This still makes no sense.

Next weekend, in what supposed to be a seminal moment for the WEC, Zuffa’s other MMA promotion, The president of the company, Reed Harris, will be replaced by Dana White. The broadcast team of Todd Harris and Stephan Bonnar will be replaced by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. The poster clearly says “The UFC presents WEC 48.”

So, why is it necessary that the WEC still exist? For a long time, I have defended everyone under the WEC banner. There are great fighters, great people, and most importantly, I can’t say enough for the job that Reed Harris has done with limited resources. However, If we are going to strip the WEC of all the things that make it the WEC, why not just give Reed a job with the UFC and fold everything under the same banner?

The answer to that question still likely lies in payroll. The UFC makes a ton of money that the WEC does not. As long as Zuffa can prove that the little guys of the WEC don’t make the cash for the company that the big boys do, they can keep their salaries down at comical levels. However, with PPV coming up, Zuffa will likely make more on this show than all of last year’s Versus shows combined. While a lot of people won’t buy it because it doesn’t have the UFC name, they still will likely do at least 150,000 buys at 49.95 a pop. That’s probably more than advertising deals on cable. So, let’s assume that the companies biggest star, Urijah Faber gets a cut of that money on top of the $35,000 that he made for his last fight. That’s a big improvement from before.

So, then the question still remains: If payroll is going to grow anyway, why not just fold these fighters into the UFC? With two new weight classes, there would be even more fights to promote. We would never go into a funk like later 2009 ever again. Not to mention the fact that the 145 weight class could potentially include Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar, Mike Brown, Mac Danzig and Clay Guida to name a few? That’s not bad.

While I’m looking forward to the fights, I can’t help but feel like this thing is going to feel like a UFC, rather than a distinct separate product that Zuffa has been trying to sell us on for some time now. If that’s the case, then this might as well be UFC 113, and Dana and the boys should stop jerking all of us around.

Jason wrote an aria the other day about Matt “The Law” Lindland. My guess is that it made a lot of people say: “Jesus, what ever happened to Matt Lindland?”

Well, The Law is back and is the main event on the next Strikeforce: Challengers card on Showtime. This news comes from Sherdog:

Matt Lindland will return to the cage in a middleweight bout at Strikeforce Challengers 8 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., the promotion announced on Monday. An opponent for Lindland, formerly a top-ranked UFC fighter and local star in the Portland area, has not been announced.

The event series, which spotlights the promotion’s up-and-coming talent, will air live on Showtime.

Lindland was an Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 games. The 39-year-old veteran suffered back-to-back losses in 2009 against Vitor Belfort at Affliction 2 in January 2009 and Ronaldo Souza at Strikeforce “Evolution” last December. Souza, a world-decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, submitted Lindland with an arm-triangle choke in the first round.

Lindland, one of the founders of Team Quest, holds victories over Phil Baroni (twice), former UFC champion Pat Miletich, and Ricardo Almeida.

Also on the card will be prospect Tyron Woodley, who we have been watching for some time now. He’ll be taking on Nate Coy, who is a fighter out of Team Quest with an 8-2 record.

Last but not least, Kerry Vera, the wife of UFC light heavyweight Brandon Vera, will be taking on Julianna Pena.

Matt Lindland was once a dominant middleweight.  Many viewed him as the biggest threat to then UFC champion Rich Franklin’s belt, but there was a problem with Matt Lindland.  It wasn’t his record or his credentials (Olympic silver medalist) that held him back it was that he stunk, both literally and figuratively.  See, there was nothing endearing about Matt Lindland.  He admitted to not showering before fights. He was ugly and so was his fighting style which consisted of clinching, dirty boxing and wrestling.  The UFC didn’t want to run the risk of Lindalnd beating Franklin.  Rich Franklin, a teacher turned fighter, was the polar opposite of Lindland.  He had a look and an image that made him the current UFC golden boy that he is.  So instead of Lindland and Franklin being on a crash course, Lindland simply crashed.  Despite a 9-3 UFC record (including a fluky slam self K.O.) Lindland was served his pink slip.

In a lot of ways Yushin Okami is the second coming of Matt Lindland.  While Okami doesn’t have the high level wrestling credentials that Lindland does, he has a similar style.  Okami is a very big, strong middleweight who relies on his submission wrestling skills to grind his opponents down and eventually wear them out in route to a unanimous decision.  His style is effective, he sports a 29-5 career record, but it hasn’t earned him many fans.  Despite  a 7-1 start in the UFC, Okami seemed destined to be held back by his style.

At UFC 98 Okami was scheduled to face Dan Miller.  Okami had to pull out of the bout with a torn knee ligament.  After taking almost a year off he faced Chael Sonnen at UFC 104.  Okami was a big favorite and many expected him to out wrestle Sonnen and eventually pull out a decision victory.  However, the Okami we saw that night wasn’t the same Okami we had gotten use to.  He looked smaller, tentative and more then a step slow.  He had no answer for Chael Sonnen’s wrestling and he was totally dominated for three rounds.  Any feint hope of seeing Okami reach the top of mountain was seemingly dashed.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and now that fight looks totally different.  Okami was coming of a knee injury lost to the number two middleweight in the world, not exactly a shocking result.  In the fight game a loss can sometimes be the best thing to ever happen to a fighter.  Look at how much better GSP got after losing to Matt Hughes, look how driven BJ Penn is since his second loss to GSP.  A loss makes you re-evaluate everything.  A loss drives you to get better.  It forces you to look at your weaknesses and address them, instead of just coasting on your talent.

The loss to Sonnen changed Okami for the better.

They say if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em (what’s a few cliches amongst friends?)

Yup, you guessed it.  That’s a video of Yushin Okami training with, drum roll please, Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen.  Okami spent a month training at Team Quest in Portland and after training with Okami, Sonnen expressed his new found respect for the fighter:

“I want to say hello to my brother, Yushin through this interview. I am saddened that he returned to Japan – it feels like I parted with a close friend. Though Yushin lost against me, he came forward and asked to train with me: Is this a Japanese thing? It is admirable that he tried to learn from an opponent who defeated him. While at Team Quest in Portland, he thoroughly handled me during training. I was lucky that I managed to defeat him in our fight. I probably won’t agree to a rematch with him (laughs). The one fighter whom I never want to fight again – that is Yushin Okami.”

A week ago at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi we got to see the new and improved Yushin Okami.

This Okami wasn’t tentative or boring.  This was the “Thunder” fans had been hoping to see for years.  Okami showcased boxing ability that we had never seen from him.  He battered and bloodied a totally over-matched Lucio Linhares with crisp jabs and uppercuts.  Most importantly Okami had a new found killer instinct.  When Okami smelled blood he didn’t look to take the safe route, he kept jabbing away until the doctors had to stop the bloodbath from continuing.

Now sporting an 8-2 UFC record, the sky is the limit for Okami.  He always had the skills to be a champion and now he’s finally using them.

The Brits are still incomplete as fighters. We saw that the other day when George St. Pierre threw Dan Hardy around the cage, and Hardy offered little resistance. Generally, they don’t offer much in the way of wrestling or ground game, instead focused on the kind of bare-knuckle brawling that often gets MMA fighters into a lot of trouble.

However, along comes this lightweight with Tattoos, a bald head, and an accent that makes me need subtitles despite the fact that he is speaking English. He wins TUF 9, and in the finale defeats fellow Team Rough House member Andre Winner. While I appreciated the toughness, I never expected Ross Pearson to become anything. After all, I had just been burned by hopping on the Efrain Escudero bandwagon just a season earlier.

Fast forward today and things are looking good for 24 year old Ross Pearson. He is quickly burning through the lower part of the lightweight division. Last night, he took another step by defeating Denis Siver. The German had used the spinning body kick of doom to dispose of his last two opponents, but Pearson was able to withstand it and get the decision win. While he was in control, it was clear at all points that he was fighting for a decision, not to finish. As I said yesterday, it’s fine if that is a gameplan for one fight, just don’t make it a habit.

So, the question we face now is: What is next for Pearson? It’s clear that he should take a step up in competition. How big should that leap be? Well, I’ll tell you what he shouldn’t do. He should not be stepping up into the Jim Miller/Kurt Pellegrino class. Those guys are still too good. They will take him down and submit him. That does nothing but send him back to where he started.

Instead, I think we should look to another TUF winner for his next opponent: Mac Danzig. Danzig’s gameplan in the fight would be to take Pearson down rather than lose the battle on the feet. He’ll try to takedown the Brit, and submit him, and we’ll see if Pearson shares the wrestling problem that most his British kin share. Remember, most of the best of the best in the lightweight class are elite wrestlers. If Pearson beats Danzig, I think someone like Pellegrino would then be a great test for him.

Pearson’s toughness and striking have created a pretty high ceiling for him. However, we’ll need to see some takedown defense before we can crown him as a contender.

Kenny Florian (12-4; #4 Lightweight)  vs. Takanori Gomi (31-5)

The Fighters: K-Flo has gotten better with every fight since losing to Sean Sherk back in 2006.  Of course, that skill set still isn’t enough to beat B.J. Penn but you can make the argument that he’s the second best lightweight in the world.  Florian always relied during his career on his sharp Thai Boxing and BJJ skills.  He has some of the sharpest and most devastating elbows in the sport as well as fantastic leg kicks.  His ground game is also second to none as he is a Gracie-Barra Blackbelt.  What really took Florian’s game to the next level was when he left longtime coach Mark Dellagrotte and began training with Firas Zhabi and Team St. Pierre.  They took Florian’s boxing and wrestling to a whole new level and in his last fight Florian looked as sharp as ever.

Takanori Gomi in 2005 was the number one lightweight fighter in the world and it wasn’t even close.  Gomi dominated in PRIDE but since then he has stumbled.  He lost to Nick Diaz by Submission, lost to Marcus Auerillo by submission and most recently dropped back to back fights against Sergey Golyaev and Satoro Kitoka.  So what happened to Gomi?  It’s easy to apply the PRIDE corollary.  We’ve seen in general guys from PRIDE haven’t translated well to the UFC.  Gomi’s record is inflated by fighting inferior opponents and he doesn’t have as many trademark wins as you’d think.  The other reason Gomi was so successful in Japan was because of his wrestling.  Wrestling is traditionally an American sport and 99% of the international roster in PRIDE didn’t have elite level wrestling.  When you combined Gomi’s wrestling with his solid boxing he was a force to be reckoned with.  Dana White would like to argue that Gomi lost two fights to no-name opponents because he was bored by not facing top level competition but I would argue that simply the game passed him by.

Breakdown: Gomi is a solid boxer but new and improved Kenny Florian is quickly becoming one of the best boxers in MMA.  Everyone wondered where the “sudden power” came from Ken-Flo and it comes from boxing technique.  What he might lack in naturally heavy hands he makes up for in technique.  Gomi might be able to take Florian down but Florian should be able to neutralize Gomi on the ground and has a chance to sweep or submit him.

While Gomi might be able to turn back the clock I can’t see him winning this fight.  Everything Gomi does well Kenny Florian does better.  Gomi may have more left in the tank then we think but I can’t see him beating a fighter the caliber of Florian.

Prediction: Kenny Florian Via Unanimous Decision.

Roy Nelson (14-4) vs. Stefan Struve (19-3)

The Fighters: Roy Nelson is blessed with a bad body.  Sure, he could probably diet better and not have a beer belly but it’s not like he’s out of shape.  It’s obvious why that’s a big misconception with the fighter who comes out to fat and dubs himself “Big Country” but Nelson has surprisingly quick feet.  Despite his size he’s rather nimble and while he doesn’t have the pure size and strength of other 265 pound monster heavyweights he makes up for it with a solid BJJ base and very quick feet.  He uses his belly and his size as an advantage when the fight hits the ground and often looks for the crucifix position.  On the feet he has good footwork in his boxing game and obvious knockout power.  He displayed that against Brandon Schaub who he clearly outclassed on the feet en route to a text book counter punch knockout.

Stefan Struve is an intriguing heavyweight prospect.  He’s only 22 and already has 22 pro fights and 4 UFC fights under his belt.  Standing 6’11, Struve is obviously going to be an awkward match-up for anyone.  Struve has a professional kickboxing background, is 4-0 and a huge reach advantage almost all fighters (83 inch reach.)  Struve’s strongest skill is his BJJ and grappling game.  Obviously with such long limbs his guard is a difficult one to navigate.  He’s won by submission in two of his three UFC wins.

Breakdown: Struve’s height is both a blessing and a curse.  There’s a reason you don’t see many 6’11 fighters or wrestlers.  It’s hard for such a tall guy to maintain his balance and as such they will always be vulnerable for take-downs.  Struve needs to add a ton of bulk to his lank frame.  Struve typically weighs-in around 240 pounds which is simply not big enough for a guy his size.  While Struve has solid striking he hasn’t figured out how to use his jab properly enough.  With such a long reach it should be much more of a weapon then it is.

While Nelson may have trouble closing the distance due to Struve’s nine inch reach advantage, when he does eventually close in he should have no trouble taking Struve down. Struve is proficient on the ground but he isn’t in the class of Big Country.  Big Country will negate Struve’s strongest skill which makes this a disastrous match-up for him.

Struve oozes with potential but he’s only 22 years old and has a long way to go.  Much like Brandon Schaub, Struve will find himself severely over-matched against the criminally underrated Nelson.

Prediction:  Nelson TKO Round 3.

Nate Quarry (12-3) vs. Jorge Rivera (17-7)

The Fighters: Nate Quarry was favored by many win the first season of the Ultimate Fighter.  Unfortunately, during the season Quarry had to drop out of the competition.  He stayed on as a de facto coach for the rest of the season earning the respect of fans and the UFC brass in the process.  After winning his first three fights in the UFC Quarry was rushed into a title shot with Rich Franklin.  If you’ve ever seen an Ultimate Knockouts show you know how the fight ended.  Quarry lost in horrifying fashion.  Quarry managed to bounce back winning 4 of his next 5 fights, with his only loss coming to top contender Damien Maia.

The 38 year old Quarry certainly has his place in the UFC but it’s hard to imagine him getting himself back into title contention.  Quarry has strong wrestling, punching power and is very big for a middleweight.  However he carries his hands awkwardly and it doesn’t lend itself to very good boxing defense (see Franklin, Rich.)  In his last fight he gassed badly in the later rounds and it’s hard not to think that age, wear and tear have finally caught up to the veteran fighter.

Rivera is another UFC veteran.  Also 38, Rivera, made his UFC debut at UFC 44 back in 2003.  Rivera has had an up and down UFC career sporting a 6-5 record.  Rivera has gone 3-1 in his last four fights including a big upset win over Kendall Groove.  On UFC.com Rivera’s strength is listed as “well-rounded”  which is a nice way saying he’s well versed in all disciplines but doesn’t do anything exceptionally well.

Breakdown: Both Rivera and Quarry have their place as “gate-keepers” but I fail to see the logic of matching them up against each other.  However at this point in their careers Quarry is clearly the better fighter.  While he will be vulnerable to Rivera’s KO power Quarry should be able to drag this fight to the ground at will.  While on the ground he said have no problem pounding out Rivera in route to a slow paced TKO win.

Prediction:  Quarry Via TKO Strikes Round 2.

Ross Pearson (10-3) vs. Dennis Siver (15-6)

The Fighters: Pearson won season nine of the Ultimate Fighter defeating fellow Team Rough House member Andre Winner.  Pearson faced Aaron Riley in his second UFC fight and dominated the veteran fighter.  Pearson showed off all his skills against Riley.  Pearson is a Judo Brown belt and a solid wrestler and Thai kick boxer.

Dennis Siver debuted at UFC 70 and went 1-3 before being released.  After winning one fight outside the UFC, Siver returned with a vengeance.  Now on a 3 fight win streak Siver has finished all his opponents and has earned two knockout of the night honors in the process.  Siver has a background in wrestling but it’s his striking skills that have caught the attention of MMA fans.  Siver has solid technical kickboxing but also likes to mix his strikes up.  He’s finished two opponents, in devastating fashion, with spinning back kicks.

Breakdown: An excellent piece of matching making as this fight will surely be explosive while serving a duel purpose as a test of Pearson’s skills.  While Siver and Pearson may be of equal skill on the feet Pearson’s best shot of winning comes on the ground.  In his career Siver has been vulnerable to submissions, in fact of his six losses four have come by submission.

While Siver is on an impressive 3 fight win streak it’s worth noting that his opponents had a career 5-7 UFC record and two of them are no longer with the company.  Look for a Pearson to shoot after several early exchanges and eventually submit Siver.

Prediction:  Pearson Via Arm-Bar Round 3.

Jon Jones (9-1; #9 Light Heavyweight) vs. Brandon Vera (11-4)

The Fighters: Jon Jones has been regarded as the future of the 205 pound division…and the future might be now.  Already ranked in the top 10 Jones has been developed slowly by the UFC and has improved in leaps and bounds from fight to fight.  Jones striking is both creative and explosive.  He likes to use kicks and elbows, both of the spinning variety.  His spinning back elbow almost took Stephen Bonnar’s head off.   The way Jones uses his Greco-Roman wrestling is almost comical.  He took Matt Hammil, a decorated wrestler, and totally rag dolled him.  He can suplex you, out-strike you and reminds people of a young George St. Pierre.  It’s no coincidence that Jones trains with Phil Nurse, Zahabi, Jackson and the rest of Team GSP.

Five years ago Brandon Vera was once the cocky young kid on the block.  Now, 32, the Vera that once declared he would win both the heavyweight and light heavyweight title’s is long gone.  Vera has a world of potential that he has never reached.  He has sharp Thai Kickboxing with excellent leg kicks as well as excellent take down defense.  But Vera’s problem seems to be more mental.  He bills himself as a counter puncher but there’s a difference between counter punching and fight passively.  Fighting passively is the exact reason Vera lost to Randy Couture.

Breakdown: Questions still abound about Jones.  Does he have a chin?  How will he react to getting rocked?  Does he have any skills off his back?  What happens when he has to stand in the pocket and trade?  If Vera wants to win he needs to test these aspects of Jones game.  The aggressive free swinging Vera hasn’t shown up in a long time and if continues to fight passively he will find himself on the wrong end of a decision.

Prediction:  Jon Jones Via Unanimous Decision

Junior Dos Santos (10-1; #6 Heavyweight) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4)

The Fighters: Junior Dos Santos would be the fastest rising heavyweight prospect in the world if Cain Velasquez didn’t exist. Apologies to Paul Buentello, because I am going to take a lot of shots at him, but it’s amazing that Dos Santos is only ranked 6th in the world.  The days of Tim Sylvia and other slow, lumbering heavyweights are now firmly in the rear view mirror.

Dos Santos is now 4-0 in the UFC and has displayed proficient aggressive striking and often makes great use of his uppercut.  Dos Santos trains with Team Blackhouse and the Nogueira brothers.  While he is billed as having a very good ground game we have yet to see him use it in the UFC.  The fact that he’s hasn’t had to prove he has ground skills isn’t a knock on Dos Santos but at the moment it’s what is keeping him back from being considered 1A with Cain Velasquez.

Gonzaga isn’t as tall as some of the other monster heavyweights in the division but he is incredibly thick and carries his 260 pounds very well.  Gonzaga is a world class grappler but has developed into a striker with knock out power.  Of course, any man that weighs 260+ is going to have KO power but one look at either the Kevin Jordan or Mirko Cro-cop fights will show you the destruction he can cause.

Breakdown : You would think Gonzaga would do everything in his power to get this fight to the floor.  I’m just not sure that’s what Gabriel Gonzaga thinks.  Gonzaga’s boxing is solid but you need to look no father then the Shane Carwin fight to show that it still has it’s flaws.  If Gonzaga intends on getting into a boxing match against Dos Santos he will quickly find himself out of his element.

What no one is talking about is that Gonzaga will surely weigh in 20+ pounds heavier then Dos Santos.  Gonzaga will surely be the heaviest fighter to date Dos Santos has fought.  What Gonzaga needs to do to win is take every inch of his 260 pound frame and use it to push Dos Santos into the cage.  Cutting off the cage will hamper Dos Santos mobility.  Though Dos Santos has shown the ability to dirty box, Gonzaga can time a shot off of it and drag him to the ground.

For Dos Santos if the fight does get to the ground the question becomes; how much has his ground game improved.  We don’t need to see him sweep or submit Gonzaga.  All he needs to do is be proficient enough to force a stand-up.  If he can constantly force the fight back to the feet eventually Gonzaga will tire and he will be able to land a knockout blow.

By far this is the toughest fight to pick on the card and the nearly 3-1 odds in favor of Dos Santos surprise me.

Prediction:  Dos Santos TKO Round 3.

Cheick Kongo (14-6-1) vs. Paul Buentello (27-11)

The Fighters: Cheick Kongo looks like the most intimidating fighter on the planet.  His personality however couldn’t be farther from it.  Kongo might be the most technically sound heavyweight striker the UFC has.  His Thai Boxing is top notch, but no one has ever questioned Kongo’s striking.  Since his UFC debut everyone has been waiting for Kongo to develop a ground game and it has yet to happen.  For all his positive attributes; athleticism, striking and cardio, the fact that Kongo never developed take-down defense has put a glass ceiling on his potential.

Paul Buentello is what the NFL would call a “bad body guy.”  His body is similar to Roy Nelson.  He looks fat and out of shape and while his cardio is questionable his hand speed and footwork will surprise you.  While Buentello does have fast and accurate hands it’s about all he has going for him.  He has no semblance of a ground game or any kind of gas tank.  When he gasses out he’s going to end up throwing wild haymakers, as his last fight against Stevan Struve showed.

Breakdown: What happens when two guys with similar skill sets get into the ring together?  The UFC certainly hopes a highlight reel KO.  The match-up in this fight is eerily similar to the Irvin/Sakara match-up.  Two one dimensional strikers but one is technical and the other is more of a brawler.  This is the ideal “get right” fight for Kongo.  Kongo’s chin is strong and he’s shown he has the gas tank to go the distance.  Those two skills alone give him a huge advantage in this fight.

Kongo should have a field day with Buentello.  Look for him to pepper Buentello with leg kicks all fight and remind us all how far the heavyweight division has come since UFC 55, as well as saving us from another awkward Paul Buentello post fight speech.  Don’t fear me…fear the…really no one?  really? Bueller?

Prediction: Kongo TKO Leg Kicks Round 2

James Irvin (14-5) vs. Alessio Sakara (14-7)

The Fighters: This fight was moved to the main card when Anthony Rumble Johnson went down with an injury and had to pull out of his fight against John Howard.  While neither Irvin or Sakara have much long term value this fight certainly offers a strong possibility for a highlight reel K.O.

Irvin, 31, is coming off a lay off of almost two years.  The last time we saw him in the cage his face was getting turned into a pile of goo courtesy of Anderson Silva.  Since then Irvin has battled both knee injuries and an addiction to painkillers.  Irvin tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone after the Silva fight and subsequently admitted to taking the drugs, stating that he had begun taking painkillers legally as treatment for injuries, and had then become addicted to them.  He also had to pull out of both UFC 98 and UFC 102 due to a meniscus injury.   In his return to the Octagon, Irvin a normally large 205 pound fighter, will make his debut at 185 pounds.

Sakara, 28, has had an up and down UFC career (5-4-1).  He is currently riding a two fight winning streak including a win over former middleweight title contender Thales Leites.

Breakdown: Sakara is a boxer at heart.  His striking is technically sound, as he does have a professional boxing background, but Sakara has the bad habit of getting into wild punching exchanges.  What Sakara lacks is a well versed skill set.  He never seems to be in top shape as his cardio has failed him one more then one occasion and while his jiu-jitsu is improving (he recently began training at ATT) he’s never going to look to take the fight to the ground.

Irvin’s greatest asset was his explosive striking ability.  After dealing with injuries it remains to be seen if he retains that explosive ability.  Never the most technical fighter, Irvin does  however have the natural gifts to put together a highlight reel’s worth of sudden and violent KO’s (Terry Martin/Houston Alexander.)

There are almost too many red flags to count for Irvin in this fight.  A potentially tough weight cut, ring rust, knee injuries and a painkiller addiction.   But most importantly Sakara is a terrible match-up for Irvin.  Look for Irvin to get outboxed and dropped early by a big flurry of punches.

Prediction: Sakara, KO Round 1.