VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting caught up with Dana White following Thursday's UFC 131 press conference to discuss a whole host of topics: how he signed Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre, why he decided to make all non-title main events five rounds, Clay Guida's win against Anthony Pettis, why the UFC isn't returning to the UK in 2011, slow ticket sales in Vancouver, why Kenny Florian dropped down to featherweight and his acting skills on the new UFC Bud Light commercial.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It's amazing how much can change in the MMA world in just a few short months. Take, for instance, UFC president Dana White's stance on both Strikeforce and its TV partner, Showtime.

Before Zuffa bought Strikeforce, White rarely missed a chance to rip on both his largest competitor and its premium cable home. But now? Even White is a little surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.

"Showtime has worked with us really good," White told reporters following the UFC 131 pre-fight press conference on Thursday. "I can't believe you guys are going to hear me say some positive Showtime stuff right now, but to be honest, and no joking, they've been great with us. We've worked together very well and we'll see what happens."

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- UFC president Dana White on Thursday said he expects light heavyweight champion Jon Jones to make his first title defense against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135 in Denver, Colo. on September 24.

"That is the date [Jones] will fight, assuming he's healed," White said.

White stipulated that Jones still needs to get his hand cleared by a doctor before he can be officially slotted in, but that could happen as early as Friday, barring any unforeseen medical problems.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- UFC president Dana White was in an announcement-making mood following the UFC 131 press conference at Robson Square on Thursday afternoon.

Among those announcements was news that, "[f]rom this day forward," all non-title main event bouts in the UFC would be five-round affairs, giving the fighters at the top of the card an extra two rounds to battle out from now on.

"From this day forward, any fight that is signed after right now today will be a five-round fight," White said.

Every mixed martial arts event comes with its own set of storylines, intrigues that make us emotionally invested in what is soon to happen. Some are obvious, others are much more subtle. When a major superstar like Brock Lesnar rebounds from a major illness to return to action, we all know it. But every fighter on the card has his own story.

For whatever reason, UFC 131 seems to have quite a collection of head-scratchers. The event is subtitled Dos Santos vs. Carwin, but it could just as easily have been called UFC 131: Question Mark.

Why? Because there is no shortage of things that make you go, Hmmm. From Jon Olav Einemo's five-year layoff to Kenny Florian fighting in his fourth division to Shane Carwin's weight drop and more, there are plenty of questions to think about.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – For most of Wednesday's open workout, Mark Munoz did exactly what you'd expect from a NCAA national champion wrestler preparing to face a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt at UFC 131.

He worked on top control, on ground-and-pound, on extricating himself from sticky situations on the mat. Not a bad idea when you're fighting submissions expert Demian Maia.

But then Munoz apparently decided to mix it up, and suddenly he was throwing his training partner in triangle chokes and armbars, as if he might actually be considering a submission win of his own. Was this some sort of trick?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – In retrospect, the timing could have been better. Or maybe it just couldn't have been worse.

UFC 131 marks the second time in as many years that the world's biggest MMA organization has visited this city, and unfortunately for the UFC, all eyes are not exactly on the Octagon this weekend.

With the Vancouver Canucks tied in a 2-2 Stanley Cup finals series against Boston – and Game 5 headed here on Friday night – Saturday's UFC event seems to be almost an afterthought for most of the city's sports fans.

"It's tough. The UFC couldn't have come to Vancouver on a tougher day, or at a tougher time," says Shawn Tompkins, a Canadian-born MMA trainer now living in Las Vegas.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting spoke with Brazilian featherweight Diego Nunes on Wednesday about fighting Kenny Florian at UFC 131, what a win over Florian would do for his career, whether he feels like he is being overlooked in the UFC's featherweight division and much more.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting spoke to Kenny Florian on Wednesday about featherweight debut at UFC 131 against Diego Nunes, why he is moving to 145 pounds, how difficult the cut has been for him, fighting in Vancouver when his hometown Boston Bruins are playing the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals and his recent Twitter argument with Quinton Rampage Jackson after Jackson took exception with something Florian said on MMA Live.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting spoke to Shane Carwin on Wednesday about his UFC 131 fight against Junior dos Santos, how he lost over 20 pounds preparing for this fight, changing opponents on one month's notice, his take on the fight and working with Paul Heyman on the UFC Countdown show.