Wow, this really sucks. All the lead up during The Ultimate Fighter has really made me want to see this fight happen. Unfortunately, as reported by the UFC, Matt Serra has suffered a herniated disc injury in his lower back and will not fight Matt Hughes at UFC 79.

Of his injury, Serra said:

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”

Of Serra’s injury Hughes said:

“As of now, Matt Serra is out of the fight because of a herniated disc in his lower back. I believe Serra is actually hurt, so I don’t think this is just a ploy not to fight. Before my Royce fight, I had three bulged discs that I was able to repair enough to fight. As everybody knows you never go into a fight 100%. So, I’m just going to continue to train until I find out what’s next.”

Former UFC chump (I mean, champ) is not only a mixed martial arts fighter, but is a hunter as well. Just in time for Thanksgiving here we have Sylvia with a stunning defeat over a large bird.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh yeah, Tim also hunts mountain lions. Click here to see his latest kill.

The Donald, facing declining ratings, has put a new spin on his reality show The Apprentice. This season, the show will feature “celebrities” with UFC star and MMA fighter Tito Ortiz being part of the cast. As reported by the Associated Press, the 14 “celebrities” won’t be vying for a job with Donald Trump, as in the previous six “Apprentice” seasons, but instead will compete in business-oriented tasks around New York City to raise money for their favorite charities. The official “Celebrity Apprentice” will win a $250,000 bonus to donate.

The full list of cast members include (more…)

I thought I’d share some new pics of the ever-so-hot and long time UFC ring card girl Arianny Celeste. I think that ash looking mark on the side of her belly is some sort of tatoo cover up. Hey photographer, ever hear of Photoshop? And guys, if you want to have a shot at her, here are some tips taken from her bio of UFC.com.

Turn On’s: A funny guy and a great smile
Best Way To Pick Up: Be yourself, no cheesy lines

Arianny is quite pleasant to look at, but I still rank Ali Sonoma as number one.

This morning the California State Athletic Commission released revenue and fighter payout numbers from the Strikeforce event held Friday in San Jose. Interestingly Cung Le, one of the least experienced MMA fighters on the card, ended up taking home the biggest paycheck. Le’s salary overshadowed the pay given to some of the sport’s longtime vets like Paul Buentello, Alistar Overeem, Dannis Hallman, and Trevor Prangley. However, this should not come as a surprise as Cung Le has a huge following in the Bay Area and those fans buy tickets.

As for attendance numbers:
Tickets Sold: 5,621
Exempt Passes: 1,628
Deadwood: 2,203
Gross Receipts: $387,685.00

Fighter payouts:
Cung Le - $50,000  
Alistair Overeem - $30,000
Trevor Prangley - $30,000
Brian Schwartz - $30,000
Paul Buentello - $20,000
Falaniko Vitale - $20,000
Jorge Santiago - $15,000
Dennis Hallman - $5,000 + $5,000 win bonus
Jeremiah Metcalf - $5,000 (more…)

Yesterday Dana White announced that Dan Henderson will drop down to middle weight to take on UFC champion Anderson Silva. The fight is schedule for March 1 in Columbus, Ohio. No other details have been made public at this time.

Without a doubt, this will be Silva’s biggest test to date in the Octagon. Hendo is in an entirely different league than Anderson’s former challengers Chris Leban, Travis Lutter, and Nathan Marquardt. We have a long way to go, but I’m thinking this one could go either way at this point.