In a video sure to irritate the anti-pro wrestling masses, MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani talked to WWE Champion CM Punk in a 30-minute interview Thursday night, documenting what happened to Punk's planned walkout with Chael Sonnen at UFC On Fox 2 Saturday and plenty more.

As the event is in Chicago, IL, the interview was done in Punk's home and Helwani hit up a number of topics with the big MMA fan including:

• What led to the Punk/Sonnen walkout rumors and what killed the chance of it happening
• His concerns about his presence overshadowing the main event
• His opinion on Sonnen's interviews this week and his thoughts on the Fox card as a whole
  
• What MMA could learn from pro wrestling
• Former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar and his potential return to WWE
• Whether he would ever compete in MMA
• His opinions on the best talkers in MMA

Love him or hate him, Punk (Phil Brooks) knows the sport, which becomes pretty evident in the first 10 minutes of the interview. Check out this must-watch video after the jump.

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 2

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Phil Davis will be looking for the biggest win of his UFC career this Saturday when he meets Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox 2. There has been the expected amount of trash talk for a fight involving Rashad Evans but both men seem aware of the danger the other possesses.

Brian Hemminger of MMA Mania was able to catch up with Davis and talk about the Rashad fight (among other topics) and got a feel for some of the things Davis expects from Evans:

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): People say that Rashad has the wrestling credentials, but that's not true. He was 48-34 in college, but while he wasn't as successful wrestling in college, he has been really good at adapting his wrestling to MMA. Is there anything that he does with his wrestling in MMA that you would like to do better?

Phil Davis: He does a lot of things good. He's high percentage on taking people down and that's good. When I look at his wrestling game in MMA, it's nothing really to critique. A lot of times he just stands and explodes to a takedown. He does a good job with it.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): He kind of has this explosive-power style of wrestling and I was talking to King Mo before his Strikeforce fight and he said that you're more like a black Ben Askren where you're more finesse. What do you think is a better style for transitioning to MMA, having the power style or the finesse style?

Phil Davis: Power will come, but if you don't have proper technique, not even proper technique but if you don't have, I've heard that before, I'm more finesse than power. I don't know, it's all about high percentage moves and that's just me. I'm kind of "by the numbers" when I teach things, when I learn things, that's just the way I am. I'd say probably finesse versus power. It's funny though that you say King Mo said I'm the black Ben Askren. You tell him he's the black Cael Sanderson. (laughs)

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 2

UFC bantamweight Mike Easton will face Jared Papazian on the main card of tonight's UFC on FX. MMA Nation's Luke Thomas spoke with Easton before the fight.

Easton and Luke cover a range of topics including:

• U.S. judo Olympian Rhadi Ferguson helping with strength and conditioning for all of his UFC camps.
• Spending his entire camp in Camp Springs, Maryland and not at Alliance Gym in San Diego. However, Brandon Vera did fly over to help.
• Why training on the East Coast grittiness is better for fight camp training.
• Just how different the 'UFC experience' is from previous fight experiences.
• Using Dominick Cruz's footwork in the first round of his fight at UFC on Versus 6 against Byron Bloodworth to get his feet 'under him' after a two-year layoff.
• Not worried about having a camp around one fighter throughout the entire process.
• What he knows about his opponent Papazian.
• A health update on UFC bantamweight Dominick Cruz and whether Easton will have a role on the next season of 'The Ultimate Fighter'

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Given the way that the attention being paid to the entire situation had died down, I didn't really expect ESPN to publicly talk about the Outside The Lines feature on UFC fighter pay. The UFC reacted strongly after the article came out, releasing videos that ranged from somewhat asinine (Lorenzo using Friday Night Fights pay rates to try and play "gotcha" with ESPN) to actually interesting (releasing video of the entire interview with Lorenzo).

OTL's John Barr sat down for a lengthy interview with Eddie Goldman's No Holds Barred podcast and gave his thoughts on the story they did and the way the UFC handled the situation. Thank god for Zach Arnold of Fight Opinion who actually transcribed a great deal of the interview, so check out the full post over at his site. But here's some of the good bits.

On the UFC needing to learn to take the criticism:

"It's clear to me that if the UFC really wants to mature as a sports entity, it's going to have to be able to shoulder and weather the criticism. I live in Philadelphia, OK? You know, probably outside of New York, maybe Boston, I can't think of a more passionate fan base in terms of, you know, columnists who are critical of the local sports teams, sports radio hosts who bring it every day with no holds barred, pardon the expression, critiques when you know the leaders of their local sports teams don't call those shots the right way. Heck, there were people calling for Andy Reid's head after the third week of the season. But those columnists go to press conferences every week, multiple times a week, they go into the locker rooms and talk to players, they're not banned. You know, they're big boys, they can take the slings & arrows. You know, if you want to really prove that you've arrived then put up with it, you know? That's my take.

"If every story that comes out that's mildly critical or takes a critical view of what you do if every story is to be responded to by somebody coming out with a series of half-truths and, you know, what was rather telling when UFC put two videos out. One of them was a 10 minute video that included interviews with Chuck Liddell, who by the way wouldn't talk to us for our story, Matt Serra who by the way wouldn't talk to us for our story, and Forrest Griffin who we never contacted. But it also included several clips from the interview that I did with Lorenzo... I didn't tall them up but I think he may have made 10 to 15 salient points during the course of that UFC-produced video and easily 7 of them were either in the TV piece that we did or the dot-com piece that we did.

"Look, we're not, it's not our charge to do your public relations. You hire people for that. I had a news director years ago who told me, ‘PR people distort the truth, you report the truth.' You know, that sounds like, you know, I'm trying to say I fight for truth, justice, and the American way but at the end of the day that's all we want, that's what we try to get at - the TRUTH. I know people are out there just convinced that we have this agenda and there are some people that are the conspiracy theorists who think (UFC) signed a deal with FOX so ESPN's out to get them! And that's convenient and it fits into somebody's paradigm but it's just not the way we work, you know?

More after the jump

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UFC welterweight Jon Fitch will be making his return to the cage at UFC 141 after close to ten months on the shelf with a shoulder injury. Fitch has been the consensus number two guy at 170 for years now, but knows that when you're out that long with an injury, you're easy to forget. In an interview with USA Today's Sergio Non, Fitch discusses his road back to a title shot and the first step along that road, a UFC 141 main card bout with wrestler Johny Hendricks. First, he explains how the shoulder is doing:

Shoulder's good. Hasn't been a problem at all. It's not even really a thought. I'm just preparing and getting everything for the fight. It's been good and healthy for awhile now.

On the similarities between himself and Hendricks:

I think I'm a little bit smoother with mixing my stand-up and wrestling together. I think I'm a much better submission guy than him; I think I've got better jiu-jitsu.

I've got a ton more experience in the fight game. He's an outstanding wrestler, but I think my experience just in MMA and the fight game is what's going to overwhelm him in the fight.

He talks about his last bout, a draw with B.J. Penn at UFC 127 for a little while as well. He hints that personal problems held him back from getting his head into the fight, but wouldn't elaborate when pressed by Sergio. He then moves onto why he thinks that athleticism is somewhat overrated, and athletes are great at things because of the conditions of life itself, and how hard the athlete works:

I think it's definitely something that I've worked at. I don't believe too many things just naturally happen.

I've said it over the past few years: I'm no longer a believer in talent. I think that people have what they have because of some kind of condition through their life that they've worked hard at or been exposed to, rather than just being born naturally good at something.

I think that's kind of copout. People who are unable to achieve kind of use that: "Oh, well he's just talented and I'm not, and that's why I can't do it."

And why doesn't he think he's in the mix yet in the "new" welterweight division since Georges St. Pierre went down with an injury?

I think one of the reasons why I haven't been talked about, especially this summer, is because I've been injured. You kind of stop existing, you become invisible a little bit, when you're on the shelf and you can't fight. I kind of have to deal with that and accept that.

When you're not fighting, no one's really thinking of you as the next guy to fight for a title whenever you're kind of on the shelf. After this fight, I'm sure I'll be back in the mix and people will be talking about me fighting for the belt again.

There is a ton more to the interview, including Fitch talking about how his documentary is coming along, how MMAth doesn't work, and how he thinks he can beat everyone else in the division. I highly recommend checking it out, which you can do here.

More SBN coverage of UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Jacob Volkmann was a recent guest on The Verbal Submission podcast with hosts Ben Thapa of Bloody Elbow and Brian Hemminger of MMA Mania. Volkmann talked about his upcoming UFC 141 bout with Efrain Escudero and even revealed quite a distaste for the former Ultimate Fighter winner's attitude.

From the interview:

Brian Hemminger: While T.J. might have been a tougher fight, I believe Efrain Escudero comes in with a bigger name due to winning season eight of The Ultimate Fighter so this could actually be a win-win for you where it's not quite as difficult of a fight in your eyes but you'd actually gain more for a victory. Do you kind of see it that way as well?

Jacob Volkmann: I guess. He does have a bigger fanbase than T.J. does. He's got a lot bigger ego too so it's hard to deal with that too.

Brian Hemminger: What is it about his ego that makes you think it would be worse than T.J. Grant?

Jacob Volkmann: Well, I saw him fight down at CFA, I don't know if you've ever heard of them down in Miami, Florida. That's where Efrain fought this guy named Mike Rio and it's just the way he carried himself. It was annoying to be honest and now I get to fight him.

Brian Hemminger: Are you hoping to shut him up a little bit I guess?

Jacob Volkmann: Well, I don't think that's possible. If you get a person like that, I think he's gonna be arrogant no matter who he fights or whatever happens.

Brian Hemminger: Jacob Volkmann, dropping the sound bytes (laughs). So what was it about the way he carried himself that rubbed you the wrong way?

Jacob Volkmann: Yeah, just the arrogance. He seemed like his nose was up in the air and he was expecting people to come over and talk to him and stuff. I don't know. He just really annoyed me when I was watching him.

SBN coverage of UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Chan Sung Jung is developing a reputation for extraordinary feats. "The Korean Zombie" has thoroughly wowed the North American audience in three of his four stateside performances.

While the "Fight of the Decade" offering against Leonard Garcia in his North American debut and the Octagon's first submission by Twister stand out as stylish and unique accomplishments, flattening Mark Hominick in just seven seconds at UFC 140 is by far the most beneficial to his career. Hominick, a top-ten featherweight who had just given untouchable monarch Jose Aldo his best run yet, was Jung's stiffest test to date and also drastically favored to win. Known as a methodical technician, the Canadian came out uncharacteristically aggressive and was punished for the lapse with a fight-ending counter punch.

"Regardless of what people were saying about the fight, I was confident going into it. You always feel less pressure as the underdog, so that makes it easier sometimes," Jung said of the upset. "I doubt that Mark underestimated me. I think he was probably more caught up in the moment. I'm sure that it was a very emotional fight for him, for obvious reasons." (Jung's closing reference alludes to the unfortunate passing of Homick's longtime coach and mentor, Shawn Tompkins.)

Having previously cemented himself as a highly entertaining and creative fighter, Jung has now added legitimate prestige to his resumé and vaulted into the top-contender conversation. Talk of getting crack at Aldo's belt surfaced after UFC 140 but, while he welcomes the challenge, Jung isn't anticipating an immediate title shot.

"I doubt that they'll make that match up right now, but if they do I think I'd be ready for it," Jung mused. "I'm guessing that the matchmakers will give me at least one fight and if I win that then maybe I'll be in line for a title shot, but that's up to the UFC to decide. But, whenever I get the shot, I'll be ready."

The Korean talent now joins Chad Mendes and Hatsu Hioki as the front-running threats to Jose Aldo's legacy, and Jung shared his thoughts on how he matches up with the champ and top contenders. "They're all tough fighters. There are no easy match ups in the UFC. They all pose their own unique challenges and strong points, so I wouldn't really call any of them better or worse match ups."

Considering his ascension in the ranks in such a short time, the fact that the burgeoning featherweight is just twenty-four years old holds much promise for the future. I asked Jung what aspect he felt he'd improved the most, what areas he was still working on and whether another trip to Team Alpha Male to train with Urijah Faber was on the horizon.

"I think I've improved my game overall and I keep trying to improve as an all around fighter. This is mixed martial arts, so it's important to work on all facets of your game, whether it's striking, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, whatever. I'm always trying to get better at everything," he said. "I definitely want to get back to train with Team Alpha Male again, but at this point I don't know when that will be. The training at Korean Top Team is top notch, so I know I'm getting great training here, but yes, when the time and situation permit I would like to go back and train some more with Urijah and the guys."

It's rare for a fighter to have one unbelievable, amazing or memorable performance in the UFC and, barring his knockout loss to George Roop, "The Korean Zombie" has been a consistent crowd pleaser. To what does Chan Sung Jung attribute his extraordinary success?

"To be honest with you, I don't really know why. I think maybe I'm just lucky," he offered with a laugh. "I'm certainly thankful for the attention and the good fortune I've had in my fights, though. I want to thank everyone for their support and I hope to be the champ in 2012!"

Sports gossip site Terez Owens was able to catch up with UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste and discuss several topics. They also got the go ahead to reveal some of the photos from her upcoming calendar shoot. Those photos are able to be seen while the interview plays.

Here's the interview and photos:

Quotes from the interview.

Have she and Chael Sonnen "kissed and made up" following their Twitter spat?

"We made up. We didn't kiss. But we made up. ...I have a feeling he's gonna do something again because he's just that kind of guy, but whatever.

...

This is actually the second time he picked on me. The first time he called me a short Mexican with fat hips. Which is...I'm petite so that's kind of weird."

If she could be any UFC fighter for one night who would she be? And who would she want to fight?

"I would wanna be Jonny 'Bones' Jones because he's phenomenal. And I would want to fight Anderson Silva just to see what he's all about. Because he's another one that's up there as an amazing fighter. But I'd want to see what it's like to put a champ versus another champ. ...It'd probably be scary as hell."