Author: Mike Drahota

Today Nick Diaz finally appeared before the NSAC to decide his fate stemming from a failed UFC 143 drug test for marijuana metabolites. After much back-and-forth between the Nevada general attorney’s office and the legal team of Diaz led by Ronald Goldman, the commission decided to take serious disciplinary action and suspend the controversial fighter for a full twelve months. On top of that, 30 percent of his fight purse was taken in addition to his fight bonus.
This may come as a shock to some, seeing as

Today Chael Sonnen appeared before the Nevada State Athletic  Commission in a bid to gain a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for his well-documented use of TRT.  His request was indeed granted, and it appears that his UFC 148 Middleweight title bout with Anderson Silva will go down will much less controversy than their previous encounter. Of course Sonnen was suspended for six months following his UFC 117 loss after failing to inform the CSAC of his usage. This time, though, Sonnen is in the clear

 
As everyone is clamoring over just what should be Daniel Cormier’s next move, it appears another hand injury may slow down the newly crowned Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion. He broke his hand in the first round of his five round battle with Josh Barnett for the title last night, but obviously continued and excelled through the pain. Cormier will have surgery on the hand, something he neglected to do when he broke the same hand knocking out Antonio Silva in the Grand Prix semifinals.

Chael Sonnen stepped into a realm that he is not unfamiliar with this week, and came out victorious. Appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Sonnen participated in Rome’s annual Smackoff against five other ranters, winning the competition with his endless creative smack talk.
However, Sonnen did not win the contest by utilizing his go-to targets of Anderson Silva and Brazil, in fact he did not mention them at all. Instead he went to the well and created a new rant, touching on many subjects in the sports world.

Daniel Cormier seems to be supremely confident heading into his Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix Final bout with Josh Barnett tomorrow night. Cormier has a right to be confident, but he is indeed facing a man who has 31 wins to his his name and has not lost since he last fought Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in 2006. Still, Cormier thinks that, although Barnett is a masterful submission technician, the game of MMA is starting to pass him by, and all of the wars he’s participated in will

This week Gilbert Milendez had some interesting things to say about his trilogy-ending fight with Josh Thomson this weekend. In an interview courtesy of MMAFighting.com, Milendez reveals that it is indeed hard to get motivated to face a man he has already avenged a loss to, especially when many are clamoring for him to move to the UFC and face top competition. Milendez had the following to say on the subject:
“It’s not the easiest to be motivated for. Part of being the champ is just defending the belt a lit

After beating Jeremy Stephens on Tuesday at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Donald Cerrone eyed Anthony Pettis as his next challenge, a step up in competition. He was hoping for the fight to take place in his home state of Colorado at UFC 150 on August 11th. However, Pettis’s manager announced today tat this would not be happening and that his client Pettis would be next fighting in September, possibly at UFC 151.
“Showtime” is recovering from shoulder surgery, and will not be able to make UFC 150 at

This week’s edition of The ultimate Fighter Live will have a little something extra. It has been announced that Dana White will be on hand to clarify TUF Coach Urijah Faber’s new opponent for the interim Bantamweight championship at UFC 148. This is interesting news considering the UFC President recently faced an illness that forced him to miss UFC on Fuel TV 3. Of course Faber’s rival coach, UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, unfortunately tore his ACL while training for their much-ballyhooed title

A potentially blockbuster bout is in the works today for the UFC, with Josh Koscheck having been offered a bout with former two-class champion and MMA legend B.J. Penn. Penn, absent since he retired after an October loss to Nick Diaz, has been rumored to have a return in the cards as of late, with Gilbert Milendez as a potential opponent. However, those plans never came to fruition, and Milendez is staying with Strikeforce to defend his Lightweight championship there. Now Koscheck is the potential