Custom sports wall graphic company Fathead just released a new set of UFC graphics for fans to post up in their bedroom/office/mom’s basement/man-cave.

Leading the way is their giant graphic of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, which can be purchased for $99.99.

The Lesnar Fathead is just as enormous as the real life champ as its dimensions are 3’8” wide and 6’4” tall.

To accommodate the average consumer, Fathead thankfully decided to forgo making their product equal in weight to its real-life counterpart.

Other UFC Fatheads available for purchase are Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Junior dos Santos, and Nate Marquardt.

According to Jeremy Botter at Heavy.com , the man that will step up to face Anderson Silva at UFC 112 will be none other than Demian Maia .

Despite having lost to Nate Marquardt back at UFC 102 in Aug. 2009, Maia is put up as the next to challenge for Silva’s title.

The reasoning behind Maia’s sudden rise to title contender could be for a couple reasons. One, current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen might have beaten Nate Marquardt for his current spot in the rankings, but has a loss to Maia in 2009. Another potential reason for the move to give Maia the title shot could be the Middle East’s love for jiu-jitsu, a craft that Maia is one of the best in the world at.

Maia was recently seen taking on middleweight striker Dan Miller at UFC 109, winning by unanimous decision. Showing improvement in his stand-up, Maia was able to trade punches with Miller and counter like boxing was his main focus when training for the fight.

It is unclear what role Maia’s medical suspension is playing in all this.

Having been suspended until Aug. 6, Maia is competing a good four months prior to when he was initially cleared to do so. Looks like Maia is either getting an early clearance or the UFC is not considering the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s jurisdiction to stretch to Abu Dhabi, UAB.

Another issue raised by the Maia announcement is the fear that Silva-Maia will be a repeat of Silva-Leites.

The lack luster fight between the middleweight champion and Leites was arguably the least popular in Silva’s UFC career. Fans worry that fighting another jiu-jitsu guy in Maia could mirror the performance previously put on by Silva and Leites.

The hope is that Maia’s striking will be as sharp, if not sharper than it was against Miller. Against the champion Silva, Maia will require all the technique in the world and has little time to collect it.

Earlier today, Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports extended the news broken by Tatame.com that Vitor Belfort has suffered a shoulder injury and will not compete against Anderson Silva at UFC 112 for the UFC middleweight title.

The highly anticipated card, scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, now has one less title fight to ride the wave of hype going into the Middle East.

Fortunately, UFC President Dana White confirmed to Yahoo Sports that Silva will indeed stay on the card. Who his next opponent will be is unknown at this point.

Let us consider the options.

First, Chael Sonnen is now considered to be the No. 1 contender for the middleweight title. No one cares to see that fight happen yet—including Silva and his manager, Ed Soares.

After Sonnen, you can consider Demain Maia, but this takes away from Sonnen’s recent climb in the rankings and appears a bit unfair if set up by the UFC.

What options do the UFC have other than in the coveted light-heavyweight division? Everyone wants to see how Silva does against the best 205-pounders in the world.

After his decimation of former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, Silva made a huge statement about being the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet. With Belfort now out of their middleweight title bout, it makes more sense to put Silva in with someone at 205 than it does at 185.

Randy Couture recently proved that he is yet to be a senior citizen at UFC 109 when he beat Mark Coleman. He could easily step into the cut two months from now and give Silva a decent run in April.

This particular fight could be useful for Couture to see if he can still contend with the top fighters in the world. Beating Coleman proved that he is not an old man, but the question still looms about him being a top light-heavyweight. A match with Silva could prove that.

If not Couture, why not keep it in the Brazilian family with a fight with Thiago Silva?

A fight with Silva could set up a revenge fight for Thiago because he was beaten handily by another Blackhouse fighter: current light-heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida. Getting back into title contention is Thiago’s main goal, and a win over the middleweight champion would definitely help do that.

On the other side, if Thiago loses to Silva, it could send him farther down the rankings than he already is.

If no other candidates fit the bill at light-heavyweight, either Rampage Jackson or Rashad Evans can step up and fill the gap left by Belfort and still make their fight for later this summer.

It won’t hurt the UFC by postponing the Jackson-Evans fight a couple of more months. Fans have waited this long; why not wait a little bit longer and get a marquee fight in April?

Imagine if one of them lost to Silva. It would create more material for one to use when talking trash to the other.

Ultimately, if Silva is pulled from the card, it will be a huge letdown for the UFC’s premiere in the Middle East. A 205-pound fight can solve that problem and shake things up a little.

Brock Lesnar is, as of right now, the most dominant heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The combination of size, speed and athleticism is a rarity the likes of which are not seen much at all in professional sports.

With the recent announcement of Lesnar’s return to the octagon from a long battle with diverticulitis, the question is brought up about who the heavyweight champion will defend his title against, come summer.

Four fighters currently sit atop the rankings and each makes suitable arguments as to why they should be the next in line to take on the former WWE Superstar. Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez all stand as candidates to run for heavyweight gold.

Fans have varying opinions when it comes to who they feel should have the number one contender spot for the title but things will be hashed out within the organization in the coming months.

With Nogueira and Velasquez set to tangle at UFC 110 on Feb. 20 while Mir and Carwin are scheduled to fight on Mar. 27, the argument will shrink to two and the contender will be decided by match makers at that point.

Given the four potential matchups for Lesnar, there are a number of ways each fight can end. Each contender has his own special set of skills and they will need to utilize them if they are to have any shot of defeating current king of the sport’s heaviest division.




Lesnar vs. Carwin:


Leading up to their scheduled then cancelled fight at UFC 106, Shane Carwin was being held as the fighter for the people and given the nickname of “Lesnar Killer.”

Many had hoped that Carwin would be the one to end what many thought as Lesnar’s tyrannous rain as champion. At 6-foot-3 and 265-pounds, Carwin has a similar stature to Lesnar which makes for an interesting matchup, dynamically.

Never having faced an opponent with the same frame as him, Lesnar would find trouble attempting to physically dominate Carwin as he has done with other opponents.

If Carwin is to beat Lesnar, it would not be through his background in wrestling as they would negate each other. The two heavyweights are so close in stature and technique that a victory for Carwin would have to come through the heavy right hand he introduced to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96.

Let’s not take anything away from Lesnar’s power, though. The champion’s right hand is just as big and dangerous so, with the right timing and velocity, Lesnar could be the first to notch a digit in Shane Carwin’s loss column.

So, with both hands being as strong as they are, whose lands first? The answer could be debated to no end but in all honesty, it’s difficult to gauge which of the two would find their opponent’s chin quicker. Given Brock’s ungodly speed, it might be safe to say he would end up hitting first, however, Lesnar’s chin is yet to be tested and if Carwin’s punch lands it could put the champion down in an unfamiliar position…sleeping in the octagon.




Lesnar vs. Velasquez:


Probably the longest shot of the group, Cain Velasquez stands as the ugly duckling of contenders vying for the title.

Regardless of being a long shot, Velasquez is undefeated in the UFC (5-0) with all but one of his wins coming by way of TKO. He, like Carwin, has some heavy hands that are capable of putting some of the biggest fighters down and out. The problem that Velasquez faces is being severely undersized compared to the champion at a ballpark 245 pounds.

Giving up 20 pounds of weight is never a good idea going into a fight, especially if that fight is with a man who’s physical specimen rivals that of a small rhinoceros.

Of course, having a size disadvantage gives a fighter other attributes that could help him in the long run.

Being smaller than Lesnar opens up the opportunity for Velasquez to stick and move against his opponent. His boxing will have to be his most precious asset if Velasquez is to have any chance of winning his title bid.

More than just punching, but the fluid motion of a boxer will prevent Lesnar from landing any haymakers. If Velasquez could keep the fight standing long enough, Lesnar may punch himself tired, opening up a shot for Velasquez to KO the champ.

This is all pending Lesnar is unable to take down Velasquez for the duration of the fight.

If Velasquez is put on his back with the massive champion on top of him, the fight is likely to end quickly with Lesnar stifling Velasquez using a brutal ground and pound assault. If this happens, Velasquez’s face might look a lot like Frank Mir’s did after UFC 100.




Lesnar vs. Nogueira:


Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is used to being the underdog since he has played the role for a majority of his career.

In most of his fights, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard is thoroughly handled on the feet despite having trained with the likes of the Cuban boxing team. Needless to say, he has held his own on the feet to do what he needs to do to win a fight.

Being matched with Lesnar is, believe it or not, in favor of Nogueira.

The most useful part of Nogueira’s repertoire is his undeniable ability to catch fighters slipping and capitalizing on those mistakes. Lesnar’s relative inexperience would be his achilles heel in this potential bout and Nogueira would be looking for every opportunity to take advantage of it.

Take Tim Sylvia, for example. Once the top heavyweight in the organization, he out pointed Nogueira for almost three rounds before being swept into guard, leaving his massive neck out to dry which led into the guillotine choke that ended the fight.

Much like Velasquez, Nogueira is undersized against the champion but if put onto his back it will serve him much better because it is where he is more comfortable. As much as Lesnar would look to pound the Brazilian on the ground, any floating limb would be a feast for Nogueira to attack and dine on for the submission win.

Nogueira does not have to physically dominate a fight in order to win it. As a matter of fact, it’s his opponents that look to overwhelm, only to get caught in a compromising position.

Given Nogueira is over his staph infection and his senses are up to par again, the Brazilian could keep his composure in a Lesnar ground and pound and pull off the submission upset. If he is unable to find a limb to grab for the submission, his gamble of fighting from his back would lead to him losing the fight by decision.




Lesnar vs. Mir:


Can we say rubber match?

A third fight with Mir is arguably the most popular of the potential title fights for Lesnar. The heated rivalry has brewed ever since the champion’s UFC debut back at UFC 81 and was renewed during a teleconference when Lesnar made it clear he would love another shot at Frank Mir “The Stalker.”

As much as Lesnar wants Mir, the feeling is likely the same on the other side of the spectrum.

In his last fight with Chieck Kongo at UFC 107, Mir made a giant statement when he threw an over-hand that left that put Kongo on the canvas. The right hand came behind 10-15 added pounds of muscle, increasing Mir’s overall mass to 264 pounds.

The speculation is that Mir took on the extra weight to contend with his nemesis, Lesnar, and level the playing field.

Frank Mir has a distinct advantage over all the contenders to the title in his stand up being much better than all of them. In his two previous fights with Lesnar, Mir was taken to the ground at will by the champion. The added size might prevent Lesnar from taking down Mir so easily and force the former WWE Superstar to prove he can trade shots with his opponent.

A stand up feud is probably in Mir’s better interests since losing on the ground the last time he and the champion fought at UFC 100.

Look to have Mir attempt to find control on the feet and out-strike Lesnar. If the fight goes to the ground, Mir will look to put Lesnar on his back, where wrestlers are uncomfortable, and potentially pull of a submission or win by ground and pound.



So, with all the potential matchups for Lesnar, each of them have their own unique ways of ending. MMA fans anticipate knowing who the champion faces after UFC 110 and UFC 111 are all said and done.

For now, the soap opera that is the UFC heavyweight division continues to become a more tangled web while a polarizing figure sits atop leading the way to mainstream exposure for the sport.

From the moment Mark Coleman stepped into the octagon last night, the one thing fans and media could not turn their eyes away from was how aged the seasoned wrestler looked in the moments before his opponent came to the cage.

For all the comments and opinions regarding age that were made since the main event was announced for UFC 109, no one really took into consideration how much younger Randy Couture physically looks than his opponent.

Couture walked into the arena and, minus the facial wrinkles, looked as though a 25-year-old kid was preparing to enter a fight with all intention to utterly decimate his opposition standing opposite to him.

The appearance of Coleman was sad, to say the least.

If fans have ever seen the film Grumpy Old Men , Mark Coleman would easily fit into the role played by Walter Matthau purely for the physically deteriorated look of his frame.

Unfortunately for Coleman, Couture was nowhere near looking like he was able to play the role of Matthau’s opposite in Jack Lemon.

Age affected only one participant in last night’s main event and that participant was Mark Coleman.

Couture stifled Coleman with accurate punches which, comparatively, were light years quicker than any strikes attempted by “The Hammer.” It was difficult for Coleman to get in a shot edge wise, and for good reason—he is simply not athletic enough anymore.

The slow pace and sluggish offense by Coleman is an example of why his career is beyond its prime; far beyond.

After over a decade of fights in both the US and Japan, it appeared Coleman was no longer able to duck and move out of the way of strikes which enabled his opponent to land shots at will.

Arthritis maybe?

While Coleman remained stiff with his chin out in the open for anyone to come by and give it their best shot, his opponent has seemed to find the fountain of youth and continues to drink from it with every fight he has.

Primed and in shape, “The Natural’ proved that age is just a number for him and he can still contend at 205 pounds. Maybe not for a title against Lyoto Machida or Shogun Rua, but Couture would fare well against the mid-level talent of the light-heavyweight division.

Now, a day after he was thoroughly dominated at the hands of a man who is one year his elder, Mark Coleman cannot be seriously considered competitive in the sport of mixed martial arts. He came down to light-heavyweight after fighting his entire career at heavyweight only to find that the fights were larger than he can ever imagine.

A fight with Tito Ortiz might be on the horizon with Coleman, but that just serves as another example of his career being at it’s bitter end since Ortiz is also on the outs, regardless how much he says he is not.

One has to question if the Ultimate Fighting Championship is holding onto it’s legendary names more so for what they have done and not for what they can do.

Coleman appearing as though he can easily qualify for Social Security is not the best image for the UFC to advertise and could damage their reputation of having the most competitive fighters in the sport.

In hindsight, it might not have been the best decision to place Coleman in the main event, even tough his opponent stood pretty close to him on paper.

Let’s just say that Coleman continues fighting into his 50s. He doesn’t have the same chin as George Foreman and doesn’t have the mouth of Muhammad Ali, so why is he still here? Why are fans being asked to buy pay-per-views when the product already has an expired warranty?

UFC brass sees the money in Mark Coleman but fails to show the rest of the viewing public where it is.

What the UFC did accomplish last night was proving that Randy Couture is still a few levels above the bottom of the division and can provide a decent amount of entertainment value. While rumors float around about Couture being shot into taking on the winner of Machida and Shogun, it may be a bit premature to consider him a legitimate contender for the title.

The pending return of Quinton Jackson provides an opponent for Rashad Evans which could be a great set up to decide who would fight the Machida—Shogun winner. Couture might have to beat another couple of contenders if he is to compete for what would be his sixth title, but one can never know for sure what Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva have in mind

All in all, the one definite is that Mark Coleman will never again compete for a title. The level of competition that Coleman seeks is no longer attainable and his days of holding a dominant position are over.

Father time has caught up with “The Hammer.”

It was announced today by video game company THQ that UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will grace the cover of UFC Undisputed 2010 .

The highly anticipated sequel to UFC Undisputed 2009 is set to hit stores May 25, 2010 and is expected to bring in copious amounts of revenue for both THQ and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As for the heavyweight champion himself, he is due to make his return the UFC some time this summer at a yet to be announced show.

Despite any political opinions he might have and the reaction some Americans would have to them, Brock Lesnar is one of the most popular personalities the sport has ever seen.

Posting Lesnar’s enormous physique across the cover of what could be the most popular video game of the year will certainly gain some attention, both positive and negative. Regardless, consumers are attracted to a persona like Lesnar’s, which will help boost the possibility of having yet another Video Game Award presented on Spike TV, come year’s end.

Welterweight contender Frank Trigg (19-7) is scheduled to cross paths with Matt Serra (9-6) this Saturday at UFC 109: Relentless .

At 37 years young, Trigg has seen his share of combat throughout his career. Now, in his second tenure with the Ultimate Fighting Championship , the man nicknamed “Twinkle Toes” is set to fight another grizzled veteran in Serra.

There has been no secret about the love lost between the two seasoned athletes. Several back and forth verbal assaults have taken place and, just days before fight night, they are not done.

Trigg talked via phone call and opened up about his opponent‘s fighting past. “He hasn’t submitted anybody that’s worth anything in mixed martial arts fighting in his entire career.”

It is blatantly obvious that Trigg is not the biggest fan of his opponent coming into his fight with “The Terror.” Dislike aside, Trigg recognized Serra as a champion and not a lottery winner when the Long Island native knocked out Georges St. Pierre back in 2007.

Respectable as that may seem, Trigg would offer some career advice to Serra in the case that they played for the same team.

“If I’m his training camp I’m telling him he needs to drop to 155.”

A return to the lightweight division has been spoken in and around the rumor mill for quite some time, and Trigg has caught wind of it. Apparently, Trigg feels his opponent for Saturday night is a bit undersized to compete with him and the rest of the UFC’s 170-pound roster.

“He’s a guy at 5’6” that should be fighting at the lightweight division…he should be fighting at 155-pounds.”

Trigg looks to make a statement with a win over Serra on Saturday night. After taking some time off from the fight game and doing some color commentating, Trigg says he found himself “begging Joe Silva” to let him return to the UFC and cement himself as one who can be competitive.

“I’m still viable at 170-pounds. I actually have the ability to be able to fight and to fight for a title.”

Yes you read that right…a title.

After losing to Josh Koscheck at UFC 103 last September, Trigg is driven to get another winning streak going so that he can, one day, be considered for a title shot. Time will tell who will be champion then, but with the way he has been holding a suffocating grip on the welterweight division of late, St. Pierre would be the likely title holder with which Trigg would battle.

As confident as he is, Trigg sees himself beating Serra on Saturday and speculates when, and how, a match with St. Pierre would take place. “I should be able to beat him with four or five more matches underneath my belt.”

For now, Trigg’s first priority is a man who he is two years the elder, but his intention is to not mislead fans when it comes to that fact. “I look a lot younger and I’m much more handsome. It doesn’t mean I’m any younger,” said Trigg when answering questions about the age of the two fighters.

The battle that will commence on Saturday night will look to be taken to the ground by Trigg. The former collegiate wrestler at the University of Oklahoma sees mistakes being made by Serra when he said, “I think he’s relying too heavily on his boxing…on his stand-up.”

Trigg will likely look to exploit Serra in the stand-up. “I don’t think he’s developed a skill yet to be able to knock a guy out all the time, especially now that we know that it’s coming.”

Trigg’s key to winning this fight will be to assume control, force Serra to be on his back, overwhelm him to the ground, and pound so much that the referee has to step in and stop the action. His wrestling pedigree will prove to be his ace in the hole.

Looking ahead to when his career is over, Trigg sees himself staying close to the sport of MMA and taking on the role that fans might have seen him in before. “I’m definitely going to move into commentating, into the booth.”

Perhaps some more play-by-play with Twinkle Toes and Jay Glazer? Maybe one day, but not this weekend when Frank Trigg fights Matt Serra at UFC 109.

UFC 109 is scheduled to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV at 10:00 PM ET/7 PM PT.

Strikeforce middleweight, and Southern California native, Benji Radach took some time to talk about his injury while hanging out at the TapouT compound on Monday night.

Trying to play it low-key for the evening, it was hard not to notice his arm in a rather complicated looking contraption. The 185-pound contender tore his pectoral muscle from the bone during a recent training session.

Now, it appears Radach will have to sit on the sidelines for an extended period of time based off of medical opinions.

“Doctors say, uh, six months…before I can even grapple again. I’m thinking seven months before I can fight.”

The middleweight expressed an eagerness to return action for his current employer - the San Jose-based fight promotion Strikeforce.

“I got one more fight with Strikeforce before my contract is up,” said Radach, “that’ll be my last fight and then hopefully re-sign because that’s where all the toughest 185-pounders are.”

Radach re-signing with Strikeforce would sustain the current power owned by the promotion’s middleweight division. With Jake Shields at the top of the mountain, fighters like Dan Henderson, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Cung Le, Scott Smith and Radach round out a beefed up roster that rivals industry leader the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

With so much talent at middleweight, Strikeforce has a world-class division and some definite road blocks for Radach.

When asked of a potential match with Henderson, Radach would choose not to enter the bout due to a friendship between the two but wouldn’t rule it out completely . “Hendo is a good friend of mine so I really…wouldn’t want to fight him unless it was a title shot or something big, you know.”

If Henderson defeats Shields for their rumored title fight this Spring, and Radach is able to bounce back from his loss to Scott Smith with a few wins in a row, the two might have to square off and put friendship aside for an evening.

The bout, though just a thought with little chance of taking place, would be definite all-out slugging war.

Last night at Strikeforce: Miami, Robbie Lawler stood across the cage from an animal in Melvin Manhoef and escaped the jaws of the beast by throwing a hail mary punch that knocked out the Dutch kickboxing powerhouse.

Pulling a page out of Doug Flutie’s book, Lawler threw a prayer of a right hand after taking a pummeling, making the winning score while being on the brink of defeat.

Several leg kicks penetrated Lawler’s defenses, some landing so hard they would shoot Lawler’s own leg high above his own head.

Little offense came from Lawler’s stand point. On the run for a majority of the first round, Lawler seemed to have little to no answer for Manhoef’s aggressive tactics and ferocious striking.

A mixture of punches to the head and body combined with the strongest of muay thai kicks to the mid section and lower extremities was the symphony played by Manhoef as he exhibited some of the most dominating stand-up seen by the Strikeforce promotion.

To the surprise of everyone in attendance and watching on Showtime, Lawler did the impossible, pulling out a win in the most unexpected of fashions.

After the referee pulled Lawler from Manhoef’s almost lifeless body, the victor limped around the cage in awe of his own performance then was graced by his cornermen, which included former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

The irony of the situation is that Miami is the same location Doug Flutie completed his “Miracle in Miami" pass to lift his Boston College Eagles above the Miami Hurricanes way back in 1984. There must be some magic in the air in South Beach because it causes competitors to comeback from almost certain oblivion.

Nearly 26 years later, the essence of will and determination still resonates in Miami, FL and Robbie Lawler made every effort to pull it to within his grasp.

Looking ahead, Lawler is now back on the winning track after losing via submission to current Strikeforce middleweight king Jake Shields. If he is to remain on the winning track there could be a title run in it for him, however, fighters the likes of “Jacare” Souza and Dan Henderson might have a larger stake for title opportunities.

A Henderson-Shields duel is in the process of being confirmed for a date in Spring, so where does this leave Lawler? The speculation is that, given the relatively scarce amount of middleweights Strikeforce has to offer, Lawler is destined to clash with Souza in an effort to determine the next in line to take on the Henderson-Shields winner.

For Manhoef, he’ll continue to be an entertaining sight for MMA and K-1 fans, but will never be a serious contender for the middleweight crown. Given his availability to fight at either middleweight, light-heavyweight and even heavyweight, there would be little surprise in Manhoef being added as a potential opponent to Gegard Mousasi or Mohammed “King Mo” Lawal.

At Strikeforce: Miami, Robbie Lawler went all in and it paid off big. Now is the time where he counts his blessings while Melvin Manhoef continues to count stars.