Cain Velasquez is scheduled to face Brock Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight belt on October 23rd at UFC 121.  But who would be next in line?

UFC President Dana White spoke to ESPN’s ‘MMA Live’ and announced that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs Roy Nelson would officially be next to fight the winner at UFC 121.  Dos Santos vs Nelson is set to take place in Oakland, California on August 7th at UFC 117.

The former UFC lightweight champion Jens ‘Lil Evil’ Pulver talks about his upcoming “War on the Mainland” bout against Diego Garijo on August 14th in Irvine, California.

Pulver seems extremely hungry for a victory as he is currently riding on a 5-fight losing streak.  Even though he has received a lot of criticism from the media and from MMA fans around the glove, Pulver still feels young and motivated to win in his next bout.  If he were to lose, he admits that it would be a sign to possibly retire from MMA competition.

From Jens Pulver:

“I can’t keep getting cut and submitted. It’s not like I’m getting knocked unconscious or beat-up. I’m tired of losing. It’s important that I win this fight and do it my way. I always win my way. I have a game plan: I need to be open-minded, listen to my corner and be confident. Obviously, it’s not easy being confident having lost my last five fights, but I’m excited to find out. I have to win and fight smart doing it. I’m sick and tired of losing, even though I’m getting caught in submission holds, not getting beat up. I’m only 34 and nobody is going to tell me I’m too old or when to stop. This is a crossroad fight for me, though. If I can’t fix these little things and keep losing, it’s time for me to hang it up.”

Vladimir Matyushenko understands the difficult task ahead of him as he prepares for the biggest test in his mixed martial arts career.  The former IFL light heavyweight champion admits that Jones can be very dangerous wherever the fight is taken, but that’s just forcing him to train extra harder.  “The Janitor” feels sharper than ever coming into his “UFC on Versus 2″ main event fight and plans to be a bit more creative in the octagon.

From Vladimir Matyushenko:

“He is a pretty different guy and he’s difficult to prepare for. He doesn’t have one main style. His style changes all the time. He changes his stance, he has a long reach and is very explosive. I haven’t really fought anybody like him. But it makes it interesting. It’s making me prepare carefully for the fight and he’s making me bring a bit more creativity into it. Obviously I can’t make my reach longer, but I can come into the fight in the best shape of my life. I had great partners to train with and I’m sharper than ever.”

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields has been given his first UFC opponent and it will be at 170 lbs..  There were rumors of people saying that he was forced to go down to 185 lbs. by his camp, while others were saying that he was scared of someday clashing with current UFC middleweight champ Anderson Spider.

Shields told us that he certainly wasn’t ducking anyone, he simply took the first fight that was offered to him by the UFC.  He is now scheduled to make his debut against Martin Kampmann on October 23rd at UFC 121.  It is still unknown whether or not this bout will be for a no.1 contender spot in the welterweight division.  If it is, the winner between Shields vs Kampmann will face the winner of Georges St Pierre vs Josh Koscheck for the 170-pound belt.

From Jake Shields:

“I was pretty undecided the whole time. I just wanted big fights, and I know GSP is tied up with the Koscheck fight, so I was thinking maybe going to 85 since my weight’s already up. [The UFC] called and asked if I wanted (Martin Kampmann) at 70 and I said sure. They didn’t give me any pressure; they gave me the option. Some people were saying I was forced to go down, which certainly wasn’t the case. They said I could fight at either weight, but they offered me a fight at 70, and I was like I might as well jump and take it. I’m not really sure if this is going to be a number one contender’s fight or not, it hasn’t been mentioned to me, but there’s a good chance if I go out there and look really good doing it, it’s definitely a possibility.”

The former UFC no.1 middleweight title contender Demian Maia admits believes Chael Sonnen has a chance to beat Anderson Silva at UFC 117.  He talks about how much of a dangerous fighter Sonnen can be, stating that he’ll be aggressive against Silva throughout all five rounds of their middleweight title fight.

UFC 117 is scheduled to take place at the Oracle Arena on August 7th in Oakland California.  The main event will feature a middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.  The co-main event is a much anticipated welterweight rematch between Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves.

From Demian Maia:

“I see Anderson with a higher percentage of chances to win but I also believe very much in Chael. I remember in his fight versus Nate Marquardt everyone told he was going to lose and I said he was dangerous. I guess he got chances this time. He takes down well and owns a good stand-up base and will go towards Anderson to put him down to score points and win by decision.”

Date: Thursday- August 12, 2010

Time: 8 pm ET  (Aired on FOX Sports Net)

Location: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida- U.S.A.

Main Fight Card: (aired on FOX Sports Net)

• Megumi Fujii vs. Angela Magana (female tourney quarterfinal bout)
• Jessica Aquilar vs. Lynn Alvarez (female tourney quarterfinal bout)
• Champ Hector Lombard vs. Herbert “Whisper” Goodman (middleweight non-title fight)
• Neil Grove vs. Eddie Sanchez (heavyweight tourney quarterfinal bout)

Preliminary Fight Card: (may not be aired)

• Yves Edwards vs. Luis Palomino
• Brian Eckstein vs. Tulio Quintanilla
• Frank Carrillo vs. Moyses Gabin*

Date: Saturday- August 7, 2010

Time: 9 pm ET  (2 Prelims on Spike TV, Main Card on PPV)

Location: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California- U.S.A.

From ufc.com:

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns on Saturday, August 7th, and fight fans will be treated to a world championship showdown between middleweight title holder and pound for pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva, and number one challenger Chael Sonnen. Silva has dominated the 185-pound division since 2006, but in Sonnen, he may be meeting the one man with the style and determination to unseat him from the throne.

Also in action, welterweight contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves square off in their long-awaited rematch, and welterweight legend Matt Hughes takes on jiu-jitsu wizard Ricardo “Big Dog” Almeida.  UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen – Saturday, August 7th, live on Pay-Per-View from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.

Main Fight Card: (aired on PPV)

• Champ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)
• Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Clay Guida
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Hughes
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson

Preliminary Fight Card: (may not be aired)

• Tim Boetsch vs. Thiago Silva
• Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
• Christian Morecraft vs. Stefan Struve
• Charlie Brenneman vs. Johny Hendricks
• Dennis Hallman vs. Ben Saunders
• Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace

Date: Sunday- August 1, 2010

Time: 9 pm ET  (Live on Versus Channel)

Location: San Diego Sports Arena at San Diego, California- U.S.A.

From ufc.com:

Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship star Jon “Bones” Jones has captivated the fight world with a dynamic style that has already led him to wins over Brandon Vera and Stephan Bonnar. But on Sunday, August 1st, at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, CA, the light heavyweight phenom will be put to the test like never before by former world title challenger Vladimir Matyushenko, a hard-nosed veteran who has the power and the style to derail Jones and move one step closer to a shot at a world title.

Main Fight Card: (aired on Versus)

• Jon Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Mark Munoz vs. Yushin Okami
• Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard
• Takanori Gomi vs. Tyson Griffin

Preliminary Fight Card: (may not be aired)

• Paul Kelly vs. Jacob Volkmann
• DaMarques Johnson vs. Matthew Riddle
• James Irvin vs. Igor Pokrajac
• Mike Massenzio vs. Brian Stann
• Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira
• Rob Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss

Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller called out Nick Diaz in a recent video with ‘The Voice’ on HDNet.  Diaz responded to the interview by posting a video on YouTube, calling out Miller and telling him to meet at 170 lbs. for a possible Strikeforce match-up.  Miller would then respond to the video by posting on his Twitter account:

“So now Nick Diaz is suddenly a 170 pounder only when he has to fight someone who can whip his ass? Not so gangster, is he?…I just pissed in a quiznos cup while driving on the 5 fwy, late to @ellismate’s show. THAT is gangster.”

(pic of Lyoto Machida’s latest twitter post)

According to Lyoto Machida’s twitter account, he confirmed to all of his followers that he would indeed be fighting Rampage Jackson next.  No official date has been set, but it is rumored for November 20th at UFC 123.