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Over a 13-year career, Yves Edwards has emotionally surfed the highs and lows of the fight game, and the Bahamas native envisions a glorious resurgence as he hunts his second straight UFC victory at this month’s Fight for the Troops event in Fort Hood, Tex. The lightweight pioneer, who faces unbeaten guillotine master Cody McKenzie (12-0) on the show’s undercard, established himself as a force to be reckoned with at the early turn of the new millennium by conquering formidable lightweights such Hermes Franca (twice) and Josh Thomson. Armed with an impressive 30-8-1 record and knockout power, the superbly athletic Edwards worked his name into the mix with BJ Penn, Takanori Gomi and Genki Sudo in discussions about the world’s top 155-pounders. That was back in mid-2005. Since that time, however, Edwards has only managed a disappointing 9-8 record. But now, even at age 34, the dreamer inside of the affable islander remains. “A lot of it had to do with confidence and also mistakes preparing for fights,” said Edwards, winner of five of his past six bouts. “I lost a lot of confidence at one point in my career and I honestly didn’t know where I was going. I’ve made some changes and I don’t think I’m that guy any more. Will I lose again? It’s possible, but I don’t see it happening and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep that from happening. I’m a whole lot better and still just as dangerous. I think that guy is going to show up. I’m fighting because I want to be the best in the world. I want to make a run at that.” It matters not to Edwards whom he must go through to get back to the top. If it’s a friend or sparring partner, so be it. Edwards had been game to battle his buddy, Melvin Guillard, at the UFC Fight for the Troops event. But when an injury bumped Kenny Florian from the show’s main event, Guillard was inserted as a replacement opposite Evan Dunham, forcing Edwards to switch gears and prepare for a grappler instead of a striker. Edwards, a married father of two who lives in Austin, took the bout change in stride. “Melvin is ranked higher in any of the rankings than Cody,” Edwards noted, “so, yes, it’s a step down as far as the ranking of the opponent

UFC President Dana White announced today that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and number one contender Junior dos Santos will match wits as the coaches of season 13 of the hit Spike TV reality series. Following the season, which begins filming later this month and begins airing on March 30, Lesnar and dos Santos will then match fists in the Octagon at a date and location to be announced in June. The winner will face current heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who is currently sidelined with a torn rotator cuff. “It’s gonna be a very interesting six weeks of filming,” said White during a media teleconference Tuesday. “These two will coach, then they’ll fight, and the winner of the fight will fight Cain Velasquez when he’s healthy.” This will be the first time either fighter has appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, which began airing on Spike in 2005. The last time heavyweights coached the show was during season eight in 2008, when dos Santos’ mentor, “Minotauro” Nogueira, faced off against former champion Frank Mir. This season, the two will coach a host of welterweight hopefuls looking to secure a UFC contract. One of the biggest success stories of recent years, Brock Lesnar’s rise to the top of the UFC has been well-documented. A former NCAA Division I wrestling champion for the University of Minnesota, Lesnar brought size, speed, and power to the Octagon in 2008, and in only his fourth professional fight, he defeated Randy Couture for the heavyweight crown. After successful defenses against Mir and Shane Carwin, Lesnar lost his belt to Velasquez at UFC 121 last October. Determined to get his championship back, Lesnar knows the quickest way to do so is through dos Santos. “The guy’s a former world champion, he’s beat guys and held the title,” said White of Lesnar. “No matter what his record is, what the guy has accomplished in the short amount of time that he’s been in MMA is incredible. He’s obviously got a lot that he can teach, and not only him, but the staff that he has around him have a lot to teach young, up and coming guys, and that’s what it’s really all about.” Unheralded Brazilian prospect Junior dos Santos turned into a contender overnight in 2008 when he knocked out highly-regarded veteran Fabricio Werdum in the first round. This spectacular debut was followed by finishes of Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gilbert Yvel, and Gabriel Gonzaga before earning a shot at the heavyweight title with a three round win over Roy Nelson. Yet instead of choosing to wait for Velasquez to return to action, dos Santos will risk his number one contender’s spot by coaching against – and then fighting – Lesnar later this year. “Junior dos Santos is a young, up and coming guy,” said White of dos Santos. “He’s been knocking everybody out, comes off a three round war with “Big Country” (Roy Nelson) and I love when guys do that because it’s good for them, it’s good experience, it gets them in better shape and it takes them to another level. And to put this guy on the shelf for a long time is ridiculous, and much credit to him for not wanting to go on the shelf.”

On February 5th, former middleweight champion Rich Franklin faces former light heavyweight boss Forrest Griffin in a clash of two of the most popular fighters in UFC history. And when you read some of the quotes we’ve gathered from Franklin over the years, you’ll know why fans love “Ace”. SHAMROCK AND THE TURNING POINT (2005) “Prior to the Stout and Rivera fights last year, I had given some serious consideration to quitting. I was going to go back to my job and teaching, and I wasn’t making bad money, but I wasn’t making great money, and I thought if I can make X number of dollars a year teaching and make the same amount of dollars fighting, it makes no sense to me if teaching is more of a secure environment. So with my degree and everything, I really thought about going back to teaching and just hanging the hat up here. But how quickly things turned around. I prayed about it, asked for some guidance, and God gave it to me.” A RETURN TO TEACHING? (2005) “Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching and I love working with the students but I can’t imagine, having experienced what I’ve experienced in life, going back to just a normal 9 to 5 job. But we’ll see. If you asked me five years ago what I thought I’d be doing now, I would not have had any of this in mind. So I don’t know what I’ll be doing five years from this point in my life either.” THE MENTAL EDGE (2005) “I train hard and come into the fights well prepared, but mentally, by fight day I’m ready to go. And if I do everything that I should have done up to that point – and I always do – I don’t feel like I can be beat. There’s no reason why I should lose the fight. Granted, something can happen and there’s always a puncher’s chance, but skill for skill, I feel that when I’m stepping into the ring, there’s nobody stepping into the ring who’s better than me. I’ve convinced myself of that, and because of that I’m capable of taking the fight where it needs to go so it’s favorable towards me.” LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT (2005) “At this point it’s not that tough. My true private life I can keep private. I don’t have paparazzi following me around and taking photos. I can walk out to my mailbox and get my mail without being concerned about what I’m wearing that day or whatever. I don’t live that kind of lifestyle. And I think at the level that I’m at, with the notoriety I have, so to speak, this level doesn’t bother me. And I’m here in Cincinnati, so I don’t get it a lot. My wife and I may go out to dinner for an evening and between dinner and a movie we might get stopped two or three times by people that recognize me and that’s not all that bad. It’s not like being in Vegas the week before a fight and everyone knows who you are. That’s a bit overwhelming, and if life was like that every day, then I would have to take some different measures to be able to cope with that. And I just can’t imagine life being like that yet, at this point.” THE PERFECTIONIST (2006) “I don’t like to use the word perfectionist. I can look at freeze frames of a fight or anything else and find slight little things – maybe my hand was down two inches lower or four inches lower than it should have been, or off of a break I didn’t react as quickly as I should have, I wasn’t explosive as I should have been – and even if it’s just minor details that most people wouldn’t even think about, I still pick up on.” FIGHTING HURT (2006) “Any time you have a major injury and you’re aware of it, you can feel it. But it’s not like the kind of feeling I would get if I were to break my hand in a car door and then had to sit there with it. I’m in the middle of a fight, so most of that pain is masked. But you know it’s there and it hurts a little bit. What else am I gonna do? Punching is a big part of my game, so the only option I have is to kick and keep throwing punches.” THE ESSENCE OF RICH FRANKLIN (2006) “I don’t know what it is, I just have this drive. I was a kid that didn’t have a whole lot growing up. I was from divorced parents, kinda poor, and we had to make do with what we had and fight for what we got. And I think the Lord kinda put me in that situation, so I grew up with that kind of mentality that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get what you need. This is the path that I’ve chosen in life, God’s granted me with the talent to fight, so I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get what I need, and in Saturday’s case, that was a victory.” FIGHTING FRIENDS (2006) “You see the marketing that’s put into these fights, and especially in the boxing world you see two fighters shove each other at the weigh-in, and it really doesn’t make for a better fight. I don’t think you could have asked for a more exciting fight than Saturday’s fight (against David Loiseau), and that’s coming from two guys who like each other and consider themselves friends – as much as you can be friends in this business and in the same weight class – and yet we still put on a good show.” THE FANS (2006) “I love the fans out there and any fan that has met me could probably vouch for me and say that.? I’m usually the last guy to leave and the first guy to show up to sign autographs and I always have to have somebody pushing me out the door saying ‘Rich, we’ve got to be here’ or ‘Rich, we’ve got to be there.’? And I love the fans in that sense.? However, I don’t thrive on the fame or anything like that.? I just understand that from a fan’s perspective, if somebody waits around to meet Rich Franklin, and they put a lot of time and effort into meeting me, then the least I can do is sign an autograph, be cordial, and make the most of that particular encounter.” THE DIFFERENCE (2007) “Most people in this country, they participate in team sports, and a lot of people don’t understand the difference between team sports and individual sports. For me, when I walk into the cage, it’s kinda like that feeling of having two seconds left on the clock and I’m at the free throw line and I have to make both my free throws to win the game.

The Ultimate Fighter season one winner. Former UFC light heavyweight champion. Best-selling author. There are a lot of titles to describe 205-pound contender Forrest Griffin, but no matter what you call him, the fact remains that the Las Vegan is one of the UFC’s most intriguing and quotable figures. As his UFC 126 bout with Rich Franklin on February 5th approaches, we’re digging into the archives for some of Griffin’s most memorable quotes. DAYS AFTER HIS WIN OVER STEPHAN BONNAR IN 2005 “I don’t have insurance and I couldn’t get a hold of anybody and I was supposed to take them (the stitches) out a couple of days ago and the skin was starting to grow around them so I had to cut them out with the Xacto knife.” ON LIFE AFTER THE BONNAR FIGHT “This is my fifteen minutes. I’m going to live it up.” ON HIS FIRST PRO BOUT IN 2001 AGAINST UFC HALL OF FAMER DAN SEVERN “I was a hometown kid and they wanted to use the angle of the local kid fighting Dan Severn. The guy said he’d give me 250 bucks, and I said what the hell, I’d do it for free. At that time it was before I used to really give a s**t about it. I had a good job as a police officer, and it was a hobby – it was fun. It was a win-win situation. No matter what happened, it was Dan Severn. Who cares if you lost to him? So have some of the best in the world.” ON HIS 2001 FIGHT AGAINST WIEHAN LESH, WHICH HE WON AFTER HE DISLOCATED HIS SHOULDER “My shoulder was out of the socket and immediately after I tapped the guy out I started rolling around in pain. I’m rolling around with this grimace on my face and people are like, ‘what happened?’ Well, look at my shoulder.” A SOUTH AFRICAN COMMENTATOR’S VIEW OF THE POST-FIGHT “The American with an interesting celebration.” ON HIS COMPETITIVE NATURE “I get pissed if I lose in monopoly. In the (Ultimate Fighter) house everybody was playing chess. Well, I love to play chess but there were a couple of guys who were better than me so I never played.” ON MAKING IT TO THE UFC “I didn’t get here through all that hard work and winning fights nonsense; I got here through a TV game show, and I’m comfortable with that.” ON LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT “It’s exactly what I expected it to be, and I’m being totally serious. There are some negatives, but the positives outweigh them by far. Trust me, I ain’t sitting here saying ‘man, I wish I was a cop getting up at 4 in the morning and having to write reports until late at night.’ You won’t hear me say that.” ON BEING ALONE IN THE OCTAGON BEFORE THE FIRST ORTIZ FIGHT “I just kinda froze at a very inopportune time. I didn’t think it would happen, I never got nervous leading up to the fight, and then all of a sudden, once I was in there, he had a long entrance and I just sat there mulling it over and it kinda caught me a little bit.” BETWEEN ROUNDS ONE AND TWO OF THE FIRST ORTIZ FIGHT “I knew I was better than what I was showing and I knew I was falling apart in front of a lot of people – my family and friends – and I was letting my team down. I was disgusted with myself for it. It’s like when a bully pushes you at school and you don’t do anything about it – you let it sink in and you just get angry and then do something about it hopefully. If you’ve watched any fight I’ve ever been in, you fight. I just couldn’t live with myself if I quit.” THE MOST IMPORTANT THING “A loss is a loss and you never want that to happen again, but the important thing in this sport for me, mentally, is never to quit on myself. You get sloppy, you do stupid things in a fight, and the techniques you’ve been working on for months fall by the wayside, but you never mentally break.” ON RESPECT “I’m not really sure why I wanted that. I should have wanted a victory. The next time I don’t really care for the respect – though I’m sure that’d be nice – I’d much rather win the fight.” ECONOMICS 101 “It’s just a matter of scarcity of resources. You learn in economics about competition over limited resources. I’m pretty self-centered and I want what’s best for me. I need to win this fight, just like he does, and I understand that he’s going to do everything in his power to win it, and I certainly don’t resent that or hold it against him at all. I’m gonna do the same thing.” ON BEING THE SUPPOSED SACRIFICIAL LAMB FOR THE UFC DEBUT OF MAURICIO ‘SHOGUN’ RUA “I don’t care. I didn’t even think about it, to be honest.” ON THE QUALITY OF THE SPARRING SESSIONS WITH OLD RIVAL STEPHAN BONNAR “I don’t know. I’m too busy punching and getting punched to pay attention.” ON THE DEPTH OF THE UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION “There’s no shortage of work. It’s a good thing for me. I’d love to fight any and all of those guys.” ON FIGHTING “This is my job, this is the biggest thing I’ve got going on in my life. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things – nobody’s gonna kill me and it’s not like I’m going into combat for the country or anything, but it’s the biggest thing going on in my little life. ON FEAR “If it wasn’t for fear, I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.” ON LOSING TO KEITH JARDINE “It made me question myself and what kind of fighter I’m gonna be.

10 (tie) – Rick Story All right, I know, I’m being indecisive, but when it came to the tail end of the list, I just couldn’t pick two fighters out of the trio of Chris Leben, Evan Dunham, and Rick Story to leave out. One (Story) went 4-0 this year, which is an amazing feat. The second (Dunham) lost a fight, but that one fight he lost he probably should have won on the scorecards. And the third (Leben) won three big fights, but the first was over a fighter (Jay Silva) who can’t be considered on the level of his other two victims. So…a three way tie, and I’m sticking to it. Anyway, Rick Story has always been a tough kid with a lot of potential. In 2010, he started to break through to the next level with two close wins over Jesse Lennox and Nick Osipczak, a brutal TKO of Dustin Hazelett, and a gut check decision victory over Johny Hendricks. Story is the real deal, and he’s only going to get better. 10 (tie) – Evan Dunham Unheralded lightweight Evan Dunham quietly made a name for himself in the UFC in 2009 with wins over Per Eklund and Marcus Aurelio, but in 2010 he moved from prospect to contender with an impressive come from behind finish of Efrain Escudero and a clear-cut decision win over Tyson Griffin. Next up for the Las Vegas resident was former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 119, and Dunham not only showed his talent against “The Muscle Shark”, but he showed his heart and grit in battling back from a nasty cut over his eye to arguably win a fight which ultimately went to Sherk via a controversial split decision. 10 (tie) – Chris Leben Entering 2010, Chris Leben’s UFC career was on the line after back-to-back losses to Michael Bisping and Jake Rosholt, but amazingly, by the time he forced Yoshihiro Akiyama to tap out in the third round of their UFC 116 bout in July, he was back among the ranks of middleweight contenders. This amazing transformation took place thanks to wins this year over Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson, and the aforementioned Akiyama, with the latter two victories occurring within a two week period. Next up for the resurgent “Crippler” is a January 1st date with Brian Stann. 9 – Rashad Evans Following the loss of his UFC light heavyweight title via knockout to Lyoto Machida in May of 2009, fight fans were wondering how Rashad Evans was going to react in his next bout. Well, in January he decisioned Thiago Silva, going back to his wrestling roots and surviving a late sequence when Silva got him in trouble. And four months later he headlined another major event when he took on – and beat – bitter rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with another solid wrestling-based victory at UFC 114 in May. Some would say “Suga” is back, but in reality, he never left, and in 2011 he will be rewarded with a shot at light heavyweight boss Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. 8 – Yushin Okami Long seen as the forgotten man in the middleweight division, Japan’s Yushin Okami always seemed to be one win away from the big one when he would slip back into the shadows after key losses to Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen. But in 2010, “Thunder” put it all together

UFC Event Saturday, August 27 live from HSBC Arena; Tickets Go on Sale in May Las Vegas, NV (USA) – It started in academies, gyms and even in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. “Vale Tudo” or “anything goes” fights pitted modern-day gladiators of various fighting styles against each other for bragging rights and to prove which academy was the best. It was exciting, it was beautiful, it was – the birth of the sport of mixed martial arts. Now two decades, rule changes and improvements later and after its explosion on American soil with The Ultimate Fighting Championship® leading the charge, Brazil’s gift to the rest of the world is making its way back to the cradle of MMA. Backed by the extensive lineage of proud Brazilian UFC® fighters, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is pleased to announce it will return to Brazil for the first time since 1998. UFC owners Frank Fertitta, III, Lorenzo J. Fertitta, and Dana White announced today that the same Brazilian city that will be home to the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Rio de Janeiro, will also be home to an international UFC event at the HSBC Arena on Saturday, August, 27, 2011. “We couldn’t wait to host our first-ever UFC event in Brazil’s biggest city,” said White. “Brazilians have given so much to the growth of this sport. I’m excited that we can give back to the country that has given us so many great fighters. From Royce Gracie and Vitor Belfort to “Shogun” Rua, Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo, these fighters are all champions and are so proud of their roots. It’s time for us to bring a live UFC event here and show the people of Brazil how much this sport has grown.” “This is another giant step forward in our global expansion and in growing UFC into the biggest sport in the world,” said Lorenzo Fertitta. “By bringing world-class fights back to Brazil, we not only secure a foothold in a major international market but we also give back to the people who have supported UFC for nearly 20 years.” The Fertittas and White delivered today’s announcement live at 2:30 p.m. local time in a press conference held at Palacio de Cidade, the official residence of Honorable Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello, President of Riotur attended and spoke at the event, along with UFC Hall of Famer and first-ever UFC Champion Royce Gracie, former Light Heavyweight UFC Champion Vitor Belfort and current UFC champions Anderson “The Spider” Silva (185lb/Middleweight), Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205 lb/Light Heavyweight) and Jose Aldo (145lb/Featherweight). ? The original UFC champion, Royce Gracie brought his family’s style of jiu-jitsu to the states in the early 90s and it has never left. A revolutionary fighter, the Rio de Janeiro native changed the way the game was played and stressed the importance for mixed martial artists to learn the ground game. Gracie earned four victories in one night at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a UFC Hall-of-Famer. Arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has gone from his Brazilian city of Curitiba to international stardom. A true finisher, Silva has won a UFC record 12 fights inside the organization with 10 finishes. The long-reigning undisputed champion has held the middleweight title since October of 2006. Another champion from the great city of Curitiba, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua currently holds the UFC’s light heavyweight title with his recent win over another acclaimed Brazilian, Lyoto Machida. The dynamic 29-year-old is world-renown for his devastating striking skills and his relentless attack. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort is another on a long list of exciting Brazilian fighters. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that is known for his superior boxing skills, the 33-year-old Rio de Janeiro native will look to earn the UFC middleweight title when he takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in February. A winner of 18 of his first 19 professional fights, Jose Aldo made history by becoming the first UFC featherweight champion in history. A native of Manaus, the 24-year-old Brazilian reminds many of a 145-pound Anderson Silva because of his vicious striking and strong ground game. More information about the UFC Rio taking place Saturday, August 27, 2010 at HSBC Arena including main event matchup, undercard bouts and ticket sale dates and prices will be announced in the near future. ?