While helping build the hype for the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show set to debut in September, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson spoke to Spike TV about the opportunity of fighting for the UFC.

"It means a lot to me to be part of the UFC. It's a chance to become the ultimate fighter. The UFC is as big as it gets," Kimbo said.

While preparing to answer his next question, fellow TUF 10: Heavyweights contender Wes Sims came into the scene to jokingly ask Kimbo for an autograph, perhaps dispelling some of the rumors floating around about the two of them.

Kimbo went on to add, "I still have a lot of things to learn to become a mixed martial artist, but there are a few things I can do in the meanwhile to survive in a fight. My stand up game is still improving."

"The heavyweight competition is tough," Kimbo continued. "There are a lot of big guys that can go to the ground. And with guys their size, they can be dangerous."

Kimbo also humbly admitted that the man he was two years ago wouldn't stand a chance inside the octagon. "A guy coming into this thing with my caliber while I was street fighting would get smashed. You gotta have a feel for so many different things in this sport. It's kinda like a science."

Kimbo also spoke to what his motivation is when it comes to his fight career. "My biggest motivation is the opportunity. And to make tons of money."

At least we know there's still part of the old Kimbo Slice left inside him.

You can see Kimbo, Sims and the rest of the cast for The Ultimate Fighter Season 10: Heavyweights when the show makes its premiere September 16th on Spike TV.

The UFC has signed a deal with Anchor Bay Entertainment that will see UFC pay-per-view events available for the first time on Blu-Ray.

Previously there were only two UFC releases on Blu-Ray, "UFC: Ultimate Comebacks" and "UFC: Best of 2008". Anchor Bay will also take over First Look Studios' role as the distributor of UFC DVDs. Navarre remains the exclusive DVD distributor for Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" television show.

This Saturday's UFC 100 will be one of the first releases later this year.

"Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the leading distributors of fitness DVDs and has released some of the top independent titles in Hollywood," UFC President Dana White said in a statement. "Working with Anchor Bay, fans can get the most exciting live event in the world on DVD or Blu-Ray, and see the greatest fights ever from UFC."

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will likely host two major events in November. One on Spike TV and one on pay-per-view on back-to-back weekends.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently updated its online calendar, showing the UFC had formally requested a November 21 event date at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Additionally, multiple sources have told the Vegas event, UFC 106, will likely follow a November 14 UFC 105 event, a show expected to take place in the UK, possibly Manchester, that would air on Spike TV.

UFC 105 would air on free basic cable and help promote the following week's pay-per-view offering.

No fights rumored of official are set for either card, though UFC 105 will likely be heavy on European talent and could feature in the main event British fighter Michael Bisping as well as recent The Ultimate Fighter 9 winners Ross Pearson and James Wilks. Bisping is slated to fight Dan Henderson next month at UFC 100. UFC President Dana White has hinted that Bisping could earn a title shot with current champion Anderson Silva if he defeats Henderson.

Although far from official, a Silva vs. Bisping UFC 105 headliner on basic cable could surely be a ratings hit and be a major draw for UK fans.

The back-to-back November cards would then be followed just two weeks later by The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, which concludes the currently in-production heavyweights-only season of the UFC's reality series. TUF 10 features notables such as Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Roy Nelson and NFL veteran Marcus Jones, and the finale takes place in Las Vegas at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort on December 5.

A press conference was held yesterday in Tokyo by World Victory Road to announce the signing of 2008 Olympic gold medalist in Judo Satoshi Ishii for the promotion. Previously signing with the UFC is reported to have no impact on Ishii's negotiations with WVR to appear in their Sengoku events.

The 22-year-old judoka had been sought out by the other major mixed martial arts promotion in Japan, DREAM as well as the UFC.

Ishii accepted an invitation from the UFC last December to meet UFC President Dana White and experience UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. White said Ishii has the potential to become a great MMA fighter.

Ishii appeared at first willing to put aside his celebrity in Japan to compete in the UFC. But by signing with World Victory Road, Ishii picks the safest and richest choice to begin his MMA career.

It was previously reported on several sources that Ishii was set to appear on the tenth season of the popular Spike television series, The Ultimate Fighter. Ishii's Facebook page appeared to confirm that rumor yet now, this signing may not allow the Japanese fighter to do both. It is important to note that he has a clause in his new 2-year contract allowing him to fight for other promotions outside of Japan and Ishii has previously indicated a desire to fight in the UFC late last year.

"I have finally made up my mind," Ishii told Nikkan Sports in December. "The UFC is where I want to fight."

Time will tell where he really makes his MMA debut. WVR Director Takahiro Kokuho believes Ishii's first fight for the promotion can come as early as August 2 and as late as the New Year's Eve event at the end of the year.

In any case, for WVR and Japanese MMA in general, this signing might mark a significant turning point in their campaign to get back on network television. With WVR and DREAM alike staging strong events, fans may see a resurgence of MMA in the once PRIDE-dominated country.

Since leaving Judo with his eyes set on MMA, Ishii has been traveling around putting in mat time with current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, the American Top Team and Xtreme Couture.

Spike TV will join in the celebrations surrounding July's historic UFC 100 event.

The UFC's cable broadcast partner will debut a five-part series entitled "UFC's Ultimate 100: Greatest Fights" prior to UFC 100, which takes place July 11 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fans can begin voting on the top 100 UFC fights of all time on May 1 at Ultimate100.spike.com, and highlights from the chosen bouts will air on the series, which debuts July 5.

That first episode airs at 9 PM ET/PT on Sunday. Subsequent episodes air in the same timeslot on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Prior to Saturday's series finale, Spike TV will re-air the other four episodes.

The UFC this week announced three official bouts for UFC 100, which is becoming the can't-miss event of 2009. UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar takes on UFC interim heavyweight title holder Frank Mir (in a heavyweight title unification bout) and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre meets top contender Thiago Alves. Additionally, "The Ultimate Fighter 9" coaches Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson are also slated to fight at the event, and as revealed on this past Wednesday's episode "The Ultimate Fighter 9", Stephan Bonnar will take on Mark Coleman.

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans will be fighting inside the Octagon for a very long time.

On Friday's episode of "Inside MMA" on HDNet, Evans revealed that his new deal with the UFC is for eight more fights.

The agreement was signed after his title win at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 over Forrest Griffin and replaces his previous six-figure contract signed after winning "The Ultimate Fighter 2" on Spike TV.

Evans completed nine out of the ten fights under his previous deal.

Evans (13-0-1) will make his first title defense against undefeated Lyoto Machida (14-0) at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida on May 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While most fighters try to get out of coaching "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show on Spike, UFC middleweight fighter Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva is trying to get on the show.

Silva recently told Setanta Sports that he has spoken with UFC President Dana White about appearing as a coach in future series.

"I've spoken to Dana and he's spoken to me about future opportunities for working as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter," Silva said.

The Brazilian MMA star went on to say he would not put up with the kind of behavior he has seen in past shows.

"I saw the last series and man, I've got Brazilian blood. I'm so hot-headed. I would want to (gestures to clip them) smack them."

"It's so interesting though, the reality show is incredible, I love it. You watch the guys training and fighting, it's incredible," he said.

Silva currently owns a 1-2 record in his return to the Octagon, but there's no doubt that he has already become one of the UFC's most popular fighters.

"Let's get it on!" Remember the sentence? Yes, now we will hear that sentence again from the cage.

The California State Athletic Commission has assigned "Big" John McCarthy a referee's position at Strikeforce "Destruction" on November 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The assignment will mark the 15-year veteran's return to officiating after McCarthy announced his retirement in December 2007 to join The Fight Network, a Canadian-based cable channel, as an on-air analyst and strategic advisor.

McCarthy oversaw his 535th bout between dynamic lightweights Clay Guida and Roger Huerta at "The Ultimate Fighter 6" Finale last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. He officiated his first bout at UFC 2 "No Way Out" in March 1994 in Denver, Colorado, and was among the original authors of the MMA's first set of guidelines in 1998.

In his analyst's role, the 45-year-old McCarthy provided color commentary for Canada's TKO and Hardcore Championship Fighting promotions, and most recently called the action alongside FOX Sports Network regulars Frank Trigg and Jay Glazer at Affliction "Banned" last July in Anaheim, California.

McCarthy resigned from The Fight Network on October 7, amidst rumors the channel was awash with financial difficulties.

"I had a good time doing (commentary) and it was fun," said McCarthy. "The Fight Network overextended itself and wasn't ready to do certain things that they said that they were going to be able to do. It just didn't work out there."

Rather than take another offer that would keep him outside the cage, McCarthy said he chose to return to the role he originated inside it.

"I missed doing it," said McCarthy. "Sometimes when you walk away from something and you think it's time, once you're away you realize what you're missing –- it's kind of like why guys come back to fighting. It's what I like doing. It's what I was meant to do."

Retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) where he served for 22 years, McCarthy instructed over 10,000 recruits in arrest and control procedures and survival tactics.

McCarthy has not veered far from his teaching roots. He conducted his second Certified Officials for MMA National Development (COMMAND) referee and judges' instructional course in October and has a third seminar planned for late November at his mixed martial arts academy in Valencia, California. The program is recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

Though most recognizable from his tenure with the UFC, Big John said he has no expectations of where or when he will be placed for assignment.

"I have no control over that," he said. "That's up to athletic commissions and what you get assigned to. I may do one show a year. I may do 50. I don't know, but if I get assigned to something, then I'll be going if I can."

McCarthy was recently re-licensed as a referee with the athletic commissions in California, Ohio, and the River Cree in Alberta, Canada. He said he plans apply for licensure in additional states as well.

UFC has an open challenge of sorts for Kimbo Slice to join "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV.

To discredit Slice's mixed martial arts abilities, UFC President Dana White said he'd be willing to bring back heavyweight to the show.

"I don't consider him (Slice) a real athlete or anything," White said at the UFC 90 post-fight conference, in a video courtesy of AOL Fanhouse. "He won't win 'The Ultimate Fighter'. The offer is out there if he wants to take it. He won't win it."

But Slice fighting for the UFC -- and especially as a cast member for "The Ultimate Fighter" -- is not likely to happen.

Between fighting for a boss who has insulted him at every opportunity, Slice stands to earn bigger bucks as a headliner elsewhere. Another possibility is Japan, where there's a fascination with black athletes with an intimidating look. Bob Sapp anyone?

Anchored by a middleweight bout between Michael "The Count" Bisping and Chris "The Crippler" Leben, UFC 89 on Saturday drew an average of 2.6 million viewers, according to Spike TV representatives. The telecast -- which aired on tape delay from the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England -- peaked with 3.4 million viewers during the 11:30 PM to 11:45 PM quarter hour.

Despite stiff competition from Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on TBS and regional college football coverage on ESPN and ESPN2, the UFC 89 telecast ranked second with 18 to 49 year-old males, 18 to 34 year-old males and 25 to 34 year-old males among ad-supported cable for its time period.

Bisping (17-1) defeated Leben by unanimous decision in a competitive main event, as the UFC made its final stop in the United Kingdom this year. The popular 29 year-old Brit extended his winning streak to three fights and continued his rapid ascent up the 185-pound ladder. Scheduled to coach on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series, Bisping will face the winner of the UFC 93 match pairing Rich Franklin with Dan Henderson sometime in 2009.

In the co-main event at UFC 89, light heavyweight contender Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine eked out a split decision win over the suddenly enigmatic Brandon "The Truth" Vera. The event also featured a memorable welterweight slugfest between Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor, which earned both men a $40,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus. Lytle won by unanimous decision.

Despite its success, UFC 89 fell short of the mark set by UFC 75 "Champion vs Champion", which also aired on tape delay on Spike TV in September 2007. That event, which showcased a light heavyweight championship bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Dan Henderson, drew 4.7 million viewers, making it, at the time, the most-watched mixed martial arts event in North American history.

Baltimore Sun's Mark Chalifoux recently spoke with UFC star Rich Franklin. Franklin is back in action this Saturday at UFC 88 in Atlanta and will be moving up a weight class. He will be facing a fellow Cincinnatian Matt Hamill in the light heavyweight division. Below is the full interview with Franklin as seen on MMA Stomping Grounds, Chalifoux's MMA blog for baltimoresun.com:

MMA Stomping Grounds: Why the move up to 205?

Rich Franklin: I was talking to the UFC after the second [Anderson] Silva loss and they encouraged me to move up to 205. They told me my position there would be more appealing to them from a business perspective. They weren’t interested in a third match between me and Silva and they didn’t want me fighting contenders because I could eliminate possible title fights, so I was stuck in that I was going to be fighting people on the back end of their losses to Silva and I didn’t care for that gatekeeper position. After the Travis Lutter fight, I said I would try my hand at 205 again.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What’s the toughest part of the transition in weight classes?

Rich Franklin: I think that’s a question better suited for September 7, but me giving up some pounds there is quite the adjustment. If I’m carrying an extra 20 pounds in this fight and it goes the full 15 minutes, that takes a toll on conditioning.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think about Matt Hamill?

Rich Franklin: He’s looked great, his success doesn’t surprise me at all. Matt’s an accomplished wrestler and a competitor. The first time I met him it was before he was doing MMA and I said when you’re done wrestling and all that -- he was making run for Athens games -- you ought to give MMA a thought because you could be good at it ... and before I knew it he was in The Ultimate Fighter and his only loss is a controversial one. He’s looked strong.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What would be your ideal fight?

Rich Franklin: I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter to me, I’m really just all about competing and having fun, doing it and putting on good fights for the fans. I’m one of those guys where if fans said “we’d love to see Rich Franklin fight so and so” I’d be in to doing that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What part of the sport's growth has you the most excited?

Rich Franklin: I would guess the international growth at this point. The international growth the UFC is experiencing is showing how solid the future is going to be for this sport. So that’s great for guys like myself, who 10 years from now, I won't be fighting anymore and having a job within the MMA profession will be a possibility, but it’s also exciting for up-and-coming athletes.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think is the biggest misconception casual sports fans have about MMA?

Rich Franklin: It’s that there are no rules. It’s the funniest thing I hear people talk about. People say, “I’ve seen that you fight in cage and there’s no rules,” and I’m sitting there [thinking] “yeah, exactly.” Quite frankly, the rule book for this sport is complex, more so than for most sports probably.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What is one thing you would want people to know about you?

Rich Franklin: I just think that people see the TV persona that’s developed and although I’m a lot like my TV persona, things get amplified and magnified so to speak, and all that stuff gets taken out of proportion. One aspect of your life seems to overwhelm public perception and they forget about other things. From what they read in newspapers they think they know you, but what it boils down to is they don’t.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Have you ever had any weird requests from fans?

Rich Franklin: Yeah, requests like “can you shave your autograph into my back hair” or stuff like that, it’s really not that bad though. I don’t get, like, women’s panties in the mail or weird fan mail or anything. I have had threatening phone calls to my house on numerous occasions. People call to threaten to kill me or beat me up when I’m not looking. My wife has also had threatening phone calls, which is odd because I’m a fairly well-liked fighter, so its weird. It’s weird having that kind of stuff happen because I come from a normal small town here in Ohio and suddenly my life is blown up and I’m perceived to be way more important than I am.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do people call you a lot like that?

Rich Franklin: It’s kind of out of the blue, it will be three or four in the morning. I had a string of these calls occur over a couple months where they came semi-frequently. Then when I was out of town my wife was getting them. I had a fan who one time did some research and got my home number and called my house. My wife picked up and he said “This is Bob, I’m calling Rich about an interview,” and she said, “OK, who are you with?” He just said, “Oh, with no one, I just wanted to interview him.”

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do you have to contact the authorities when you get calls like that or do you just shrug them off?

Rich Franklin: At this point I’ve shrugged them off. It irritates me more than anything else. I don’t know, I guess being a fighter you feel you can take care of yourself anyway, but it’s never gotten to a point where I feel the need to call the police.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Looking on the upside of your fame, what are some of the cooler experiences you’ve been able to have during your time as a fighter?

Rich Franklin:That’s the thing with fame -- there’s the good side and the bad side. The bad side is when you’re out in public you get recognized, I couldn’t go to a club down here in Cincinnati without expecting to take 100 pictures with people on phones so they can put that crap on MySpace. I understand that goes on when I go out. The cool side of it is I’ve been able to do a lot of things most people haven’t. I got to go visit the troops in Iraq in 2006 and I’m getting ready to go back to the Middle East again. I’ve done tons of cool stuff around the military, like going on aircraft carriers and on a basic level I get invited to nice restaurants and people pay for dinner occasionally. You rarely have to wait in line for clubs and stuff like that. As you’re sitting there signing autographs in a club and by time you hit the 50th picture it’s like “at least we didn’t have to wait in line for this place.” Your friends think its more cool than [I do] but it has some perks.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Does the fame ever feel surreal to you?

Rich Franklin: No, as far as I’m concerned, fame is a fickle thing. One minute people love you, the next they hate you. You always have loyal fans that think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, but really, 99 percent of my life I’m just your average guy. I’m sitting at my home today wondering if I’m going to have to cut my grass before the fight again. I’m not wanting to have to sit on my tractor for a couple hours in the sun doing it but that’s my typical life. It’s pretty normal and things will be more that way once I’m out of limelight and retire. For most part people will forget about you. I sign autographs not because it does anything for my ego but because the people that ask you for it wouldn’t understand if you didn’t sign it, and I want fans to have a good experience when they meet me.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What’s the toughest part about being Rich Franklin?

Rich Franklin: Juggling all the aspects of my life. So many people want your time. Once you gain some notoriety or perceived importance everyone wants or needs you. You have appearances for this charity or sign autographs for this or make appearances at this fight. I need to go visit the troops and I need to train and I need to do PR work for my fights but on top of everything else I need to make time for everything else -- family, friends and training and its difficult to juggle all of that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do you follow MMA much when you aren’t training/fighting?

Rich Franklin:Yes and no. I watch the bigger fights but there’s so much stuff. MMA has exploded so much that you could sit down and you got your Versus channel and your HDnet and the UFC and the WEC and all these other shows and acronyms. If you DVR’d everything on MMA on TV you could watch fights nonstop in your waking hours. I spend so much time in the gym training that sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and watch more fights. I do watch some fights and anytime there’s a WEC and Jens Pulver or one of my friends fighting I’ll catch the show, but I’m always definitely making sure I pay attention to UFC events and major fights. Honestly, my wife probably keeps up with that way more than I do.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you like to do away from fighting?

Rich Franklin: Well, when I’m training, I’m an athlete and an athletic kind of guy so I like to do anything active, but I don’t have the energy when I’m training. I will do things like play my drums, practice my Portuguese. I do often times spend a lot of time reading my bible and stuff like that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Finally, what do you need to do against Hamill to be successful?

Rich Franklin: I think I gotta be quick on my feet. I’m giving up some weight so he might be giving up some speed. I need to use my footwork to confuse him and stick and move and stick and move and avoid takedowns. Once he does take me down, I can’t let him lay on top of me. I need to stay active on the ground.

Taken from: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mma/blog/2008/09/qa_with_rich_franklin.html

California State Athletic Commission Assistant Executive Director Bill Douglas has confirmed that Affliction fighter Edwin Dewees (picture) and EliteXC fighter Antonio Silva have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. On August 1, Douglas said that both cards were "not out of the woods" and positive tests were likely on both cards.

Dewees, 26 years old, tested positive for Nandrolone, a common illegal steroid, following his losing effort against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Affliction Banned on July 19. The level of drug in Dewees' system, 499ng/mL, far outstrips other high profile fighters who have been ensnared by the CSAC since it began drug testing in March of 2006.

"The level of drug in his system makes it very hard to explain," told Douglas.

Also hard to explain is Silva's positive test, which showed the presence of Boldenone, an anabolic steroid mainly veterinarian in nature. According to Douglas, the CSAC does not record the level of Boldenone in a fighter's system, as the drug's long half-life in the body make false positives extremely unlikely.

Both men have been suspended one year from the end of their respective bouts and have been fined $2,500.

Dewees declined comment saying he needed to check with his lawyer before making any statements.

Silva and his representatives were unavailable for comment.

Aside from Justin Levens, who has already been reported as testing positive for pain killers, all other EliteXC and Affliction fighters from the noted July events tested negative for any banned substances, whether recreational or performance enhancing.

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.

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale will come to us live from Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night starting at 9 PM ET/PT.

Below are the official weight in results for the event:

• Kendall Grove (186 lbs.) VS Evan Tanner (186 lbs.)

• CB Dollaway (185 lbs.) VS Amir Sadollah (185 lbs.)

• Luigi Fioravanti (171 lbs.) VS Diego Sanchez (170 lbs.)

• Jeremy Stephens (155 lbs.) VS Spencer Fisher (156 lbs.)

• Dante Rivera (185 lbs.) VS Matt Riddle (185 lbs.)

• Dustin Hazelett (170 lbs.) VS Josh Burkman (170 lbs.)

• Drew McFedries (185 lbs.) VS Marvin Eastman (186 lbs.)

• Matt Arroyo (170 lbs.) VS Matt Brown (170 lbs.)

• Dean Lister (185 lbs.) VS Jeremy Horn (186 lbs.)

• Cale Yarbrough (186 lbs.) VS Tim Credeur (185 lbs.)

• Rob Yundt (185 lbs.) VS Rob Kimmons (185 lbs.)

Jiu-jitsu expert Dean Lister will make his return to the Octagon on June 21 at the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale on SpikeTV against fellow tactician Jeremy Horn. Lister and Horn have a history together because they fought back in 2003 where Horn earned the majority decision victory. It was a close fight, but Lister came up short and he's looking forward to getting some redemption.

"Absolutely. If you are a true fighter, you definitely want to avenge any kind of loss you ever had," Lister said recently on an interview with MMAWeekly radio. "I definitely want to have a good fight here."

While that loss did hurt Lister's career a little bit, he maintained a positive attitude in his defeat. "I care if I win, I care if I lose. But every single fight you have, win or lose, it's something on your path and your journey to become a better fighter. That's all I want to do is become a better fighter. That was just one little stop on my journey. That's all it was. No big deal."

"The Boogeyman" hasn't fought since UFC 79 back in December where he defeated Jordan Radev. Prior to that fight, he had an eleven-month hiatus. Part of the reason for the layoff was for Lister to prepare himself mentally to fight and the other part was because of a serious bicep injury before and after his fight with Nate Marquardt.

"Before that fight, I had hurt it sparring," Lister explained. "I pulled it. And after the Marquardt fight, I completely tore it. Just imagine snapping a rubber band. I felt it and it didn't feel good."

The San Diego native has had a pretty successful MMA career thus far, but he is well known for his wins in Abu Dhabi. Lister had been asked if he had any plans to return to competitive grappling in the near future. "Right now, the only grappling one I'd consider is Abu Dhabi," he replied. "That's my home. If they'd call me and say someone's injured and we'd like you to fight in a super fight, I'd do it. Other than that, I really want to concentrate on my mixed martial arts. I want to focus all my time and energy to that now."

A lot of jiu-jitsu practitioners have tried to emerge in the MMA world. Some have enjoyed success and some have failed. Lister shed some light on why there are ups and downs with some of the transitions. "Who was it that said, everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face? It's a huge thing to say whether you can take a hit or not. I'm very fortunate. I don't know if I'm part Neanderthal. I can take a hit. I don't want to, but I can. It's either something you can do or you can't."

However, Lister believes the most invaluable piece of advice he can give is to get involved with a great camp. "It's the number one piece of advice I give. The number one thing you can do consciously as a fighter is find a solid training camp. You can't train yourself. What you can do is trust your training from someone who really knows what they're doing."

Horn is a legend in the sport and has over 100 fights to his credit. Lately, he has hit a slide losing three out of his last four bouts, all fights that he was finished in. That doesn't mean much to Lister, as he would never underestimate Horn's unmistakable ability to show up at any point.

"With Jeremy Horn, he's such a well-rounded fighter that's been around for so long," Lister commented. "I'd hate to try to identify what he's going through right now. Everyone goes up and down, and has things happen to them. I don't know what's going to happen. The reason I don't know is because he's so well-rounded. I'm just going to try to focus on what I can do. Look at Wanderlei Silva. He lost three fights in a row, and came back and looked great. I don't want to count anyone out or in."

One priority that the San Diego native has on Saturday night is to go out and have an exciting fight. That's why he never thinks about the next fight and only concentrates on the task in front of him. "We can't just go in there thinking about our next fight. I have to try to make it a very exciting fight. The UFC being the biggest organization in the world, who knows who can be cut at any point? I'd rather get "Fight of the Night" than "Submission of the Night".

Lister will admit he's not the type of guy who goes out and challenges individual fighters. He wants to fight whoever the UFC matches him up with and anyone who gets him one step closer to his professional goal: the UFC middleweight title. "Maybe it would be more exciting if I challenged guys all the time. I'll fight whoever they put in front of me. I'll fight whoever is the right guy for me to fight at the time. I would love to have the UFC middleweight title around my waist at some point. I mean, if that's not my goal, then I shouldn't be fighting."

When asked for a prediction for the fight, Lister said, "What's going to happen is… I don't like to predict what happens. I see there being action. I see it going to the ground. I see two guys going in who like to finish fights. And I think it's going to go that way, finishing the fight."