“I think I have the best style to fight this guy. I have a good chin, I’ll go forward, and I think every time he fights his opponent has already lost because he’s scared of him...I know that this guy is very, very good, but we have a good game plan for the fight, and I’m 100% confident that I will win.”

-- Patrick Cote, exuding confidence before his bout at UFC 90 with current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

Promoted by Michael Rome.

SpikeTV has issued a press release on the ratings for the UFC 84 replay on Saturday night:

Here is the release:

SPIKE TV’S RE-BROADCAST OF UFC 84 DRAWS MORE YOUNG MEN THAN A LIVE PRO ELITEXC CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT ON CBS

Need proof the UFC is the preeminent mixed martial arts brand in the world? On Saturday, July 26, more men 18-34 watched a repeat…a repeat…of a UFC event on Spike TV than a LIVE telecast of a Pro EliteXC championship card on CBS. Despite being available in over 17 million more homes, Spike TV drew 27% more Men 18-34 for a re-broadcast of “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” from (9:00-12:00am ET/PT) than CBS’s live show (9:00-11:00pm). Spike TV’s telecast tallied 433,000 Men 18-34 to CBS’s 341,000.

Overall, “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” drew higher ratings than Pro EliteXC in Men 18-49 (1.5 to 1.3) and Men 18-34 (1.5 and 1.0).

Reminiscent of the XFL’s rating collapse years ago, the CBS telecast was 69% lower in Men 18-34 and 57% lower with Men 18-49 than its initial broadcast on CBS in May featuring the “He Hate Me” of MMA, Kimbo Slice.

Compared to last week’s live Spike TV UFC telecast featuring arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, the UFC outdrew CBS by 165% with Men 18-34, 82% with Men 18-49, and 21% with total viewers.

Update from Mike:  This is sure a combative press release.  It looks like they lost in the total numbers but won in the demographic that counted.  Ignoring the propaganda, this was a good rating for the UFC.  I also need to know who came up with calling Kimbo the "He Hate Me" of MMA.

Josh Gross has scored the first major story on Rampage Jackson:

Rampage's seismic shift from an idolized mixed martial artist began after he relinquished his title on points to Forrest Griffin UFC 86 on July 5. The decision to fire Juanito Ibarra, his trainer, manager and occasionally spiritual mentor, came shortly thereafter. A lack of food and sleep compounded unsettling behavior, and TMZ photos of Jackson face down in the street at the rear of his Bigfoot-inspired truck -- its left front tire shredded -- documented the result of a dangerous chase with police..

"Mentally he wasn't there," said the source. "It was almost as if he was possessed. He heard voices. He thought he was a God."

Talk amongst people in the house turned to the need for medical help. At first, they tried convincing Rampage to head for the hospital. That failed, tempers flared and police, thankfully, intervened. Several hours later, the fighter was under psychiatric hold...

Everything, save the pact between Jackson and Ibarra. With defeat as the impetus, Jackson responded to rough terrain by relieving the trainer of his duties, though "bottom line, somehow, someway it all involves money," said the fighter's friend.

The story also says Quinton/Wanderlei III could be on the November card if he is ready to fight again.  Someone at The Underground posted a thread over a week ago where they said Joe Rogan told people outside a club that Ibarra was stealing from Quinton, but I don't put any stock in it because people make things up to be important on message boards all the time.  There is no reason to believe it's true, but Ibarra's silence has been deafening since the incident.  Where is he?

This piece is must-read stuff.  Congratulations to Josh Gross on getting the story.

Update:  Unfortunately, some people are misreading this.  There has been speculation in Sherdog and UG forums for over a week now over a falling out between Quinton Jackson and Juanito Ibarra, and most of the speculation has centered around money.  Nobody has any evidence of this, but the fact that Quinton has already fired Juanito and is actively in the market for new management suggests that something major caused a rift between them.

I've wondered where he's been and it sounds like he took time off as a respite from the grind of the fight game. Arona claims to be fond of fighting in Japan, but he makes this curious statement about the cage and how the UFC rules fit his fighting style:

Sherdog.com: I read an interview where you said the UFC rules for made for you. Why do you believe that?
Arona: When I arrived at Carlson Gracie’s gym at 16 years old, I already wanted to fight in MMA, and one of my specialties was taking my opponent down, striking him and hurting him from that position. This was cut from MMA when I went to fight in Japan. In the UFC, you can use the cage, which is perfect for me, because once you have your opponent in the corner, there’s no escape; it’s excellent to use to get the takedown. Once on the ground, it’s perfect for striking; it’s fatal. With those rules, I guess the referee will have to stop a lot of my fights quickly, because my great strong point is striking from above, from any position. The third factor I see is that anyone in the ring who gets tired in five minutes is in the wrong place. I’m accustomed to fighting one 10-minute round and two five-minute rounds. In the UFC, it’s three five-minute rounds, which is like child’s play for me. I’m flying in and out with that time. I wouldn’t even stop to wipe my forehead. The UFC rules were made for me -- no doubt about it.

He is exaggerating the ease with which he could inflict his gameplan partly because there are overall better wrestlers in the UFC. That being said, Arona is more than a fantastic grappler; he's also a very good wrestler. In fact, he prefers guard passing from top control than the "typical" bottom game of some jiu-jitsu players. He's also enormous for the weight class.

There's no doubt the UFC light heavyweight class is already stacked to the brim, but the addition of Arona would be another worthwhile contribution. I'd love to see him fight Machida, rematch Rampage (I know, I'm just fantasizing here) or take on any number of other contenders. Here's to hoping the UFC can make it happen.