whatever he's got, it's no longer an indicator of his talent.

Toney has plenty left, especially if he got down to cruiserweight where he belongs. He's still a top-10 heavyweight, with a granite chin and defensive abilities as good as anyone in the sport.

Check out some of the other reasons over at Deadspin, where the writer asks why does the argument even exist?

5. It's settling a debate that shouldn't exist. MMA vs. Boxing? Who cares, other than the pay-per-view companies. Boxers box. MMAers, um, martial art. They're two very different sports, each with their own fanbases, their own histories, their own advantages and shortcomings, and there's more than enough room in the world for the both of them.

There is room for both sports and they are very different. Again this goes to the core of fighting. My style is better than yours. Stupid or not, fans and the media eat it up. On a side note, it is interesting that this is one of the only fights we've seen Deadspin write somewhat serious analysis for when it comes to MMA. So someone got hooked a bit.