We're going to start out with the usual stuff, such as Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and his girlfriend engaging in a focused and methodical workout while wearing absolutely no clothing. Come on- we've all been there before. Just be glad you're not the guy getting paid five bucks an hour to wipe down the equipment with sanitizer.

Now that we've got that crass and classless piece of disturbing media behind us, let's move on to the more mature and respectable type of subjects you'd expect from a professional and distinguished MMA journalism site--like ex-UFC fighter Seth Petruzelli running around in the snow wearing only a sumo-thong?

Great insider's article about Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat show last week written by Mike Constantino of AMA Fight Club, home of the UFC's Miller brothers.  I also did a quick video interview with the man himself, former world kickboxing champion Lou Neglia.  Check out the vid, then the article.

From AMA Fight Club:

Mike Medrano making his debut fighting for AMA Fight Club fought a great fight in an absolute slugfest that saw both fighters trading huge blows. Medrano took an illegal knee to the face and his opponent Jose Viera was deducted a point for the illegal blow. This only fueled “Muscle Mike” as he came out in the third round and continued the slugfest then shot in and took Viera down. After a scramble, Mike snatched up a guillotine to win by submission in what earlier was a slugfest. Congratulations to Mike Medrano on a great victory!

CLICK HERE FOR REST OF ARTICLE

The drama surrounding Brazilian Paulo Filho refuses to cease, as he seems to have assumed the shape and function of a fulcrum of sorts for which both good and bad news see-saws from.  Lately, it's been much more of the latter than the former.

Filho was scheduled in the main event of Bitetti Combat 6 versus Yuki Sasaki.  All was well and normal, until Tatame broke word that Filho was not fighting due to more of his commonly cited "personal problems".  Then, Yuki Sasaki said he wasn't fighting unless it was against Filho--so, for some unknown and now retrospectively ridiculous reason, Filho re-committed to compete in the headliner.

To complete my see-saw analogy, Portal Do Vale Tudo has now reported the disappointing news that Filho has once again withdrawn.  His opponent, Yuki Sasaki, adhered to his previous stipulation and refused to accept the offering of Daniel Acacio as a last-minute opponent.  Therefore, Bitetti Combat 6 has just lost the centerpiece of it's event, just hours before it's scheduled to begin.

This is old school goodness right here.  A UFC promo clip from 2002, one of Zuffa's earliest promos.  Lots of famous faces in this video.

M-1 Global insider Igor Karaev has confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko will still be fighting Fabricio Werdum, but the scheduled date has been altered from April to May.

Confusion has encircled the Russian fighter's immediate future after teammate Gegard Mousasi made a departure from M-1 Global, and a definitive plan for Emelianenko's next Strikeforce opponent had not been announced.

After months of rumors and uncertainty, the Shine Fights Promotion has issued a press release confirming that former pro-boxer Ricardo Mayorga will indeed be facing UFC and MMA veteran Din Thomas in his first foray into full-contact fighting at Shine Fights 3 on May 15th.

Interest is aroused any time a legitimate boxer with a well-known name takes the leap into MMA, but the colorful and confident personality of Mayorga and his raw, brawling style of throwing hands in the ring has grabbed the attention of fight-fans all over the world.  Whether you consider it appropriate, risky, or downright insane--the Nicaraguan scrapper will be plunged into the heat of battle with one of mixed martial arts' most talented, experienced, and well-rounded tacticians.  It is not surprising that Mayorga seems unfazed by the challenge.

They can't deny me in MMA, and I will destroy Din Thomas. I am going to smash him the way I smashed all the big superstars of boxing. To me, a fight is a fight in a ring, in a cage or on the street. Fighting is my middle name.

Here is part 2 of the epic Bombsquad MMA documentary by Mac's MMA.  This episode features 2 wild and crazy guys who also happen to be cousins and great fighters.  John Franchi and Pat "Awesomely Awesome" Audinwood.   This is a great insider's look at how they train up at Bombsquad with their head trainer Ryan Ciotoli.

If you missed Part 1, you can check it out here: Episode 1: This is Life

Carmine Zocchi is a good friend of mine and a great BJJ instructor and he's a fixture at pro and amatuer shows in New Jersey where his fighters do very well.  He'll be at Evolution AMMA on March 6 cornering the very talented Taj Abdul-Hakim.  You can train with Carmine at his school on the Brooklyn-Queens border.  Check out their website BrooklynQueensBJJ.com for details.