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Here are the official fight salaries for UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 as released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

• Forrest Griffin – $250,000
• Tito Ortiz – $250,000
• Josh Koscheck – $106,000
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – $100,000
• Kendall Grove – $44,000
• Amir Sadollah – $30,000
• Dustin Hazelett – $28,000 *
• Marcus Davis – $27,000
• Brock Larson – $26,000
• Phil Baroni – $25,000
• Ben Saunders – $20,000
• Caol Uno – $20,000
• George Sotiropolous – $20,000
• Luiz Cane – $19,000
• Anthony Johnson – $17,000
• Paulo Thiago – $16,000
• Jake Rosholt – $15,000
• Brian Foster – $12,000
• Fabricio Camoes – $10,000
• Jason Dent – $8,000
• Jacob Volkmann – $6,000
• Karo Parisyan – $0 *

The UFC also awarded $70,000 Fight Night bonuses to the following fighters: Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson for Fight of the Night; Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for Knock of the Night, and Josh Koscheck for Submission of the Night.

* The fight between Dustin Hazelett and Karo Parisyan did not take place as Parisyan withdrew from the fight. Hazelett still received his fight purse plus win bonus, however.

Here are the results for the MMA HQ Fight Camp at MMAPlayground.com after Saturday night’s UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 event.

Points Winners
1. Drehog – 64 pts
2. maxx – 56 pts
3. bvrasp – 48 pts
4. JasonConwell – 45 pts
5. chosen141 – 45 pts

Wager Winners
1. gus – $2,827
2. chosen141 – $1,855
3. Banned2 – $1,135
4. JasonConwell – $705
5. Drehog – $325

Current Season Standings
1. Banned2 – 415 pts
2. bvrasp – 406 pts
3. maxx – 394 pts (+1)
4. Bola14 – 378 pts (-1)
5. JasonConwell – 372 pts (+2)

UFC 106 was the eighth of ten events for Season 6. If you are interested in joining the MMA HQ Fight Camp, now is a great time. While the season is almost complete, its a great time to get some practice in for Season 7.

Continuing his trend of mental instability, welterweight Karo Parisyan has pulled out of his fight scheduled for this Saturday’s UFC 106 fight card.

Karo was scheduled to fight Dustin Hazelett but has instead pulled out hours just days before the scheduled bout. Karo has not spoken publicly yet and given any explanation.

UFC President Dana White is not happy about the situation, as can be expected, and has said Parisyan will never again fight in the UFC.

“Karo Parisyan has f***** over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again. He will not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC,” wrote White. “Pulled out of the fight the day before weigh-ins again with a laundry list of excuses. Let the press ask Karo why. Let him explain.”

White did say that Dustin Hazelett will be paid his full fight purse including win bonus.

The UFC returns this weekend with the second of back-to-back even weekends with UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2. The original UFC 106 fight card looks very different from the list of fights we will get to see this weekend.

Tito Ortiz was scheduled to make his (second) return to the UFC against Mark Coleman, but will instead rematch Forrest Griffin due to an Coleman knee injury.

Top welterweight Jon Fitch was the victim of a double-whammy as his first opponent, Ricardo Almeida, suffered a new injury and his replacement opponent, Thiago Alves, also suffered an injury during training.

Finally, the scheduled main event heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin has now been postponed indefinitely due to Lesnar’s illness.

The UFC will once again treat fans to a minimum of two undercard bouts on SpikeTV leading up to the Pay-Per-View event.

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin – Tito Ortiz is known for running his mouth and talking himself up in grand fashion. This fight with Forrest Griffin really is a clutch fight for Ortiz though, as it truly is now time for him to put up or shut up.

Ortiz has already cleared any potential excuses from his collection and has told us all on numerous times that he is finally healthy again and back to 100% after having his spinal fusion surgery.

Can we believe Tito? Is he truly back to the Tito of old?

My guess is yes and no. In Tito’s mind, I’m sure he feels great and feels like he’s back to the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” However, in reality, father time has caught up with Tito to a certain extent, and the landscape of MMA has changed greatly since his glory days in the early part of the decade.

The problem for Tito is this – the Tito Ortiz that dominated the UFC light heavyweight division from 2000-2003 wouldn’t enjoy the same success in today’s MMA landscape. The whole MMA game has changed and the athletes that fight today are just much better mixed martial artists than the guys who where at the top of the heap just eight or nine years ago.

So for Tito to simply be back to “the Tito of old” is not enough; Tito needs to be “the Tito of old” with some serious improvements in his standup game.

Luckily (or unluckily) for Tito, he is catching Forrest Griffin at what is a very tenuous time for the TUF superstar. After winning the light heavyweight title in a razor close decision against Quinton Jackson, Griffin proceeded to cough the belt up to Rashad Evans and then get completely humiliated against Anderson Silva.

The embarrassing loss to Silva really seemed to bring out a different side of Griffin that many of his fans had never seen before. Forrest has always been glib and tough to really pin down on his true thoughts and feelings regarding fighting, but Forrest simply ran out of the ring and went AWOL.

Sure, Forrest got married and spent some time on his honeymoon, but when he returned he still didn’t provide any kind of insight or answers into what is going on in his head. Will Forrest have the confidence needed to continue to compete with the top of the light heavyweight division? Fighting Tito Ortiz for a second time will definitely help us to find out.

Forrest standup game should definitely be better than Tito’s. While not a technical striker, Griffin has good power and manages to land a lot of strikes on his opponents. Griffin’s leg kicks have also become well known in recent fights and it will be interesting to see how he uses that skill-set against Ortiz.

Will Griffin attempt to chop down the legs of Tito as he did against Quinton Jackson or will the fear of being taken down make him hesitant?

This fight has me more intrigued than any other fight has in a long time. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

Winner: Tito Ortiz

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson – Will Anthony Johnson make weight? That is the only question we will undoubtedly hear over the remainder of this week. It’s really too bad because Johnson has only missed weight once and we all really should be talking about what a good matchup this is.

We all know Johnson’s excellent speed and explosiveness. We all know Koscheck’s excellent wrestling and competitiveness. Which fighter walks away victorious is a tough call.

I think Josh Koscheck can win this fight easily if he simply falls back on his strength and uses his superior wrestling to keep the fight on the mat. However, I’m not convinced that Koscheck is that interested in being just a wrestler after his loss to Georges St. Pierre. Koscheck seems to favor striking more and more with each of his recent fights and that could be a problem in this matchup with Johnson.

If the fight remains standing, I think its only a matter of time before Johnson gets the better of Koscheck with his striking and kick game. I’m not sure that Johnson can score another quick knockout like he is prone to do, but he should able to batter Koscheck on the feet and in the clinch.

The real deciding factor, in my mind, is whether or not Johnson can use his size advantage to keep from being dominated on the ground. Johnson can’t stop Koscheck from taking him to the ground, it’s just a matter of whether or not he can get back up or tie up Koscheck once the fight hits the mat.

I’d love to pick Johnson in this fight, and I really think he stands the better shot at victory, but I’ve gotta go with my gut in this fight and take the safe bet in Koscheck.

Winner: Josh Koscheck

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now. I just do not understand the infatuation Zuffa seems to have with Amir Sadollah. The way Sadollah is promoted and used for marketing and promotion within the UFC baffles me.

Sadollah has two professional fights to his credit, a victory over C-Level fighter CB Dollaway and a loss via TKO against Johnny Hendricks at UFC 101.

We are all familiar with Phil Baroni and know what to expect from him. Baroni has been an up-and-down fighter throughout his career, never putting together more than a three-fight win streak. To his credit, Baroni has fought a lot of top-level talent and has definitely improved over time.

In this matchup, I think this is one of the few times that I can legitimately say Phil Baroni outclasses his opponent. Baroni holds a huge advantage on the feet, and Sadollah must prey and hope that he can get the fight to the ground and keep the much stronger Baroni down if he doesn’t want to get his head caved in.

Winner: Phil Baroni

Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – “Lil’ Nog” joins his brother and former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC and his first matchup isn’t going to be an easy one.

Nogueira has bounced around as of late fighting in Affliction, Sengoku and Jungle Fights in his native Brazil since the fall of PrideFC. Nogueira has a solid striking game and top submission came and will be a fun addition to the UFC’s light heavyweight ranks.

In my book, Luiz Cane is one of those fighters who truly has a shot at being the next big star in the light heavyweight division. Cane would be undefeated had he not been disqualified for an illegal knee to a downed opponent in his fight against James Irvin at UFC 79.

After the DQ loss, Cane easily rolled through Jason Lambert and Rameau Sokoudjou before grinding out a somewhat unimpressive victory against Steve Cantwell at UFC 97.

I see both fighters looking to stand and trade strikes in this fight and I don’t expect much work on the ground. At this point in both fighters careers, I think Cane has the quicker hands, better footwork and more power and wins this fight.

Winner: Luiz Cane

Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett – I think it’s impossible to know what kind of state Karo Parisyan will show up for a fight these days. Is he physically in shape? Is he mentally in shape? Are his panic attacks under control?

In my mind, none of that will really matter in this case however as I think Dustin Hazelett will pull of some kind of submission and send Parisyan further down into the depths of his mental abyss.

Winner: Dustin Hazelett

Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis – Winner: Marcus Davis
Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt – Winner: Jake Rosholt
Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann – Winner: Paulo Thiago
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster – Winner: Brock Larson
Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes – Winner: Caol Uno
George Sotiropolous vs. Jason Dent – Winner: George Sotiropolous

The official weigh-in event for UFC 106: “Ortiz vs. Griffin 2” is set to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, November 20, 2009.

It is currently scheduled to air LIVE right here on MMAmania.com, as well as on several other online destinations, via streaming video. The first fighter is expected to tip the scale at 7 p.m. ET.

As usual, MMAmania.com will provide the latest coverage of the UFC 106 weigh-ins, as well as provide a detailed recap of the festivities as soon as they conclude.

UFC 106 features a rematch between former light heavyweight champions, Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, filling the gaping main event void left by Brock Lesnar, who was forced to withdraw from his heavyweight title defense against Shane Carwin because of a serious illness.

Top welterweight contender, Josh Koscheck, will once again step up on relatively short notice to see if the hard-hitting Anthony Johnson belongs among the division’s elite.

Here’s the complete UFC 106 fight card:

Main event:

205 lbs.: Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

Main card (Televised):

170 lbs.: Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck
205 lbs.: Luis Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
170 lbs.: Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah
170 lbs.: Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan

Under card (May not be broadcast):

170 lbs.: Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders
185 lbs.: Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
170 lbs.: Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann
170 lbs.: Brian Foster vs. Brock Larson
155 lbs.: Fabricio Camoes vs. Caol Uno
155 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent

For those fortunate enough to be in “Sin City” for the promotion’s return trip to the Mandalay Bay, remember that the weigh-in is FREE to attend and open to the public. Doors to the weigh-in will open at 1 p.m. local time for the general public.

In addition, UFC Fight Club members will be able to attend an exclusive Q&A session with current heavyweight contender, Cain Velasquez, on that same day at 2 p.m. (check-in starts at 1 p.m.)

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night (Saturday, Nov. 21), which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The latest quick updates of the live action will begin to flow earlier than that around 8 p.m. ET with Spike TV telecast of select prelim bouts.

It’s going to be a fun night of fights so don’t miss it. And remember to check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight UFC 106 coverage you can handle.

The UFC is holding back-to-back fight card weekends this month with UFC 105 this coming weekend and UFC 106 the following weekend.

For the two events, MMA HQ will be giving away copies of the new FIGHT CLUB 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray discs, scheduled for public release on November 17.

As always, the giveaway will be run in conjunction with the MMA HQ Fight Camp at MMAPlayground.com. The overall points winner from both UFC 105 and UFC 106 will receive a copy of the FIGHT CLUB disc.

If you are not already a member of our fight camp, now is a great time to join. Membership costs nothing and you have the chance to win this and other giveaways as well as the overall season prizes. If you are currently a fight camp member, good luck. Now is your chance to shine for two events, even if you are out of contention for the overall season title for Season 6.

Clever, savagely witty and dark, Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition, arrives on Blu-ray Disc (BD) November 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk (Choke), Fight Club was directed by acclaimed filmmaker and Golden GlobeÒ-nominee*** David Fincher (Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and stars Edward Norton (25th Hour, Primal Fear) and Brad Pitt (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Inglorious Basterds), whose characters bond over a mutual disgust for corporate hypocrisy and find release in an eccentric , shocking new form of therapy – Fight Club.

The Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition BD is packed full of punches with all-new bonus materials including two interactive featurettes – “A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club” which allows users to remix four key scenes themselves with the help of OscarÒ-nominated sound designer Ren Klyce; and “Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index,” giving viewers the ability to access any part of the disc’s extensive bonus material via interactive tools.

“The BD also features behind-the-scenes with Fincher, Pitt and Norton as they accept the Guy Movie Hall of Fame honor for Fight Club at SPIKE TV’S 2009 GUYS CHOICE Awards, commentary by Fincher, Palahniuk, Pitt, Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, “Welcome To Fight Club” featurette, seven deleted scenes, a music video, photo gallery and much more, for the suggested retail price of $34.99 U.S. / $37.99 Canada. Prebook is October 21. ”

Synopsis:

A lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional in an unidentified, semi-stylized city, seeks an escape from his ordinary life with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world denies them.

Blu-ray Disc Specs:

The Fight Club Blu-ray Disc is presented in widescreen format (2.40:1) on a 50GB dual-layer disc authored in English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby Surround, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French 5.1 DTS sound with English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Special features include:

· New A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club
o Welcome To Fight Club
o Angel Faces Beating
o The Crash
o Tyler’s Goodbye
· New Flogging Fight Club
· New Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index, Commentary Log, Topic Search
· Behind the Scenes Vignettes: Production, Visual Effects, On Location
· Edward Norton Interview
· Commentary by David Fincher
· Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter
· Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
· Commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Haug
· Seven Deleted Scenes and Alternate Scenes
· Trailer Farm – Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer, The Eight Rules of Fight Club
· 12 TV Spots
· Public Service Announcements
· Music Video
· Five Internet Spots
· Promotional Gallery
· Art Gallery

Spike TV will once again air a portion of an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight card on its network prior to a major pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast, according to MMAFanHouse.com.

Fans will be treated to one hour of uninterrupted mixed martial arts competition when Marcus Davis collides with Ben Saunders in a welterweight showdown and middleweights Kendall Grove and Jake Rosholt mix it up on the UFC 106: “Ortiz vs. Griffin 2” under card at 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 21.

Similar to UFC 103 in Sept. and then UFC 104 in Oct., which both attracted about 1.4 million viewers as the promotion began to test the idea along with its cable television partner, the UFC 106 featured prelim bouts will air commercial-free and possibly showcase additional prerecorded action if time permits.

It will, naturally, lead into the PPV telecast at 10 p.m., which will be available for purchase at $44.95.

UFC 106 features a rematch between former light heavyweight champions, Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, filling the gaping main event void left by Brock Lesnar, who was forced to withdraw from his heavyweight title defense against Shane Carwin because of a serious illness.

Top welterweight contender, Josh Koscheck, will once again step up on relatively short notice to see if the hard-hitting Anthony Johnson belongs among the division’s elite.

To check out the latest UFC 106 fight card click here.

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of UFC 106, beginning with the Spike TV telecast. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action on fight night.

“Guys, my manager Jason Genet just told me that UFC 108 is not happening. Brock has Mono and what the UFC has told me is that I have earned the title shot but I have to wait for the title holder.”

– UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin engineers another blog post at ShaneCarwin.com confirming his title fight against Brock Lesnar will not happen at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 due to the champ’s lingering illness. The two goliaths were originally set to throw down at UFC 106 on Nov. 21; however, Lesnar was forced to withdraw from the event after spending more than three weeks battling illness, prompting the UFC to postpone the match to a pending date of early 2010. Is this a case for another interim title? Or should the fans (and Carwin) wait patiently for Lesnar to nurse himself back to health? Thoughts?

To check out the latest UFC 106: “Ortiz vs. Griffin 2″ fight card and rumors click here.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 winner Amir Sadollah (1-1) will welcome Phil Baroni (13-11) back into the Octagon in a welterweight clash planned for UFC 106 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

And now he gets to do it on the televised portion of the card.

After an illness forced Brock Lesnar to withdraw from his main event fight against Shane Carwin, the UFC promoted the rematch between Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz into the main event slot.

That promotion created a vacancy on the main card, which the UFC has confirmed will be filled by Sadollah vs. Baroni.

Amir suffered a series of injury-related setbacks since a submission win over CB Dolloway at TUF 7 Finale. He was expected to follow up that performance against Nick Catone at UFC 91: “Lesnar vs. Couture” on November 15. However, just four days before fight night he had to withdraw because of a leg infection.

After more than a year on the sidelines, Sadollah finally got back into the cage at UFC 101 last month in his welterweight debut. Unfortunately his return was short lived after Johnny Hendricks put him down in the first round (with a little help from much-maligned referee Dan Miragliotta).

Now the likable and hard-working Sadollah will get a chance to erase those bad memories with a big win over potential opponent and master of self-promotion Phil Baroni.

“The New York Bad Ass” last appeared in St. Louis back in June of this year, dropping a unanimous decision to fellow MMA journeyman Joe “Diesel” Riggs. The loss marked his first defeat in four fights since rebounding from a three fight losing skid, as well as his first loss at 170 pounds.

The 33-year-old Pride FC, Elite XC and Strikeforce veteran recently agreed to return to where his career essentially began with the UFC, likely facilitated by his good relationship with company president, Dana White, and his colorful ability to promote fights.

Baroni competed eight times inside the Octagon between 2001 and 2005, compiling a lackluster record (3-5) during that span. He fought Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland twice (four total fights) and lost all of those middleweight matches. Baroni is perhaps best known for being upset by up-and-comer Pete Sell thanks to a guillotine choke that put the Long Island, N.Y., native to sleep.

How he performs against the up-and-coming Sadollah on November 21 will say a lot about his future in the UFC — and MMA overall.

For all the latest on the UFC 106 fight card and rumors click here.

Props: FightHype

Quoteworthy:

“I think it’s a great style for me. It’s a great matchup. I eat Jiu Jitsu guys for breakfast a lot of times. He’s tough and he’s got really good Jiu Jitsu and good standup. He’s a well-rounded fighter, but I have fought 2 and 3-time Jiu Jitsu world champion guys man. And I’m a grappler myself so I really have some surprises for him. I have a tremendous respect for Dustin as an opponent. I don’t know him as a person, but he looks like a nice guy. But like I said, I have been training a lot with tall and lanky guys. I think it is a great matchup due to the fact that I should be able to overpower him, beat on him a little bit and catch him in submissions myself. Dustin is not going to do anything that I’ve never seen before. He’ not going to throw anything my way that I’ve never seen. He’s good off of his back and a good Jiu Jitsu guy, but that’s all he is. I’m a grappler myself, a Judo artist. I have good takedowns and my standup has come a long way, so it’s a very good matchup man. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get in the cage and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

– Former number one welterweight contender Karo Parisyan talks about his road back to becoming relevant again in the crowded 170-pound title chase. “Heat” will embark on that journey against submission specialist Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106: “Griffin vs. Ortiz 2″ from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. The Armenian-born Judoka has not competed since a No Contest against “Stun Gun” Kim at UFC 94 back in January. He tested positive for painkillers following the bout and served a nine month suspension. What can we expect from Parisyan — who hasn’t won since UFC 78 — when he returns?

“Last week was the first week that I actually started feeling better from a strain of the swine flu. I had lost over 15 pounds (something I could not afford to loose) and had just pulled some muscles in my leg during training. As 104 approached my manager said, ‘we should be thankful we are not fighting, from your re-broken nose to the leg, this wasn’t our time’. As I prepared to go to 104, I began slowly realizing what was ahead of me; I needed to be home training and rehabbing, not traveling and missing days of necessary time with my Team. I was due to be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title. I called Jason back and said you are right, but I can’t go to LA I need to train. I was reminded about my commitments to the fans at Kmart and the Q&A, and I knew I had to go. In LA I was reminded exactly why we do this sport. Fans were all over the place and every interaction was a positive one. While at Kmart I meet a young man who competes in the Special Olympics and he said he looked up to us fighters. I was so taken back by the fact that he put us fighters on a pedestal. Here was this young man who defied incredible odds in life to reach the Olympics and he pushes himself every day to do things you and I take for granted. I was bitching about a flu, my leg (that would heal), and taking time away from training and this young man looks up to me? He gave me his Octagon necklace and I do not think he realized what an impact he made on me. I knew right then that I was going to suck it up and drive on. Edward and the rest of Team Carwin would be the fuel to carry me through the rough times and make sure that come fight night I will be the champion … Fighting for the UFC belt is my path and honestly Brock coming down with his illness only gives me more time to be in that much better shape. It is a blessing if you want to know the truth. I would have never pulled out of the fight. I would wheel myself to the cage if it was my choice. I know this is my destiny and I don’t need everything to be perfect I just need my opportunity to show the world what I can do and who I am.”

UFC heavyweight number one contender Shane Carwin engineers a blog post at ShaneCarwin.com detailing his own troubles leading up to his recently kiboshed UFC 106 title fight against Brock Lesnar. The champ was forced to withdraw from their bout after spending more than three weeks battling illness, prompting the UFC to postpone the match to a pending date of Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. Now Carwin reveals he too was on the mend — but would have preferred they wheel him to the cage in a wheelchair instead of canceling the match. Perhaps they’ll need that wheelchair after he faces Lesnar at UFC 108 — or will he be the one doing the crippling? Opinions, Maniacs?

After a lingering illness forced Brock Lesnar to withdraw from his UFC 106 heavyweight title fight against Shane Carwin on Nov. 21, UFC officials began scrambling to find a marquee match-up to supplement the card’s new main event of Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz II.

And since the mantra of Josh Koscheck has always been “I don’t care who I fight or where … just get me someone who wants to fight,” it should be no surprise that his phone was the first to ring.

Sherdog.com has confirmed the TUF star’s Twitter message that he will indeed be taken off his previously scheduled bout against Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 20 on Jan. 11 in Fairfax to face Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in Las Vegas on Nov. 21

Koscheck is fresh off a first round technical knockout finish of former two-time 170-pound number one contender, Frank Trigg, at UFC 103 just last month. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) standout has expressed numerous times his desire to fight whenever, wherever and against whoever the promotion sees fit.

They didn’t have to look very far.

Whether it should be seen as reward — or punishment — Johnson will have less than a month to exorcise his weight cutting demons that cost him more than 60 grand at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun,” where he missed weight and his chance to earn “Knockout of the Night” when UFC President Dana White ruled his obliteration of Yoshiyuki Yoshida ineligible for the bonus based on the weight cutting infraction.

Both fighters are approaching the precipice of title contention. This fight has an interesting contrast in styles, and it will be interesting to see how Johnson deals with the stingy ground game of the AKA wrestler.

Likewise, the power in Johnson’s hands will be Koscheck’s primary concern. It would not come as a surprise to see “Rumble” challenging Georges St. Pierre in 2010 if he can manage to stop “Kos” — and avoid any more weight cutting problems.

Or perhaps a number one contender bout opposite Mike Swick? First things first; however, as Johnson has to prove he can hang in the upper echelon of 170-pound fighters. Koscheck on the other hand has already been there — and it’s up to him to prove that he still belongs there.

UFC 106 will feature “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz making his return to the Octagon in a rematch with former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, after spending nearly a year and a half on the sidelines.

For more on the developing UFC 106 fight card and rumors click here.

Props: Las Vegas Sun (via Bloody Elbow):

Quoteworthy:

“He actually practiced (Sunday) and thought he might be feeling alright. He said, ‘Wow, I think I’m doing OK today.’ (Monday) he got here and it was the same old stuff — fatiguing right away, not being all there. After practice we were all sitting around, we were actually going to come back later at night to work out again, and he basically told us, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to pull out of this thing. There’s a lot of cases of (swine flu) around here. I don’t want to say it’s that for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He was very excited for this fight. He was always in good spirits. I could tell he was kind of let down today and he told us he felt really bad.”

Chris Tuchscherer, friend and team mate of current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar,  recalls the events that led up to the champ’s decision to withdraw from his UFC 106 main event title fight against Shane Carwin on Nov. 21. Lesnar was reportedly sick for weeks and unable to prepare for his pending title defense, prompting him to withdraw from the card altogether as the clock was winding down. The UFC is trying to move the fight to UFC 108 on Jan. 2. Does that mean we get a super-sized show that not only features the former WWE star, but the elbow-impaired Anderson Silva as well? Or does the inclusion of the pay-per-view friendly Lesnar give the UFC a reason to postpone “The Spider’s” bout with Vitor Belfort? Still a lot of debris to sift through. Thoughts?

Props: Los Angeles Times

Quoteworthy:

“From low tide to high tide…. You figure in losing the title [to Evans] that Forrest has doubt; he had doubt against Silva. This is all or nothing for him. And this is my comeback fight. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a challenge for me. Not pain. I have no [back] pain, but I’m dealing with the fatigue from not fighting so long. I’m like 80 to 90 percent now, not 100. Coming back is hard mentally and physically. So even though I won’t be going anywhere — I have five fights left on my contract — it’s kind of do or die for both of us. But I promise I’m going to get in there and entertain. I can’t wait…. [The first fight] might have been a split-decision, but I thought I won. Look at my face after the fight, and look at his, and you’ll also see my hand was raised afterward…. Two former champions. A lot of fans hate Forrest now after the Silva fight, but he usually brings it, and I always come to fight. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been surviving for 12 years. I know how to do this.”

Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz talks about his upcoming rematch with Forrest Griffin in the UFC 106 main event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. Ortiz and Griffin earned top billing when it was recently revealed that box office behemoth, heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, was forced off the card unexpectedly because of an illness. The promotion will now look to “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who is one of the best in the business when it comes to promoting his own fights, to keep the interest alive in what likely would have been one of the biggest UFC event’s of the year. Can Ortiz — who has not competed since mid 2008 and is coming off major back surgery — put UFC 106 on his shoulders and make it a success? Or is the pay-per-view (PPV) event now destined to disappoint?

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 106 heavyweight title fight on Nov. 21 against Shane Carwin after battling a lengthy illness that kept him from training for over three weeks.

From UFC President Dana White, courtesy of Yahoo Sports:

“He said he’s never been this sick in his life. He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”

This is devastating news for a pay-per-view that is less than a month away; however, the UFC has already promoted Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz II into the main event slot and is currently assembling a co-main event to help round out the televised portion of the card.

According to Shane Carwin’s official Twitter account, his chance to dethrone Lesnar for the heavyweight strap will come at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.

“I just heard from Jason. Looks like it is postponed till Jan 2. I had h1n1 myself and I understand how devastating it can be.”

Carwin was originally paired with Cain Velasquez for UFC 104 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., to determine a number one contender for Lesnar’s title.

It didn’t last.

With Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira having already committed to the main event of UFC 102, there were some concerns within the organization that a suitable opponent would not be found for Lesnar by year’s end following his destruction of Frank Mir at UFC 100.

There was also the possibility of eliminating two major prospects within the division in a very short period of time had the winner of Carwin vs. Velasquez gone on to be defeated by the champ.

Velasquez subsequently obliterated Carwin’s replacement, Ben Rothwell, at the Oct. 24 event and with his victory, is likely to face the winner of Lesnar vs. Carwin at some point in 2010.

Unless, of course, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has something to say about it.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this story as it develops.