Although former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort is slated to take on Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on September 19, he's already looking forward to a potential showdown with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

"Anderson is a great friend of mine and a big champion but I'm looking for this (fight to happen)," Belfort told OUL Esporte of Brazil. "I cannot comment much on this right now but yeah, I always want to fight the best fighters. Of course it won't be a pleasure (being Silva's friend) but there isn't another way at all in the sport. Kaka and Ronaldinho (Brazilian soccer players) are friends and have faced each other many times. It is part of my work and I need it to afford milk to the children at home."

Belfort hasn't set foot inside an Octagon since he dropped a split decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51 back in February of 2005, however that didn't stop UFC President Dana White from wanting to bring back one of the most talented fighters they have employed.

Silva is fresh off his dominating 3:23 second knockout of former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in a light heavyweight bout. After that performance, there aren't many jumping at the chance to take on MMA's most efficient striker, however Belfort says that he is down.

"It would be a great honor to fight Anderson," Belfort respectfully stated. "He's one of the best to ever fight and I want to test my skills against the world's best."

The UFC had made the unexpected decision to bring back old-timer Dennis Hallman after a four-year absence from the organization. Now the UFC has re-signed another hardy veteran, adding a fight between 38-year-old Vladimir Matyushenko and Igor Pokrajac to UFC 103.

A one-time UFC light heavyweight title contender, Matyushenko went 3-2 in the UFC from 2001 to 2003, scoring wins over Yuki Kondo, Travis Wiuff and Pedro Rizzo. Since then, "The Janitor" has gone 9-1, became the IFL Light Heavyweight Champion, and most recently won a decision over Jason Lambert at Call to Arms I in May.

It was also reported that 35-year-old PRIDE and UFC veteran Marcus Aurelio will be returning later this month at UFC 102. Between Matyushenko, Aurelio, Hallman, Ortiz, and the possibility that Chuck Liddell isn't quite retired, it's clear what's going on here: The Ultimate Fighter 11: Last Call. The coaches will be Liddell and Ortiz, the minimum age will be 33, and the winner will receive $100,000 in prescription medication.

Of course, such acquisitions come with a price. UFC middleweight Thales Leites was released from his contract yesterday, following his dull split-decision loss against Alessio Sakara at UFC 101. And to think, he was the number 1 middleweight contender two fights ago; serves him right for trying to use that boring jiu-jitsu stuff. Leites joins Tamdan McCrory, Dan Cramer, and likely George Roop and Danillo Villefort in the sad gentleman's club of UFC fighters who have recently lost their jobs, meaning that every single bout on UFC 101's undercard turned out to be a "win or go home" match.

Four months after his most recent fight, a loss to Shogun Rua at UFC 97, Chuck Liddell is relaxing and enjoying life. But he's not ready to say he's retired.

In an interview Wednesday with FanHouse, Liddell said that he doesn't know if he'll fight again, and he doesn't know when he'll be ready to retire. Liddell wants to determine the future of his career on his own schedule, and he's only going to decide for sure after he gets back in the gym and tests himself again.

Liddell also talked about connecting with the fans, dealing with a Twitter imposter, and his acting career. The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: Let's start with the question everyone is asking: Will we see you fight again?
Chuck Liddell: I don't know. I don't know what my final decision will be. It's hard for an athlete to quit what he's done his whole life. So I don't know. I'm going to make the right decision for me, and that decision could come in a couple months. But we'll see.

Dana White has made it very clear that he doesn't want you to fight. Do you wish he'd keep that opinion to himself and let you make your own decision?
He's an opinionated guy. That's how he is. He says what's on his mind, and that's why I like him: You always know what he's thinking. So that doesn't bother me.

What kind of time frame are you working on? If you decide to fight again when will that be, or if you decide to call it quits when would you officially retire?
I've always said I'm going to make that decision in the gym, not in the ring. After some time off I'll get back in the gym, throw some punches and take some punches and see how I feel again, and after that I'll make my decision.

You've lost four of your last five. If you do fight again, what do you think you need to work on to start winning again?
Well, some things work and some things don't, and for me, the way I was fighting, I was getting hit too much and taking too much damage. Things were hurting me that didn't used to hurt me. So I think I need to work on my timing and my head movement.

What do you think of Tito Ortiz returning to the UFC?
It is what it is. He's coming back and doing what he wants to do.

You've already beaten him twice. Would you like to beat him a third time?
Well, I always enjoy beating him up, but I don't see that unless he has a few wins. He'd need to have a win or two for that to make sense.

Dana has said he'd like you to be sort of an ambassador for the sport. Is connecting with fans the kind of thing you want to do more of?
Yes, for sure. I love the fans and I love the sport, so anything I can help out with in any way, I'm going to. I'm also doing this Sports Legends Challenge, where there are 25 of us sports legends going to the Bahamas and playing some poker with a bunch of fans.

Another question about connecting with fans: Are you on Twitter?
No, I'm not.

Are you aware that there's a fake Chuck Liddell on Twitter with more than 11,000 followers?
Yeah, I know, and it's ridiculous. People have called me and asked me about my Twitter, and it's not me. I think I'm going to need to take it over or get it taken down or whatever and have an official one so people know if they see something with my name on it, it's coming from me. That's why I got on MySpace, too. There was some guy on there telling people he was me, people were sending e-mails to him and he was replying like he was me, he was telling people I was going to meet them somewhere, he was telling girls to send him pictures.

You mentioned wanting to connect with the fans. Do you see the value of Twitter in doing that?
Yeah, I don't do a lot of that -- I don't like the online chats or post on message boards -- but if I get on Twitter I'll tell fans what I'm doing.

What's up with your acting career?
I've got some things coming up. I have some meetings next week talking to people about some roles. It's something I enjoy.

Everyone knows you were in Entourage and you've done some other stuff, but you were a child actor long before you were a fighter, right?
Yeah, I was in The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jack Nicholson. That was fun. I think I made like $33 or something. I got to miss a whole day of school, and when you're a little kid, that's cool.

What did you think of UFC 101?
I thought it was a good show. B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva winning was what I thought would happen, but it was a good show.

What do you make of Anderson Silva? Could he move up and win the light heavyweight belt that you owned for a couple years?
Anderson Silva is a tough guy, man. He's dangerous. He's got heavy hands and he's not afraid to throw them. He's a dangerous opponent for anyone.

Are you still watching a lot of MMA even though you're taking some time off from fighting yourself?
Absolutely, I watch all the fights I can.

Are you going to do more training of younger fighters?
I'll decide that when I make a final decision about whether I'm fighting again. Lately I've been doing other things and haven't had much time to train guys, but that's something I want to do. I like working with younger fighters.

What do you like about coaching?
I like the personal interaction. I like working on the finer points, improving the little things that can make a big difference that the younger fighters don't always know about.

When you look at where the UFC is now compared to where it was when you first started fighting, how much more popular it is and how the sport has grown, do you take a lot of personal pride in that? You were one of the best and most popular fighters and you had a lot to do with its growth.
I don't know if I'm the one who gets credit, but I'm proud of where the sport is, and I think it's still going to get bigger. It's a great sport and it's going to get a lot bigger than what it is. Mixed martial arts is great, and it's here to stay.

Source: MMA.FanHouse.com

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.

Former trainer/manager for UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is striking back at former champion Tito Ortiz (picture) for calling him a "thief". Juanito Ibarra claims that Ortiz' comments have caused emotional distress through defamation and invasion of privacy according to TMZ.

Here's an excerpt of what Ortiz had said about Ibarra this past September:

"Let me explain this to you because it really pisses me off that Ibarra has done what he has done, he is a thief. I have been running training camps for seven years up in Big Bear California and the most that my camp has cost a fighter to attend is $35,000. Ibarra was charging Jackson $65,000 to go to Big Bear. I don't understand that!! He was being very disrespectful and taking advantage of 'Rampage'. Including travel, training partners, food and lodging, the most ever was $35,000, maybe if you flew in more trainers...$40K. Where did that extra money go that Ibarra was charging?"

Not only is Ibarra going after Ortiz, he's also suing the media who reported the story which helped spread Ortiz' comments throughout the Internet.

There's no doubt that after what Ortiz had said, followed by Jackson leaving Ibarra that he's probably struggling to get clients into his camp. We don't know how much Ibarra is suing for and which MMA websites he has targeted.

Meanwhile, Tito Ortiz is free to receive an offer from any promotion without having to reveal the offer to the UFC beginning this weekend.

Ortiz's contract with the UFC ended last year when he lost against Lyoto Machia at UFC 84 on May 24. Although Ortiz was allowed to negotiate with other promotions, the UFC retained the right to match any offer until June 5, 2009.

The first time Greg Jackson held pads for Rashad Evans at his Albuquerque, N.M., mixed martial arts mecca, he knew he was dealing with a special athlete. He saw speed, power and, most importantly, a desire to learn and a willingness to be shaped and molded. The cerebral superstar trainer was a potter with prime clay in his hands.

So it came as little surprise to Jackson when Evans -- Sherdog’s Fighter of the Year for 2008 -- smote Chuck Liddell with one punch and then captured the light heavyweight championship three months later when he stopped Forrest Griffin on a third-round technical knockout at UFC 92.

“We knew what he was capable of,” Jackson said. “He’s actually capable of more than what he’s shown. People have to remember he’s had only 14 fights. He’s still really young in this sport, and he’s only going to get better. The Rashad Evans you see a year from now is going to be a lot better than the one you see now.”

Considering the manner in which 2007 ended for Evans, it was hard to imagine such a rapid ascent for the former Michigan State University wrestler. He needed a point deduction against Tito Ortiz to earn a draw with the former light heavyweight titleholder at UFC 73 and then battled British standout Michael Bisping to a split decision in a lethargic effort at UFC 78. Still, opportunity abounded.

A fight with future hall of famer Chuck Liddell was announced for June, but “The Iceman” was forced to withdraw from the match with a torn hamstring, leaving Evans without a dance partner for the first nine months of 2008.

“The first half [of the year] was [as] frustrating as I don’t know what,” Evans said. “Coming off the Bisping fight … it wasn’t a fight I looked great in. I just wanted to get that monkey off my back, because you’re only as good as your last fight.”

Once Liddell withdrew, Evans was left to sit back and wait.

“I kind of got depressed,” he said. “I felt like I was in the best shape of my life at that point. Every time you’re out of the ring for so long, you feel like a rookie when you first step back in there. You’re getting the same nerves.”

Patience paid, however, and Evans was awarded a bout with Liddell at UFC 88 on Sept. 6 in Atlanta. Questions about his legitimacy were framed by the infamous heat and humidity of the Deep South, and Evans entered the match as a heavy underdog against the man who had ruled the 205-pound division with his iron fists. Nineteen days before his 29th birthday, Evans climbed into the cage against Liddell and spent the first round knocking off the rust from a 10-month layoff.

“Once you get in there and you get your rhythm down,” he said, “it’s really nothing.”

A scant 1:51 into round two, Evans made Liddell pay for a lazy uppercut and knocked him unconscious with a blistering right hand that left thousands of drunken mouths ajar at Philips Arena. The sudden victory -- and the image of a fallen Liddell struggling to regain his senses -- sent ripples through the MMA community. Suddenly, Evans’ name was on every reputable top 10 list. What’s more, it earned him a title shot against Forrest Griffin at the UFC’s year-end show in Las Vegas.

“He’s a really hard worker who’s super intelligent and has extreme talent,” Jackson said. “He’s smart about the way he lives his life and how he approaches it. When you have someone with those traits, it’s only a matter of time before you start having this kind of success.”

For two rounds, Griffin took small bites out of Evans in the UFC 92 main event, as he kept him at bay with his long reach and off balance with a variety of strikes. Even so, Evans never lost hope, and when the fight hit the ground in round three, he waited for an opportune time to uncork his fists. He struck Griffin with a vicious right hand from inside the champion’s guard and followed up with seismic blows that left him defenseless. UFC President Dana White wrapped the belt around Evans’ waist soon after, and his climb to the mountaintop was complete.

“Not that it was easy, but it was surprising how it just ended and how frustrated I was feeling the round before,” Evans said. “What I wanted to do when I came into the UFC was just go out there and be the fighter I thought I could be. I didn’t know if that was going to make me a champion, but I wanted to go out there and fight to my fullest. I didn’t know if I could be a champion or not.”

Now he knows, along with the rest of the MMA world. Still, it took some time for his latest conquest to sink in.

“I had a migraine [after the fight],” Evans said. “I was quite overwhelmed because of all the attention. I didn’t drink any alcohol. I just kind of sat back, like, wow, this really happened? [I was] kind of in disbelief.”

Qualified suitors from what many view as the UFC’s deepest division have already lined up. The short list includes former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the unbeaten and elusive Lyoto Machida and Griffin. Jackson’s Submission Fighting teammate Keith Jardine might also join the fray soon. For Evans, staying on top presents an entirely new challenge.

“He’s got to get back in the gym and push forward,” Greg Jackson said. “He has to find better and smarter ways to do things. If you just sit back, the game’s going to pass you by.”

Evans (13-0-1) expects to fight again sometime in the late spring or early summer. “Rampage,” though he has indicated he prefers a rematch with Griffin before challenging for the title, seems like the most logical choice. One of the UFC’s most charismatic competitors, the 30-year-old knocked out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 and has posted seven wins in eight fights.

“I really don’t have any preference on who I fight,” Evans said. “At this point, being the champion, you have to be willing to fight all comers now. I’m ready to go whenever, because now the game has to change. Now I’m the one that’s going to be hunted, and everybody’s going to be after me and everybody will be making gameplans and checking out my weaknesses.”

Jackson sees consistent growth in his star pupil.

“He’s living up to his potential,” he said. “That’s all anybody can do.”

Source: Sherdog.com

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell may have lost three of his last four fights but his mind is still on the UFC light heavyweight championship belt.

"I'll fight anybody they put in front of me as long as it gets me back closer to the title." Liddell said in a report on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I have to try to be the best at what am I doing. I want Rashad Evans, he's got the title and I'll take it."

The two logical opponents for Evans would be an immediate rematch with Forrest Griffin or a fight against former champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Liddell could have arguably been the number one contender for the belt had Jackson not defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92. Silva was Liddell's biggest win since Tito Ortiz at UFC 66 on December 30, 2006.

Liddell (21-6) could return at the earliest March 7 at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio. UFC President Dana White said at the UFC 92 post-fight press conference that Liddell was a possibility for the event but could not name a match-up for Liddell.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Liddell has trained occasionally with the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida after losing to Evans at UFC 88 last September.

Georges St-Pierre is to MMA like Sidney Crosby is to hockey or Kobe Bryant is to basketball. He is just on a whole different level.

Georges St-Pierre winning Sportnet's 2008 Athlete of the Year is not only an incredible achievement for the sport of MMA, but for GSP himself; just another chapter in what will surely be a UFC Hall of Fame career.

I remember Georges' debut and thinking to myself how impressive he was against UFC veteran Ivan Mengivar. He then proceeded to defeat one of my training partners at the time, Justin Bruckmann to win his first title, in what was only his second pro MMA bout. After his brutal victory over Pride veteran Travis Galbraith in his third fight, it was his fourth pro fight when it hit me; GSP was something truly special and I was witnessing something legendary unfold right before my eyes.

When GSP was originally matched up against Thomas 'The Wildman' Denny, I vividly recall voting down this match-up as I thought Georges was over-matched. Denny was 10-9 and had fought some big names coming into this bout. He had quite the name for himself and I just felt Georges wasn't ready for such a big challenge so early on in his career. How wrong I was.

Georges proceeded to dismantle Denny and crush the veteran en route to a TKO victory in the second round. The turning point for me was GSP's double leg entry in the first round as well as all of his takedowns and ground control. I thought to myself "this guy is on another level". He was simply too much for a fighter I had high regards for. It was like Georges was the veteran and Denny was the younger fighter. It not only opened my eyes to how good GSP was but it was a defining moment in my own MMA career as I was watching the birth of a legend less than five feet from where I was sitting.

Georges continued to develop his game and just got better and better. It wasn't like he was making baby steps in his development; he was making drastic improvements to his striking game, his takedown and throws, as well as his positional control on the ground. He would take control of the fight and never let his opponent catch up. Georges would start in fifth gear and never ease off the gas pedal.

Georges has set the standard for what 'rhythm' is in an MMA fight. His pace is relentless and often gets the better of his opponents as they just cannot keep up. They eventually begin to slow down giving Georges the opening he uses to finish the fight. Whether it's a left high kick to the head, or a left hook to set up a takedown, he is ruthless until he gets what he wants in the fight. As it stands right now, he is part of a select group of MMA fighters that are the gold standard and what the future of MMA will look like.

I often get asked to debate the merits of MMA fighters and whether or not they are true athletes. In all of my arguments, I bring up GSP. Here's a guy who trains with pro level boxers, not just your average recreational athlete at a boxing gym. He trains with Canada's Wrestling Team, not the local high school or college team. He travels to Brazil to work on his Jiu-Jitsu game; in essence, he is always training and sparring with world class, single discipline athletes. He does all of this because he is a multi-combat sport athlete and in order to achieve and maintain his level of dominance, he has to be exceptional at all levels of MMA, both offensively and defensively.

Right now, there are only a handful of MMA fighters that are on a true elite level. I am talking about fighters who can win by knockout, who can take the fight to the ground at will and can submit their opponent in the blink of an eye. There's Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre.

GSP, along with the aforementioned champions are ahead of their time. They are what the next generation of fighter will look like. They are great at all disciplines, are difficult to defeat and can win a bout at any given point in time. They can out box their opponent, they have exceptional takedown defence and if they choose, will take their opponent down to finish the fight with some ground and pound or a submission. They are the gold standard and are the living blueprint of what will be in years to come.

2008 may have been the year of GSP, but in 2009, he may just take it to a whole other level. Should GSP go undefeated in 2009, he will reach superstar status greater than what Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture did in their careers. On tap for GSP right now is a super-fight with BJ Penn in January, followed by a mandatory title defence against #1 contender Thiago Alves and then the unbelievable. Should he go undefeated against the latter, UFC President Dana White has publicly stated that a super-fight with Anderson Silva would follow suit.

If the stars align and this super-fight between GSP and Silva were to actually take place, and should Georges be victorious in that bout, I cannot begin to imagine how monstrous his worth would actually be to the UFC marketing machine. Add to all of this the fact that he has signed on with the CAA Talent Agency and we may not only see a repeat next year, but a true pop icon born in 2009.

Taken from: Sportsnet.ca

After competing in the three legendary light heavyweight fights, former UFC champions Randy "The Natural" Couture and Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell (picture) could now meet during a heavyweight encounter at a June 13, 2009 event in Cologne, Germany.

The report comes from the UK based The Sun, which cites UFC officials as saying Liddell has been offered the heavyweight main event.

The Natural recently lost his heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. Liddell, meanwhile, has dropped three of his four past fights at light heavyweight, but he's made no public statement regarding a potential move up to heavyweight division.

A source said that Couture is open to his fourth fight againsts Liddell, but we've been unable to confirm is the fight has been offered to Liddell.

With the event apparently in the works for Germany, it should come as little surprise that the UFC invited a small contingent of German press to UFC 91 to see Couture's main event with Lesnar. The 45-year-old Couture speaks German and has long been considered a likely headliner once the UFC does head to Germany, a market UFC officials have continually mentioned as a site for future expansion.

Couture and Liddell took part in a popular trilogy of fights that played out between 2003 and 2006. Couture scored a TKO in Round 3 at UFC 43 to win the first match-up for the interim heavyweight title (the former champion Tito Ortiz had been stripped of the title), but the 38-year-old Liddell won back the belt and made a successful title defense over Couture with two KO wins at UFC 52 and UFC 57.

With Liddell potentially tied up with the Germany event, he is apparently no longer being considered as an opponent for Anderson Silva at UFC 95 in London, England.

The Sun reported the possibility of the match, and though not opposed to the fight, Silva's manager, Ed Soares, last week told that UFC had not officially approached them about it.

The newspaper now reports that Silva, who is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, could instead meet one of the losers from UFC 92's two marquee 205-pound fights: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans or Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The fight would take place at 205 pounds as a non-title affair.

UFC President Dana White had better watch his back at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale. Tito Ortiz, who has had a well documented war of words with the UFC head honcho made the following statement on the underground forum two days ago:

"Dana is going to get a SLAP!!! This weekend. I will be front row and walk up and slap him! Just watch when I get kick out, you will know why. THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dana is my BITCH!!!!"

Former UFC Champion Tito Ortiz's contract with the UFC expired after his last performace, a loss against his contender, Lyoto Machida. Ortiz is currently weighing his options, which has included joining a rival promotion such as Affliction or EliteXC, or starting his own MMA promotion.

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice has emerged as one of mixed martial arts' highest profile athletes and most controversial figures. His quick rise to MMA stardom from street fighter to main event status has been received with varying results within the MMA community.

One of the biggest critics of marketing Kimbo Slice to a mainstream audience by having him headline an MMA event has been UFC President Dana White.

"To have CBS, a big network like that, move forward with a guy like Kimbo Slice headlining it, I mean there's no secret, that's what I tried to stay away from," said the outspoken UFC figurehead. "Kimbo Slice isn't a mixed martial artist. This guy was fighting in your backyard three months ago, and now he's going to be headlining on CBS. Personally I think it sucks."

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk shares White's opinion. "To be honest with you, I wasn't crazy about the idea," said the nine-year professional mixed martial artist.

"I think if you're going to headline a main event, a mainstream thing like that, you should have the credentials to follow it. You know? I would have liked to have seen a more established fighter, somebody who maybe would represent the sport a little better, because if you're tuning into CBS for the first time and you catch this street fighter guy on television, I think that's going to give us a bad name. And I think it sets us back a couple of steps."

But not everyone in the industry has the same opinion of Kimbo Slice as White and Sherk. UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn is a fan of Ferguson.

"I'm a street fighter. I love street fighters. You know what I mean? Me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan," stated the Hawaiian fighter. "I'm a street fighter. That's where I draw my thing from. I don't draw my fights from athletics or from sports… I used to fight, so me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan. I like fighting. For me, I'm a street fighter. I like that kind of stuff."

Former UFC heavyweight champion and Pride veteran Josh Barnett agrees with Penn. "I'm a fan. I like him. I think he's good for the sport, and I think he's got potential and shows it in every fight. I think he trains hard and wants to expand his repertoire of techniques and strategies, everything. I think he's really taking the routes to becoming a full-on pro fighter," Barnett told MMAWeekly Radio.

"He certainly has gameness, if anyone has seen his fights on YouTube. He's the kind of person to go out there, bare-knuckle against some totally unknown guy and be like, hey, let's scrap right here, right now. And that takes the right kind of mindset to get out there in front of everybody and fight.

"I can understand where hardcore people would get upset because it could present the image that a street fighter could just walk right on in and beat top level MMA guys," explained the Seattle born fighter. "Although, Tank (Abbott), I'm sure he wouldn't even disagree that his best years are behind him. Bo Cantrell was never a top fighter, and Ray Mercer was a boxer, but went out there, scrapped it up with him and got taken down. He ended up getting a front-choke of all things. That shows that he's thinking like an MMA guy, not just a street brawler or straight-up boxer.

"I think he's sort of an exception when it comes to street fighters. I don't think he's the kind of guy you pick off of like Felony Fights, or you see tussling with some frat boys at a bar," Barnett concluded. "This guy is big, powerful. He's clearly an athlete, and he's got the kind of training and experience that you just don't find in some street fighter. He beats up all the other street fighter guys pretty handily, and the one guy that beat him had a background in wrestling and MMA training... I don't think you can just casually treat it as if it's just some street fighter."

Former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz publicly criticized Ferguson in the past, but retracted those previous statements to MMAWeekly.com. "When he first came in, I said some things about him. I said he wouldn't last with anybody because he hadn't put in the hard work and hard training. Now it seems like he's focused.

"I kind of have to take back a few things I've said about Kimbo," commented Ortiz. "He was a young guy coming in. I watched some of his street fights on Youtube. I saw him as strictly a street fight guy. He had no technique or anything. I'm going to take back a few of my words.

"I watched his last fight and he's starting to be a well-trained athlete. He's actually putting in the hard work it takes to be a fighter. The way he dismantled Tank Abbott, oh my God, I was like that is very impressive. His punches were crisp and looked sharp. He's actually putting in the hard work."

Love him or hate him, as the CBS-EliteXC Saturday Night Fights nears, everyone is talking about Kimbo Slice.