Team Takedown and Cobra Kai members Jake Rosholt, Johnny Hendricks and Shane Roller will all enter the 15th Grapplers Quest in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 9.

The three fighters come from accomplished collegiate wrestling backgrounds and study grappling under Marc Laimon. For Grapplers Quest, they will grapple at a weight division above their respective mixed martial arts weight class.

UFC middleweight Rosholt will hit the mats in the light heavyweight division. His next MMA fight will be against Chris Leben at UFC 102 on August 29. Rosholt lost in his UFC debut in February when he was forced to succumb to Dan Miller's guillotine choke at the 63-second mark.

Hendricks, who will make his UFC debut against The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah in a welterweight bout at UFC 101 on August 8, will grapple in the middleweight division.

Rosholt and Hendricks were transferred to the UFC after the WEC phased out its welterweight and middleweight divisions. Roller, a lightweight, stayed on with the WEC.

Roller will compete at Grapplers Quest as a welterweight. The 29-year-old fighter lost earlier this month via TKO to Ben Henderson at WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki.

Brazilian slugger Luis "Banha" Cane is a man of few words. He prefers to let his hands do the talking. And in his main-card opening bout with Steve Cantwell at UFC 97 in Montreal, Cane plans to let his hands ask for a title shot.

"This fight is an important step," Cane said. "I really want to be among the top of the division, and this fight should pave the way to putting me there."

With eight of his nine wins coming by KO or TKO, Cane has quickly earned a reputation as a fearsome striker. His right hand slap to the face of former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 89 – shortly before rocking him with a straight left – preceded his second consecutive TKO win in the UFC.

Cane believes he'll look even better on Saturday night.

"That is a normal move I use," he said. "The last fight I fought with an injury, but now I am 100 percent. I trained very hard for this fight, and fans should see a better Luis Cane."

Cantwell has quickly developed a reputation of his own, closing out his run in the WEC as the organization's final light heavyweight champion. While Cantwell has three career TKO wins of his own, Cane enters the bout unconcerned.

"He is a talented and tough guy, but I am not worried about being hit hard," Cane said. "I will impose my game."

"I am accustomed to being faced with hard hitters, so I won't be intimidated. But who knows? It's MMA, so maybe I'll get the chance to show my ground game."

Cane does own one submission victory in his career. Of course, his opponent tapped out due to a series of brutal soccer kicks from "Banha".

Meanwhile, Cantwell earned a bit of infamy with his wild celebration after injuring Razak Al-Hassan's arm in a gruesome technical submission win. Cane said he's comfortable testing Cantwell's skills on the mat.

"(Cantwell) is a young guy, and he got caught up in the moment," Cane said. "But I think I have developed completely as I fight. Whoever was in doubt before now knows who I am and what I can do."

With his lone career loss coming via disqualification to James Irvin in his UFC debut, a win over Cantwell would be Cane's third-straight in the organization. While the Brazilian stopped short of a firm prediction, Cane believes the bout could be a highlight of the evening.

"I am prepared give my best and that this will be a good fight for the fans," he said. "It won't go to the end."

At virtually, every WEC post fight press conference that involved its Welterweight Champion Carlos "Natural Born Killer" Condit celebrating a win, the inevitable questions came from the media in attendance.

"When are you going to go to the UFC?" "How do you think you'd do against the welterweights there?"

The questions will finally be answered on April 1 as the WEC's final 170-pound champion makes his long awaited UFC debut against Martin Kampmann to headline UFC Fight Night 18 on Spike TV.

Condit has been a mainstay in the welterweight rankings for the past two years. After clearing out the WEC's 170-pound weight class, the New Mexico native will look to prove why there is so much hype around him.

UFC President Dana White commented recently in an interview that he is looking forward to Condit's move to the Octagon. He's excited to see what he can do against the best welterweights in the world.

"I think it's exciting, it's interesting," White said. "He's been so dominant over at the WEC in that weight division and it's going to be fun to see him come into the UFC and that's a free fight on Spike. I'm actually excited about that fight, a lot of people are pumped for that."

After winning the WEC title by defeating John Alessio, Condit went on to defend his title three times including wins over Brock Larson, Carlo Prater and Hiromitsu Miura.

Now training at Arizona Combat Sports, Condit looks to make the same impact in the UFC welterweight division. White believes that he could be in title contention very soon.

"Definitely," White responded when asked if Condit could get a title shot in his next few fights. "I think him coming over as the champ, we'll see how he looks in this fight here, and I'm excited about him. Excited to see how he does. He's a good kid and always exciting to watch, too."

First things first, Condit have to face Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Las Vegas, NV - In celebration of UFC 100, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization, along with Reed Exhibitions, today announced the launch of UFC® Fan Expo™, a two-day fan exposition of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) activities starting Friday, July 10th and leading right up to the start of the historic fights on Saturday, July 11th. UFC Fan Expo will take place inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and will be the first event of its kind for UFC fans.

Among the UFC Fan Expo two-day roster of activities will be meet and greets with legendary UFC and WEC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events, training and development sessions, and other exciting opportunities and entertainment. All the UFC Fan Expo activities will be planned in conjunction with UFC 100, including the free-to-the-public weigh-in event on Friday, July 10th.

Expected to attract over 100 companies and brands, UFC Fan Expo will span more than 200,000 gross square feet of space exhibiting apparel, electronic gaming, food & beverages, fight gear and fitness equipment, MMA training and development, nutritional supplements, lifestyle products, and much more.

Currently seen on television in over 120 countries and territories in 17 different languages, UFC is the world's largest pay-per-view content provider, and is the fastest-growing sports franchise in history. UFC programs are often the highest-rated television sports shows among the coveted male 18-34 and 18-42 demographic. UFC Fan Expo and UFC 100 are expected to attract tens of thousands of sports fans from throughout North America and abroad.

"We are pleased to work with Reed Exhibitions to present UFC Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 100," said UFC President Dana White. "The UFC 100 event is a milestone for us, for the sport of mixed martial arts, and for fight fans around the world, this will be an amazing weekend for UFC fans."

"Reed Exhibitions is the largest global producer of high-profile and highly targeted events," said Ed Gallo, event director of the UFC Fan Expo. "Drawing on our experience in pop-culture inspired events such as New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival, the UFC Fan Expo will deliver an unprecedented all-access pass to loyal UFC fans around the world, and new fans discovering their passion for mixed martial arts."

For more UFC Fan Expo information and to purchase tickets, visit UFCfanexpo.com. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Ed Gallo, Event Director at 1-203-840-5546 or email egallo@ufcfanexpo.com.

Source: UFC.com

The cancellation of the World Extreme Championship 39 main event between champion Carlos Condit and challenger Brock Larson could mark the end of the welterweight division in the WEC.

Condit (22-4) suffered a sprained wrist serious enough that he has pulled out of his scheduled title defense at WEC 39 on March 1 in Corpus Christi, Texas. In their first meeting in August 2007, Condit submitted Larson (24-2) with an armbar in two minutes and 21 seconds.

But the bigger news is that the WEC will wipe out the welterweight division and move the top fighters in the division to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Condit could be transferred to the UFC as soon as April 1 at UFC Fight Night 18.

The welterweight division is the WEC's heaviest weight class. The promotion last month phased out the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The removal of the welterweight division will leave lightweight as the only division remaining in both the WEC and the UFC.

On March 1, the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) will run a show in Texas for the first time, bringing along two championship bouts.

Mike Brown, in his first fight since shocking Urijah Faber, will defend his featherweight title against Leonard Garcia, while Carlos Condit will give Brock Larson another shot at the WEC welterweight belt.

WEC 39 happens from the America Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas and will air live on Versus.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Monday, January 19 at 10 AM CT. The pre-sale date is this Friday, January 16 at 10 AM CT by entering "FIGHT" as the presale password.

Carlos "Natural Born Killer" Condit sees only one man on the horizon. And the man is Brock Larson.

Condit defeated the Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts Academy standout in convincing fashion at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 29, another blip on his submission radar. Larson didn't see an armbar coming off a scramble, and it was game over.

But as the top dog of a thin division, the WEC Welterweight Champion has to shrug his shoulders. He doesn't have many choices, and the ones he has are not camera ready to face him.

"It's not ideal, because I have everything to lose, and he has everything to gain," Condit told. "The pool of contenders is a bit shallow. There's not a whole lot of guys for me to fight."

Condit has been inactive since August 2008, when he triumphed over the tough Hiromitsu Miura in his first title defense to go past the third round. Rumored returns in December and January have not materialized, so he's used the time off for a change of scenery.

In November, Condit traded one desert for another, moving from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Tempe, Arizona. He had spent his entire fighting life in New Mexico, and had reached a plateau in his development. He was burnt out.

"To the point where I wasn't motivated to train," Condit explained. "I felt like I'd pretty much done everything there was to do. The only thing that really got me motivated out there was running in the mountains and spending time outside. Other than that, well, I've already done all the clubs. I've already sparred with everybody there is to spar with. I needed something new to do."

Training at the city's other big gym, Jackson's MMA, was not really on the table. Condit's trainer, Tom Vaughn, had made a name for himself after earning a black belt with Greg Jackson, opening Fit NHB, the place Condit would call home. Though Condit would stop in to Jackson's from time to time, he couldn't see himself there, or in Albuquerque, for the rest of his career.

Through the WEC, Condit befriended Jamie Varner, the WEC Lightweight Champion, and the two talked about training together. Condit had friends in Tempe, where Varner's gym, Arizona Combat Sports, was located, and he knew of the gym's pedigree. They had a room of Division I wrestlers who liked all out wars in the gym. Like a lot of jiu-jitsu experts, Condit felt wrestling was his weak point. It didn't take long for him to see the benefit of moving.

"Over there, they've got a bunch of really talented wrestlers; wrestlers who like to fight, who are becoming or are very good mixed martial artists," he said.

In that way, the layoff has treated Condit well. He's had the chance to plug holes in his game. The wrestling's a work in progress.

"It's not come as far as it needs to, but it's been improving for sure," he said.

For the most part, wrestling was the unanswered question of Condit's fight with Larson. Most saw Larson's mat expertise as the key to beating Condit's jiu-jitsu. But he made a mistake early, and in the absence of sweat, Condit capitalized.

Should they fight again, Condit sees as much danger as he saw before.

"He's a very tough guy, and just because I beat him before doesn't mean anything," he said. "I'm going to have to be on my toes. I'm very motivated to fight him, and I'm looking forward to a very tough training camp."

Condit would also jump at a rematch with his old foe Jake Shields, who defeated him in a Rumble on the Rock tournament in 2006.

"I'd definitely like to rematch Jake," he said. "I would welcome that fight for sure."

That said; nothing is set in stone for his return. Right now he's helping Varner prepare for his upcoming fight with Donald Cerrone -- a former training partner -- at WEC 38.

"It is a bit awkward," he comments. "I wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag and give Jamie all the secrets or anything, but on the other hand, I want Jamie to be ready for this fight. So it's a bit of a fine line to walk."

He expects to return to the WEC in March, where a fight with Larson seems inevitable if the promotion is not able to import a recognizable candidate.

"I'd like to fight more often, but I'm still going to be really sharp when I come back," Condit said.

Former UFC, IFL and WEC middleweight fighter Justin Levens and his wife were found dead on Wednesday afternoon. The bodies of Levens and Sarah McLean-Levens were found in their condominium in Laguna Niguel, California by the woman's mother, who then called authorities, according to Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities said the bodies were found in a bedroom and a gun was also found at the scene.

Amormino said homicide investigators are looking into the case as a possible murder and suicide. There were no signs of a struggle, he said.

Levens fought in several different MMA promotions over the past few years including UFC, IFL and WEC. The former Marco Ruas' Vale Tudo student was scheduled to compete at Affliction: Banned in July of this year, but due to delays at the event, the fight was scrapped at the last minute. He later returned positive results for the painkiller Oxymorphone as part of his pre-fight drug testing. He was fined $1,000 and suspended until January 15, 2009.

Levens (9-8) had a promising career early on, winning his first seven fights and landing himself in the UFC, but he was never able to string together more than two wins from that point on. Levens's career ends on a five-fight losing streak and eight losses out of his last ten fights.

Coincidentally enough, Levens had actually once fought the late Evan Tanner at UFC 59. Tanner also found dead earlier this year due to dehydration in a California desert.

Levens, born in Philadelphia on April 18, 1980, was 28 at the time of his death. His wife, Sarah, was 25.

We also want to send out our sincere apologies to the Levens' family, friends and relatives.

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) bantamweight fighter Will Ribeiro was in a motorcycle accident early Tuesday morning and is currently comatose in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to a report by Frank Curreri on WEC.tv.

Ribeiro's manager, Ed Soares, confirmed the news.

Soares said one of his assistants in Brazil told him Ribeiro was riding as a passenger on the motorcycle and was not wearing a helmet. The street they were riding on was slick due to rain. Ribeiro was rushed to a local hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

"My assistant said that the doctor said for sure that he (Ribeiro) has lost sight in one of his eyes," Soares told WEC.tv. "He's still in a coma. After surgery the doctor said there is a 50-50 shot that he will come out of it (survive)."

Ribeiro (10-2), launched his professional career five years ago in his native Brazil. After a 9-1 start to his career, which included a 3-0 mark in Shooto, he made his WEC debut with a split decision victory over Chase Beebe in June.

Ribeiro currently ranked No. 7 in the world at 135 pounds, competed recently at WEC 37 in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 3, where he lost by submission to No. 2 ranked Brian Bowles.

The 25-year-old Brazilian is an extremely well-rounded fighter who grew up poor and lost his father at the age of 2. His mother also died, leaving Ribeiro to raise his 12-year-old sister.

"He's a very positive guy, very hard-working, a good person," Soares said of Ribeiro to WEC.tv. "He had had a very rough life. His mother passed away like seven years ago and he took over the care of his younger sister. He's like a father-brother-mother to her... I'm still crushed right now."

It was a roller coaster ride of emotion at Wednesday night's World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 36 in Hollywood, Florida, but when all was said and done, the numbers added up in the promotion's favor.

WEC 36 drew 5,227 fans accounting for $563,578 in revenue at the gate, according to WEC Vice President Peter Dropick, who said they were "just shy of a sellout".

The promotion's centerpiece, Urijah Faber, was upset in a featherweight title bout by American Top Team's Mike Brown. Chael Sonnen also knocked off middleweight champ Paulo Filho in a lackluster non-title affair, while Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and "Razor" Rob McCullough put on the Fight of the Night, which may also end up a "Fight of the Year" candidate.

The attendance pales in comparison to the promotion's draw at WEC 34 earlier this year in Sacramento, California, which drew 12,682 and also featured Faber in the main event. The dollar amount at the gate, however, isn't that far off considering the difference in attendance. WEC 34 garnered $738,855 at the gate.

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WEC 36 results:

• Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber by TKO (strikes) at 2:23 of Round 1

• Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho by unanimous decision

• Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver by TKO (strikes) at 1:12 of Round 1

• Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck by TKO (strikes) at 3:48 of Round 2

• Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by unanimous decision

• Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan by KO (punch) at 0:18 of Round 1

• Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookins by TKO (strikes) at 0:45 of Round 3

• Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by split decision

• Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias by TKO (strikes) at 2:54 of Round 2

• Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:30 of Round 1

COUNT Urijah Faber among those disappointed to see EliteXC close its doors last week and join the list of mixed martial arts promotional companies that saw their dreams of riches crumble under a flood of financial losses.

Faber wasn't directly affected by EliteXC folding because he's aligned with the WEC, which is owned by Zuffa, LLC, the same company that owns the highly successful UFC.

There was a time not so long ago when EliteXC appeared to be a viable threat to the UFC's dominance of mixed martial arts. EliteXC had Kimbo Slice and a contract for primetime shows on CBS. Now that EliteXC has folded, the UFC's stranglehold on the sport is that much tighter.

That's not necessarily a good thing as far as Faber is concerned. He would like to see more promotional companies in play, breeding the kind of competition that would ultimately benefit fighters.

"Fortunately, I'm with the best team out there," Faber said during a quick visit to Manhattan Thursday. "But competition is important. It's important for our economy; it's important for fighting and it's important for the fighters themselves."

Faber, 29, is one of the superstars of mixed martial arts, the reigning WEC featherweight champion. Nicknamed "The California Kid," he'll take a 21-1 record into the cage Wednesday night when he defends his title against Mike Brown (19-4) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Versus will televise live, hoping to attract the more than 1.5 million viewers who turned in to see Faber's victory last June over Jens "Li'l Evil" Pulver, who is on Wednesday's undercard.

If this were baseball or football or even boxing, Faber would be earning close to seven figures each time he steps into the cage. He's smart, personable and the ladies like his golden blond hair. But Zuffa dictates who fights who, and for how much. With the absence of any type of free agency among fighters, purses will remain limited as long as there is no real competition among promoters. Faber has earned about $40,000 for each of his past three fights.

"It's not that I would ever want to go fight there," Faber said of EliteXC, "but the more companies around, the better. It's like if you have one casino, a few people are going to show up. But if you have 20 casinos, you have a bunch of people there. It's kind of the same idea."

Faber isn't complaining though. He's making a living doing what he loves to do - fight - and he's the headliner for the WEC, which was founded in 2001 to highlight fighters in the smaller weight classes.

"The UFC has the best fighters and I would have stood out in the UFC as well," Faber said, "but they want to use me as a catalyst for the WEC. I feel like I'm really lucky to be where I am and I'm fortunate to be the guy being pushed. But I'm also winning on top of that."

A former collegiate wrestler at UC-Davis, Faber will carry a 13-fight winning steak into the cage against Brown, the No. 2 ranked 145-pounder in the world. The fight was originally set for September but had to be postponed because of a hurricane threat.

Brown is known as an aggressive fighter who likes to overpower his opponents. But Faber is deceptively strong and his wrestling skills are complemented by an improved stand-up attack, making him one of the more versatile fighters in the sport.

"He does a lot of things pretty well," Faber said. "But what he does pretty well, I'm going to do just a little bit better."

Taken from: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11012008/sports/boxing/fighters_like_faber_concerned_with_mma_f_136265.htm

Ben Askren, a 2008 Olympic wrestler, who just returned from the Beijing Olympics will soon decide if he will continue to work toward the 2012 Olympic Games in London or make a move into the MMA.

The University of Missouri wrestler, who won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA National Championship in wrestling in the 174-pound weight class, is a long time fan of the sport and sees the level of competition he could face as a whole new challenge.

"I see it as the ultimate competition, one man against another man, very limited rules, and the toughest guy wins. So that's definitely what I like about it," said Askren.

He competed at 174 pounds while in college and at 163 pounds while in the Olympics, but he said if fighting is his ultimate choice, he would compete in the 170-pound welterweight division.

He has worked in Missouri with a local gym rolling in jiu-jitsu a couple of times a week already, but has very limited striking experience to his credit. Askren is realistic about a move into MMA and knows he has a lot to learn.

"I'm not going to go in the cage unprepared," he stated. "I'm a worker and I'm going to work. I'm going to get good at what I do. I want to get good at jiu-jitsu, get good at striking, and I'm going to go in there prepared."

The Olympian stated in the interview that he's a fan of MMA fighters such as Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, and has seen the success of the past top wrestlers such as Matt Lindland and Josh Koscheck in MMA.

"Pretty much any high level wrestler that applies themselves to mixed martial arts does well in it," he commented. "I think you'd be hard pressed to find one that actually trained in mixed martial arts and didn't do well."

Just getting home from China a few days ago, Askren has thoughts of possibly competing in the Olympics again, while also mulling the decision to coach at his almamater or making the move to MMA. It's a decision he will make very soon.

"That's a decision I've got to make coming up really soon, maybe in the next couple weeks," he said. "There's a definite possibility I might just focus on MMA. I don't want to say 100 percent, but it's definitely a possibility."

Of course being an Olympic level wrestler, Askren also wants to fight the very best in the world if he does transition into MMA.

"I want to face tough opponents, I don't want to face 'cans', as they call them," he commented.

Askren's next move will be to attend the upcoming World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) event to take a look at high level MMA first hand. WEC 36 takes place on September 10 in Florida and features a main event title bout between the defending WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and challenger Mike Brown.

From The MMA News:

In the world of mixed martial arts, Frank Shamrock has done it all. Shamrock’s been the Interim King of Pancrase champion, won the UFC light heavyweight title, then won the WEC light heavyweight title which he vacated to win the Strikeforce middleweight championship which he only recently lost to Cung Le. The MMA News recently had a talk with Shamrock and here’s what was said:

The MMA News: How’s your injury and what’s the update on your overall condition?

Frank Shamrock: I’m cleared so the arm is back to normal. I’m training at about 60% now.

The MMA News: Are you still looking to fight this year?

Frank Shamrock: I’m looking for a fight in November if I can get all the cards in place. I’m trying to pick a fight with Robbie Lawler.

The MMA News: How many fights do you have left on your contract?

Frank Shamrock: With Strikeforce I have one, with Pro-Elite I have two more.

The MMA News: Do you find that you don’t always get the credit for helping to innovate MMA conditioning to the levels that it has achieved now?

Frank Shamrock: I don’t know. I mean I don’t know if I need credit but I was at the forefront of it for a long time. Even now I think I’m still pretty advanced with what’s going on. The sport grows so fast and the history of it is so cloudy that I’m just glad that guys are in good shape and the level of athletism continues to grow.

The MMA News: What’s going on with you outside MMA?

Frank Shamrock: It’s all about the kids.

The MMA News: How’s the commentating with CBS working out?

Frank Shamrock: I’m the official CBS MMA expert guy. I’ve signed up for 4-6 a year, and I put a lot of juice into it.

The MMA News: What’s your take on Kimbo Slice?

Frank Shamrock: He’s generally a nice guy. He’s medium skilled but he’s dedicated. If you can’t be the best at least you can make the best of the opportunity.

The MMA News: How about Fedor Emelianenko?

Frank Shamrock: I’ve met him on a couple of occasions and he’s the nicest guy in the world. He’s a fan of mine, and he’s so nice and respectful. He’s always been wonderful to me.

The MMA News: How was Affliction:Banned for you?

Frank Shamrock: I had a blast at the show.

The MMA News: How’s your relationship with Ken?

Frank Shamrock: I don’t think we’ll ever be okay. We grew up weird. Ken and I grew up in the media in a sport that was just like the wild west and we’re totally different people.

The MMA News: Are you still looking at trying to fight Ken?

Frank Shamrock: Yes. The first quarter of ‘09 is when we’re looking at making it, and I think we’re on schedule to do that.

The MMA News: How about Tito Ortiz?

Frank Shamrock: I talked to Tito about it and he was pretty game. I think it’s going to happen and I think that Affliction will play a big part in that.

The MMA News: Where Is MMA headed?

Frank Shamrock: I think that the media property outside the industry will spur mainstream attention to what we’re doing. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be the fighting itself, but perhaps a book or a docu-drama that will bring the attention and push the sport to the next level

The MMA News: Other than yourself who would you say is the pound for pound best fighter in the world.

Frank Shamrock: Probably for popularity I would say GSP or Anderson Silva. It’s so funny because I’ve been that guy on multiple occasions and all of a sudden you’re not that guy and you think “Wow that’s interesting” and you eventually learn it doesn’t mean anything. At one point I was the highest paid fighter per second and the best pound for pound fighter in the world and we had the smallest audience ever. Does it really mean all that much? I just smile because next year there’ll be another guy.

The MMA News: Give us some last words, first for your fans and then for your opponents.

Frank Shamrock: For the fans: Keep working out, keep training. For my opponents: Keep working out, keep training.

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) announced that three world titles will be on the line when WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion "All American" Brian Stann, and WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner all return to action at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday, August 3.

One of the best 170 pound fighters on the planet, Carlos Condit will defend his title after dominating his last three opponents in the WEC cage. Following his first round submission win over Carlos Prater in February, Condit is eager to get back to work.

The Albuquerque native's take no prisoners style has propelled him to the top of the rankings in the MMA world, and he looks to continue on his march to greatness this summer. In order to do that he will have to get past Japan's Hiromitsu Miura. Miura's last outing in the WEC Cage was a KO victory over Blas Avena in March, and he will be bringing his power and world class skills with him to Las Vegas as he looks to take Condit's crown.

A Captain of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) who was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in battle during the Iraq War, "All American" Brian Stann has made a significant impact in and out of the WEC cage. Inside of it, the 27 years old Pennsylvanian captured the WEC Light Heavyweight Title in March with an impressive first round TKO victory over Doug "The Rhino" Marshall. Stann will look to hold onto his newly crowned title when he returns to the cage against Steve Cantwell.

Las Vegas' Cantwell (5-1) isn't just in search of a title on August 3rd, but he is after redemption after a 2007 defeat to Stann. Winner of bouts over Justin McElfresh and Tim McKenzie that lasted just a combined three minutes, Cantwell has worked his way back to the top of the 205 pound weight class and he is coming to take the belt on August 3rd.

Jamie Varner announced his arrival on the world stage in February when he captured the lightweight title with a hard fought KO victory over veteran "Razor" Rob McCullough in February. Now Varner looks to show the MMA world that he is a legitimate champion in the 155 lbs division and he is eager to prove that he has what it takes to be on top of the MMA food chain, he will have his hands full when he takes on Marcus Hicks.

Hicks has tore through his last three opponents in the WEC, defeating all three by submission. Will he keep his spotless record intact on August 3rd? He will have to walk through fire against Varner to do so.

The WEC is expected to announce more bouts for the August 3 fight card in the near future.