UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and interim champion Frank Mir differ in whether a fighter should have respect for an opponent.

Mir, who at times is criticized for overconfidence, said Thursday during the final UFC 101 press conference that he always trains with a healthy respect for his opponent.

"When you lack respect for an opponent, when you take them maybe too casually," Mir said. "I've had errors in my career through overconfidence, through thinking I had nothing to worry about, or you make a mistake and you get caught, especially in a sport like ours where one mistake and you tap, the fight's over with."

There is a point of too much respect as displayed by Georges St. Pierre in his first encounter with Matt Hughes. St. Pierre said at the time he was just "happy to be in the Octagon with him" and the result was a first career loss. St. Pierre won the next two fights and while he continued to hold respect for Hughes, he saw Hughes as an opponent rather than someone he idolized.

Lesnar would take it further. The former WWE superstar flat-out said there is no respect for anyone stepping inside the Octagon against him.

"I don't have any respect for my opponents," Lesnar said. "I guess as soon you respect somebody in my opinion, you're that much close to getting beat. That's just my philosophy that I've trained by for many years."

Lesnar's mental approach to not respect his opponent dates back to his days as an amateur wrestling. A two-time NCAA All-American and the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Champion, Lesnar finished his collegiate career with a record of 106-5. Maybe his record would be even closer to perfection had he not respected his opponent.

"In the past when I was approaching a tough match or something and I did respect the kid or had some respect for my opponent, I didn't wrestle the way I wanted to and I may have gotten beaten," Lesnar said. "So I discovered very early that I can't have any (respect)."

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin's "Got Fight?" book debuted this week at number eight on the New York Times' Hardcover Advice Best Seller List.

"Got Fight?" was published June 2 but the latest New York Times list for the June 28 print edition ranks sales for the week ending June 13.

Written with Erich Krauss, Griffin disperses the "50 Zen principles of hand-to-face combat", including how to defend yourself against a dog and a sword attack.

Griffin joins Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture as former UFC champions who have penned a New York Times Best Seller. Unlike the other books though, don't expect to learn too much about Griffin's fight career. "Got Fight?" reads more like a humor book than an autobiography.

Next up for the season one winner of The Ultimate Fighter is a light heavyweight scrap with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 101: Declaration on August 8 in Philadelphia.

The UFC will return to California for the first time in over two years on October 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The UFC's last trip to California was on September 22, 2007 at UFC 76 at the Honda Center in Anaheim and the last time the UFC was at the Staples Center was on May 27, 2006 for UFC 60, headlined by then UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes taking on UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie at a catchweight of 175 pounds.

The Staples Center is home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Kings.

Yesterday, the UFC announced it has partnered with Grapplers Quest to host the first ever UFC sponsored grappling tournament.

Held in conjunction with the historic UFC 100 event, the tournament will be held on July 10 and 11 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the previously announced UFC Fan Expo.

Open to the first 1,500 registered competitors, the announcement stated the UFC expects the event to "be the largest submission, grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in history".

The Grapplers Quest event will award "thousands of dollars in prizes" across multiple divisions that include men, women and children from all skill levels.

Registration is currently open for the event. Entry fees start at $89 to register in one division and include a free two-day pass to the UFC Fan Expo – a $50 value.

The tournament schedule includes all adult, no-gi divisions and superfights on Friday, July 10, while all children, teen and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu divisions will be contested on Saturday, July 11.

Grapplers Quest held its first event in 1997, the first ever submission grappling tournament contested in the US. Current UFC fighters Mark Bocek, Kenny Florian, Matt Hughes, Denis Kang, Eliot Marshall, Mike Massenzio, Kurt Pellegrino, Matt Riddle and Brandon Vera have all competed in previous editions of Grapplers Quest.

The Grapplers Quest tournament is the latest addition to the UFC Fan Expo's growing two-day lineup of events. The organization has also planned meet-and-greets with several current and historic stars of ZUFFA-owned organizations as well as mixed martial arts demonstrations and training sessions.

Registration for the grappling tournament is available at Grapplers Quest's official website, while tickets for the UFC Fan Expo can be purchased the event's official website. Ultimate VIP Packages for the event have already sold out.

Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes came to the defense of his friend Chuck Liddell and Liddell's two fight losing streak during Tuesday's UFC 79 conference call.

“A lot of people are talking about Chuck’s age or him having two losses in a row,” said Hughes. “I really don’t think that is going to be a factor [in the fight]. If you look at Randy Couture, he’s 43 or 44 years old right now, and some would say that he is the best fighter that he has ever been. And Chuck is not that old yet. “

Hughes went on to point out the high level of success that he was able to achieve after suffering two consecutive losses himself.

“There was a time when I had two losses in a row – one in the UFC and one to Jose Pele Landi-Jons – and I was about to retire,” he remembered. “[But I] ended up winning the world title and defending it nine times in a row. People don’t understand that if you haven’t lost two fights in your career, then you haven’t fought the right people, to be honest. It’s just unfortunate for Chuck that they were two losses in a row."

It's true that Liddell has fought and beaten most of the best fighters that the UFC has had to offer over the years, undoubtedly cementing his legacy as one of the greatest light heavyweights the sport has known; a point that was not lost on Hughes.

"Chuck’s legacy, if you will, is going to live forever,” Hughes stated. “He has done so much in this sport. He is surely going to be in the Hall of Fame [when he retires]. He could retire right now, without fighting this fight, and still be [considered] one of the greatest in his weight class.”

As for Liddell's upcoming match up against Brazilian MMA legend Wanderlei Silva:

“I think that if Chuck comes to the fight in shape against Wanderlei Silva, then this is going to be a great match for him. There is no doubt about it. Chuck is my buddy, and I’m always going to be rooting for him.” (mmafightline.com)