Just a few days ago, Dana White told us Brock Lesnar was very sick.  He couldn't comment on what it was specifically, but he let us know it was bad.  Real bad.  Maybe life threatening.  Definitely career endangering.  But he assured us it wasn't AIDS or cancer.  Three days later, Brock Lesnar is out of the hospital and resting at home after minor surgery for an intestinal disorder.  Turns out that as soon as he went to a hospital they were able to handle his issues.

Dana White is not a doctor.  I've been saying that over and over to people the last few days.  He has no idea what Brock's future is medically.  Based on what we know now, I wouldn't be shocked if Brock is back in the octagon fighting by summer.  A lot has changed in a few days.

There's news that Dana is considering an interim heavyweight title match.  My guess is it would be on the Australia card  and that it would feature Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez.  I see no reason whatsoever to make this fight.  Just 3 days ago everyone thought Brock was on his deathbed, now he's at home on a low fiber diet recovering.  Give it two weeks, and see what his medical status is then.  Maybe he really won't fight again.  But maybe he'll be ready to fight by the Memorial Day show in May.  If that's the case, creating an interim champion in February only to unify in May is a ludicrous decision that only cheapens the title.

Here's an alternative suggestion.  Wait 3 weeks, and if it looks like Brock will be able to fight again, simply schedule his original fight with Carwin for late spring or early summer, and put Cain Velasquez and Nogueira on The Ultimate Fighter as coaches.  By the time they finish and fight it will probably be right around the time Brock fights Carwin, and we'll have another good contender.  If they don't want Nog on there again, maybe Cain and Mir if Mir wins at 107.  This solution avoids a pointless interim title and takes care of the TUF problem without putting a division on hold.

View full size photo »

Here is the kind of press "Ultimate Fighting" is getting in Australia's media:

Inside this ring there are no rules - elbows, knees, anything goes.

This is ultimate fighting and soon a well executed head butt splits one of the young brawlers above the eye sending a spray of blood into the front row of the crowd near my feet.

(Sound of crowd at a fight)

These gladiatorial contests are promoted by Shinji Ishihara - a former Yakuza godfather and a convicted killer. He once ran a rival gangster through with a samurai sword then watched the man bleed to death in front of him.

And I haven't even mentioned that most of the story is about child pornography. Yup, the Aussie press is linking "Ultimate Fighting" with every thing from Japanese organized crime to kiddie porn.

And just in time for the UFC's debut down under.

But never fear, at least one outlet has MMA's back, from Crikey Sports:

Next year, one of the biggest sporting organisations in the US is coming to Australia, and it's going to make a lot of people very angry.

It's the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championships - the world's largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion - where the best fighters in the world battle it out for squillions of dollars, and millions around the world pay to watch on PPV.

MMA is already a favourite target of Australia's mainstream media, who trot out a lazy WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?! article every few months on a slow news day.
...

But I didn't expect it to start so early. Yet here it is in last weekend's SMH: Cage rage coming here! ZOMG, lock up your children: cage rage is coming!

Before I delve any further into the article, a quick history lesson and clarifier:

The UFC is an organisation. Competitors in the UFC are doing Mixed Martial Arts. You may know it as "cage fighting", "ultimate fighting" or maybe even "no holds barred". But it is called Mixed Martial Arts.

He goes on to write a pretty fair history and introduction to the sport. Nice to see that the true fans are fighting back down under.

More UFC 110 Coverage

View full size photo »

Today Yoshihiro Akiyama confirmed he'll be facing Wanderlei Silva in his next UFC bout, a fight that was first reported by our own Luke Thomas.

Steve Cofield comments:

The matchmaking possibilities are limitless for a guy with the appeal of Wanderlei Silva. Silva is what's great about the way mixed martial arts book its fights. It's not about the records or an unbeaten streak, it's about the action and appeal of the fights. Silva could go 6-6 over a 12-fight period and people will still pay just like they did until Arturo Gatti's career ran out of gas.

Silva, trying to reinvent himself as a middleweight, looks to be headed toward a fight with Japan mega-star Yoshihiro Akiyama in February. ... It sounds like a perfect fit for the UFC's first event in Australia. Not a bad 10-hour jaunt for Japanese fight fans.

The Silva-"Sexyama" fight may not capture the imagination of the casual American fan but it's a huge international fight with some good questions going in. Can Silva actually get down to 185 pounds and not be gassed two minutes into the fight. And can Akiyama, who looks to be carrying some excess beef at 185, take Silva's punch? Akiyama may find out he needs to slim down and head to welterweight. He was nearly carried out of the cage after his win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100. Belcher is a really good striker but doesn't bring the thunder like Silva does.

I don't agree with Cofield about the fight not having appeal to U.S. casuals. Silva is an established UFC star. His bang-it-out style has won the hearts of UFC fans even though he's lost more than he's won in the Octagon. His epic bout with Chuck Liddell and KO of Keith Jardine struck a chord.

Akiyama also has an excellent chance of catching on with American fans. His dramatic entrance to open the UFC 100 pay per view caught people's attention and his balls-out Fight of the Night winning performance against Alan Belcher won them over.

But Cofield's analysis is largely correct -- this fight will be (even) bigger in Japan than in the States. Silva's years of headlining PRIDE cards made him one of the most feared fighters in Japan. And Akiyama is one of the biggest stars MMA has produced in Japan. Headlining their first Austrailian card with Silva vs Akiyama is very smart. For one thing, there's only an hour time difference between Sydney and Tokyo. Japanese fans will be able to watch the fight live and they'll want to.

From a match-making perspective, the fight is also sheer genius. Wanderlei's loss to Rich Franklin prevented his immediate entrance into the middleweight ranks as a contender. But if Wandy KO's Akiyama in dramatic fashion, he's instantly in the title hunt. If he loses, he'll be perfectly positioned to face Vitor Belfort (should Belfort lose to Anderson Silva that is) in a rematch fans have waited a decade for.

As for Akiyama, a high-profile win over Wanderlei will catch the attention of the casuals and get him one step closer to a title shot. I would expect that Akiyama would only need one more win after that to find himself fighting for the UFC title.

If Sexyama loses, Cofield has hit the nail on the head. Time to cut down to 170lbs and get in the welterweight hunt. I find the mere hint of GSP vs Akiyama to be very intriguing.

In sum, this is just brilliant match-making. Not only is the fight itself compelling to both casual and serious fans around the world, every possible outcome creates other intriguing possibilities. Well done Joe Silva.

Caol Uno, Yushin Okami, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Takeya Mizugaki. Photo via Kamipro.

View full size photo »

The UFC, THQ and WOWOW held a joint press conference today in Tokyo to promote the Japanese broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter 9 (not 10) and release of "UFC Undisputed 2009." A couple interesting notes came out of the session, which was attended by Zuffa's top Japanese stars, as well as Tony Loiseleur, who gives us this via Twitter:

[Caol Uno] just announced he'll be fighting Fabricio Camoes at UFC 106. Welcome to the UFC, "Morango!"

Furthermore, the [Yoshihiro Akiyama - Wanderlei Silva] bout will likely happen @ UFC 110 or 111, Las Vegas, NV or Sydney, Australia, respectively.

Meanwhile, Takeya Mizugaki is still waiting for his next WEC opponent, and Yushin Okami fights Chael Sonnen at UFC 104 on October 24th. All four fighters have been training together at Akiyama's recently-opened Team Cloud Gym, which houses a full cage.