Today on "MMA Nation" we'll be joined by UFC 100 competitor and UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch. We'll talk to Fitch about his fight with Paul Thiago, the UFC video game, Cain Velasquez vs. Shane Carwin and more.

We'll also talk to UFC 100 competitor and UFC middleweight contender Alan Belcher. We'll ask Belcher about his upcoming fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama, training with Duke Roufus, wanting to have a breakout performance and more.

Last, but certainly not least, we'll talk to WJFK midday host (also the host of Red Ring of Death Radio) Chad Dukes. We'll have Dukes in studio to talk the rumor that the UFC will ban any fighter not currently under Zuffa contract if they sign likeness rights away to EA Sports.

And, of course, the latest and greatest in MMA news will be discussed as well.

"MMA Nation" airs every Saturday 7:00pm EST to 9:00pm EST on 106.7 WJFK. To listen live over the Internet, go to WJFK's website and click "Listen Live".

I'm also now on Twitter: @mmanation.

"MMA Nation" is also available by podcast on iTunes.

Number to call: 800-636-1067

Email here.

Talk to you then.

UFC 100 coverage

"We're two champions (Strikeforce vs. Dream), who says this fight isn't legit. It's a great match; because Mousasi's doing pretty well in Japan."

"Mousasi is hungry and young, but against him I have the experience, strategy and the fights’ in my backyard."

From MMA Junkie:

"I would have to say that our school was really ahead of the curve," Nelson said. "We started training mixed martial arts in, well, it was 1992, but even before I had my own school we were already mixing Thai-boxing and shootwrestling, and I wrestled for the University of Minnesota. We just always had been putting stuff together and combining. That's kind of how I did things.

"We've had a really good training camp, a lot of guys in there," Nelson said. "This has been an extremely good camp because we've had a lot of guys that are big and can move. We brought in a guy from Arizona who was an all-armed forces boxing champion who is 300 pounds and can hit like a Mac truck."

"Brock is a very smart fighter," Nelson said. "Since his first fight, he went in there and that was more just pure get-in-there, raw aggression, try to run them over like a truck. You could see from that fight to Heath Herring to then with Randy Couture, you see a steady growth in his striking development and ability to pace himself – control to not be so anxious in the ring.

"He's got the ability to really run through you like a freight train, ... but at the same time he now has a lot more movement."

They brought in 7 time world jiu jitsu champ Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros to train Lesnar before the Heath Herring fight, but I haven't heard who they've brought in for this camp.

UFC 100 coverage

"I've trained with him two times and he looked really sharp. I put my money on him against B.J. Penn.

"Kenny Florian is a great training partner, and is going to be a great champion, and he's also a greater person and human being (than B.J. Penn)."

Georges St Pierre talking to MMA Weekly about training partner Kenny Florian.

"It's just another fight and I'm going to take GSP out." "GSP will try to impose his will, take me down and work from the top. But I'll be ready for anything."

"I can stop anybodies take down. I've been training for this my whole life; I can stop GSP's takedown". "I’m not really worried about what GSP is going to do. I know what I'm going to do and I'm going to knock him out"

Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves are finally starting to do some press for UFC 100, and St. Pierre spoke at length about some of his training partners today in an interview at Punch Drunk Gamer:

PDG: Are you using the same trainers/team for this fight?

GSP: I always bring someone in but its most of the same people with me. I did bring a couple of guys out from Paris, some Muay Thai specialists.  I also have many guys who came in town recently - John Danaher from New York came for my jiu-jitsu – he showed me some amazing stuff that I will be able to use.  I also work with Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, who’s a legend in Muay Thai who spent most of his life in Thailand.  He came with two of his top students, and he showed me a bunch of stuff in Muay Thai that I’ll also be able to use during my fight.  And the fact that he came with two of his top students – it give me a good idea of what a world-class Muay Thai fighter is and it’s gonna help me gauge the speed and the power of a real Muay Thai guy.

As usual, St. Pierre spared no expense bringing in high-end talent that will present more challenges in camp than his opponent is likely to present on fight night.  I have seen a lot of tape of Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, and the guy is simply an incredible fighter.  Thiago Alves is a very good Thai Boxer, but not anywhere near the level Skarbowsky was once at and probably nowhere near the level his top students are at.  This isn't to say St. Pierre will outstrike Alves, but it's important because it makes it more unlikely that Alves will do anything to shock St. Pierre. 

Reach is the most under appreciated factor in this fight.  St. Pierre has a nice jab and a snap left high kick that he uses to keep guys out of reach, and Thiago's reach is particularly short.  His usual offensive combinations are very effective in the pocket, but the classic right-left followed by right leg kick combination is a lot harder to pull off when your opponent is always circling away.

It wouldn't shock me if St. Pierre beats Thiago standing in this fight.  However, I doubt that will be his game plan, because standing is the only place Thiago can win this fight.  I suspect the strategy is to only be at two distances:  far enough to stay out of Thiago's reach or in deep for a shot.  I expect St. Pierre to circle to Thiago's right while keeping a distance in order to stay away from his left hook and left knee, and to force Thiago to extend himself to try to land that leg kick.  I think St. Pierre will use striking at a distance early in each round to lure Alves into charging forward and opening himself up for a takedown.  

I'm sure Thiago is training with great wrestlers for this fight.  The problem is that it's nearly impossible to find a wrestler that can replicate the way St. Pierre mixes wrestling with striking almost seamlessly.  Once this hits the ground, Alves is in serious trouble.  I think St. Pierre takes this via TKO in the third round.

We're a week out and the line is narrowing.  Will St. Pierre quiet the critics once and for all?  Or will he go down in a heap and have to restart another journey back to the top?

UFC 100 coverage

I'm not suggesting the fronting won't work, but Strikeforce is fronting here:

According to a release circulated by Strikeforce and highlighted by Fanhouse, the promotion is set to dangle some mainstream media bait by hosting a press conference for the Aug. 15 Gina Carano/Cristiane Santos fight at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater on July 14.

Considering that it wouldn’t take roping off a city block to house MMA media, it’s clear Strikeforce is counting on a surplus of mass press attention for what has easily become the highest-profile women’s MMA bout to date. Securing the WaMu Theater lobby may not be practically necessary, but it is an interesting bit of status posturing, particularly for an industry that doesn’t see a lot of PR stunt work outside of the UFC. (Both Carano and Santos will have a public demo/workout on 8th Avenue and 33rd Street, which is likely going to crane a lot of necks passing by in walkthrough traffic.)

Look, I certainly hope this fight meets the expectations of those who suggest Carano can single-handidly outdraw the entire UFC 100 event in terms of PR or attention. Her success as well as that of her promoter would be good for their goose and MMA's gander. But let's also keep in mind what's driving the popularity of Carano - and this fight in particular - is a compelling human interest component that has dubious utility for MMA's or Carano's long term viability as a draw. While the attention being paid toward Carano for her stark challenge of gender roles can sway attitudes of skeptics or the concerned to the point that MMA is more palatable than they once assumed, we also must examine the motivations for the media coverage.

It is well documented both traditional and new media alike are prone to exploring the issue of females who not only challenge gender roles with ability or aplomb, but also simultaneously support or maintain those traditional gender constructs as they turn conventional wisdom on its head. I do not fault Strikeforce nor Carano for this reality nor for using it to their advantage. I also, again, do not see this as something harmful for the sport, but I also don't think this is a watershed moment for the larger sport of women's MMA. I have some suspicion about how long Strikeforce can milk this to keep the Carano hype train moving. For now, it's an asset and should be welcomed as a means of maximizing the amount of media coverage available. But to borrow from Ayn Rand (not an endorsement of her views, mind you), we also need to check the premises of what's going on here in the press. A significant portion of the hype behind Carano and this fight has little to do with MMA at all (yes, MMA as something male dominated or only for men is a machine for Carano to rage against, but that demonstrates little about MMA's intrinsic value here). If converts can be created in the process, so be it. But how long the engine of human interest can be used to promote what is ultimately a static person over the long run is quite another.

The story of the $40,000 ticket to UFC 100 is now getting mainstream press coverage, from the Vancouver Sun:

Ultimate Fighting Championship events generally cost a pretty penny to attend, and getting a spot at ringside isn't just a matter of having the means to pay for it - you also have to buy your tickets within a few minutes of them going on sale.

But demand for tickets for July 11's UFC 100 mega-event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, in which Canada's Georges St Pierre will defend his world welterweight title against Brazilian Thiago Alves, is so heavy that ticket resellers are asking as much as $40,000 for a ringside seat.

But they miss the real story as to why there's so much demand. Rumor has it that Tom Atencio is passing out huge stacks of Affliction T-Shirt money to anyone who will sit cage side and chant FEDOR! FEDOR! Ok, so the part about Atencio buying the tickets is something I just made up, there is a scheme to chant FEDOR! FEDOR!:

Sometimes the Power of the Potato Nation is just too strong to be ignored, brother. For those of you who don't hang out in our forums section, you missed this recent brainstorm from "LargeMidget":

I was just thinking how cool it would be if the crowd chanted Fedor's name after the upcoming heavyweight belt unification match. Dana would probably shit his pants, and then hopefully get out the checkbook.
 

The point is of course that this fight doesn't truly determine the best heavyweight in the world because Fedor is still #1. Consider this the beginning of a virally coordinated effort to make this happen.

Despite some parade-raining by "My Fight Wiffa Cheeto," our friend "kadumel" took up the mantle and began promoting the idea on several MMA message boards. Though his thread on Sherdog was taken down for unknown reasons (maybe it was too awesome?), his thread on the UG is flourishing, with almost 100 responses, most of them positive — which inspired one supporter (or kadumel himself, it isn't really clear) to launch an official homepage for the movement, fedorchant.com. All from one little post on one little message board.

UFC 100 coverage