Brett Rogers vs Ruben "Warpath" Villareal @ W-1 Halifax
Strikeforce has given Brett Rogers permission to fight for the W-1 promotion in Canada on October 23rd, but I have to imagine it was on the condition that he not face anyone with even a remote chance of beating him. How else can you explain the return of Warpath, who's literally made a living off being the go-to can for promotions across North America. My biggest issue here is Villareal isn't even a GOOD can - he crumples way too easy and often has a hard time making it to minute 2, let alone round 2. But hey, a Grimm's gotta eat and the way the economy is going I don't know if that tire changing job is still available.

Efrain Escudero vs Charles Oliviera
TUF winners usually get treated a little better matchmaking-wise than most other UFC fighters, but Efrain Escudero keeps getting matched up with some Bad Motherfuckers. First there was Evan Dunham who took his arm home, and now he's set to face off against Charles Oliviera. Who's that? Let MMA Junkie inform you:

Oliveira, meanwhile, made his promotional debut at UFC on Versus 2 and picked up a "Submission of the Night" bonus with a 41-second armbar victory over Darren Elkins. Prior to the win (his 12th stoppage victories in 13 career wins), which extended his undefeated streak, Oliveira dominated the fight circuit in his native Brazil and won at least two fights in one night on three different occasions.

Drew Fickett vs Krazy Horse @ Shine LWGP
Maybe I'm looking too much into this, but what kind of promotion comes off a sketchy event cancellation like Shine fights just did and makes it's comeback with a fight like Drew Fickett vs Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett? Sure, I'm a big fan of both, but it's in the same way I'm a big fan of anyone living their life with Tyler Durden style abandon. They're both total messes. Last time we heard from Krazy Horse, he had just attacked a training partner with a pipe. And Drew Fickett showed up to fight drunk last year. Anyways, this fight is part of a one night lightweight grand prix, so if Shine actually manages to pull it off it should be pretty sweet.

Roger Huerta showed up on TMZ yesterday for 30 minutes of awkward live conversation about that girl-punching jackass he destoyed in Austin last month. While he spent a good amount of the show freezing up every time he realized he might say something potentially incriminating, he did managed to get this out:

"I approached the man and said, "You don't do that. You don't hit a woman." The video doesn't show what happened next, but he said, "F--- you. I'll knock any b---- out I want." The tape also doesn't show that he swung at me two or three times right after that,” Huerta told celebrity gossip site TMZ.

“All you see is me bouncing up and down. He has already swung at me at that point. Then the guy takes off running. I chased him down and you saw what else happened... I can't talk about what exactly happened because it's a legal matter... If the same thing occurred, I would do it all over again. I have no regrets."

Watching Roger sit through 30 minutes of trite conversation about everything from that flight attendant who flipped out to Samantha Ronson's dog, you start to understand why he was willing to burn bridges with the UFC over unpaid promotional appearances. That shit is just painful.

He didn't even manage to get in a very good plug about his Bellator fight against Eddie Alvarez on October 21st - the one that was officially announced a few days ago. Fight talk was limited to a few minutes in the middle of the second clip and out of all the MMA blogs covering the TMZ interview, a big ZERO mentioned the upcoming fight at the same time. Swoosh!

As an Ohio State Buckeyes fan, I must advise all UFC fighters to bring plenty of tip money for the Wolverines delivering their pizzas and refilling their drinks:

For the first time in more than 14 years and 150 events, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading to Michigan.

UFC 123, which takes place Nov. 20, will be hosted by the 23,000-seat Palace of Auburn Hills in a suburb of Detroit.

The "Detroit Free Press" first reported the plans, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) since has confirmed them with sources close to the show.

I don't know if Dana lost a bet or simply felt that Ron Artest should not have the record for best KO in the building (be sure to relive the madness - the look on poor guy's face when he realizes he dun goofed is absolutely priceless, even though both guys are still in the league whilst MMA fighters would have been publicly electrocuted for the same infraction - also, first guy that works here and embeds this for me gets a Coke) - apparently, Cleveland was a possibility, which is an infinitely cooler city.  Plus, it's not dying a slow death fueled by unoccupied buildings and sexting mayors, which is always a plus.

Fuck the University of Michigan, is what I'm saying.

OSU coach Woody Hayes once went for 2 while enjoying a 36 point lead against Michigan.  When asked why after the game, he said "because I couldn't go for three".  Congrats on what promises to be a dank fight, but you still suck.  First guy to mention Lebron gets a cockpunch.

Obligatory Chuck Liddell retirement watch update: the Iceman is still officially 'undecided' on what the future holds for him, but he sure doesn't sound like he's leaning towards calling it quits:

"[White] really kind of left it up to me," Liddell said. "I really haven't thought about it. Until I figure out what I'm doing and decide what I want to do, there's no reason to think about that.

"I mean really, if I come back to fight, I want to fight to be the best and prove I'm the best. The only place I can do that is the UFC."

During the hour-long fan-driven Q&A, the subject of a potential Liddell return to the octagon to "punch Tito Ortiz in the head" was brought up several times.

While Liddell said he'd be more than happy to face his arch-rival and complete the coaches fight from "The Ultimate Fighter 11" that never took place, the 40-year-old said if he returns, he's not limiting the list of potential opponents. He'll be looking to make a run at the belt, and that means he'll take on all comers.

"I'll fight whoever," Liddell said. "Whatever it takes to get back to a world title, if I decide to continue."

That pretty much shows you where Chuck is right now: still closer to thinking he can win back the UFC light heavyweight belt than thinking he probably needs to retire. But in his defense, he has suffered a lot of head trauma over the past three years.

Shaquille O'Neil is often seen floating around major UFC events, and usually no one cares. But this weekend in Boston was apparently Shaq's 'coming out' party as a new member of the Celtics, so the media payed waaaaaay too much attention to him. And what did he tell them?

While O'Neal told ESPN on Saturday that he would like to take a fight against Korean striker and fellow 7-footer Hong Man Choi, the future NBA Hall of Famer told fans at a special Q&A session earlier in the day that not only is he serious about the challenge, but he'd like to turn the opportunity into a television special.

"I would train here for a month," O'Neal said. "Then I would go to Korea to train for a month, and then we fight. The name of the show would be called 'Pick on Somebody Your Own Size.'

"Hong Man Choi, I'm coming for you."

He also wants to grapple up Dana White:

"Check it out – next year for the last episode of 'Shaq Vs.,' I'll grapple with Joe Rogan first round, Lorenzo (Fertitta) second round and then Dana White in round three – in the cage, in the octagon, in Las Vegas," O'Neal said.

Now you hear that kinda la dee da pie in the sky talk from anyone else and you're liable to tell them they took a wrong turn back at Full of Shit Boulevard. But Shaq seems to have figured out that he's giant, rich, and famous, so he can do whatever the hell he wants. Many pro athletes respond to this kind of revelation by date raping people in bathrooms, but Shaq channels that urgent sexual energy towards weird shit like Shaq Vs and fights with other notable giants.

It probably won't happen for a while, but considering O'Neil has been pushing the Choi thing for over a year I'd say sooner or later Shaq is going to seriously offer Dana a freakshow fight to end all freakshow fights. Strikeforce could do Herschel Walker's other personality vs a pregnant Cris Cyborg and it wouldn't hold a candle to the nuclear freakitude of Shaquille O'Neal vs Hong Man Choi.