Bloody Elbow, for MMA and UFC news

11 years ago today, Lou Thesz passed away. His legacy in professional wrestling was one that will never be matched.

CM Punk, mentally burnt out and injured, attended UFC's The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale last weekend. Mark Coleman wanted to pick a fight with the WWE superstar over UFC management's decision to treat Punk as a bigger celebrity on their telecast.

This Week in NJPW: Shuffling the roster -- Tetsuya Naito talks his return; MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Low-Ki removed from the roster page; Koji Kanemoto goes freelance; Hiromu Takahashi goes to the UK; Yuji Nagata gains weight

Cageside Guest Columnist John S. Nash brings us another feature edition of The Martial Chronicles. In this edition, we learn exactly why it is that MMA's in all actuality really nothing more than professional wrestling.

It was on this date in pro wrestling history that one of the most influential wrestlers in the history of the business made his debut.

Before Hulkamania was running wild in the WWF, Hulk Hogan was working technical matches in Japan. And on this date in New Japan Pro Wrestling history (June 2, 1983), he won the first ever International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament by defeating Antonio Inoki in the finals.

Reports from Japan indicate that Satoshi Ishii may have suffered injuries against Fedor Emelianenko that will force his retirement from MMA

Nate Wilcox and Luke Thomas talk about the historical roots shared by MMA and pro wrestling.

Though Brock Lesnar didn't take a dive against Alistair Overeem and won't make a shock return to WWE Raw in just two days time, the truth is close enough that a former colleague of Lesnar's like Chris Jericho who knows his MO can plausibly make those false accusations. Throughout his career, Lesnar has always looked for an exit strategy when things weren't going his way. Nothing has changed.