Goulet and Hironaka exchanged in a stellar opening preliminary bout to kick off the event and were awarded “Fight of the Night” bonuses for their efforts. Hironaka was strong in the opening round, rocking Goulet several times and nearly finishing his opponent before the first round came to a close. Goulet recovered during the minute break and returned with a flurry, rocking Hironaka before finishing him off mid-way through the round with series of strikes.

MacDonald was awarded “Knockout of the Night” for his second-round TKO of Joe Doerksen. Leading up the fight the pair traded jabs over their blogs and it showed with an intense preliminary bout that featured a back-and-forth opening round followed by a round two ground-and-pound knockout for MacDonald over his fellow-Canadian rival.

Maia took home the $75,000 bonus for his triangle submission of Ed Herman. After a close opening round Herman secured the top position in round two. Maia, though, would next secure a deep triangle choke which Herman unsuccessfully attempted to fight off. Maia then transferred to the top position and Herman was put to sleep before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

Anyhow, UFC 83 answered a lot of questions so lets get right to it.

Is Matt Serra actually capable of hanging with George St. Pierre?

Absolutely not. While the fight did not end in the fashion I imagined, GSP nonetheless disposed of Serra like he had no business being in the cage with him, which he probably doesn’t. Though to be fair, GSP immediately went in for takedowns on Serra and definitely did not want to engage in a standing war with the much shorter opponent. That speaks volumes.

Did Serra at least go down with some class?

To the surprise of some, Matt Serra did in fact lose humbly and gracefully, even going above and beyond by hoisting St. Pierre over his shoulder and raising his hand as the “true champion.” Everyone loves GSP, but you have to respect Serra for his post-fight class. Additionally both St. Pierre and Serra said after the bout that most of the “trash talk” was just ammunition to help hype the fight, which is probably accurate.

So what’s next?

For Matt Serra, the UFC should have him stay at 170lbs long enough to make the Matt Hughes fight happen, then send the guy back to lightweight where I think he belongs. While Serra would surely have his work cut out for him with the 155lb clan, he’d still travel a smoother road as a standard sized light-weight rather than an undersized welterweight.

For George St. Pierre, its back to good old fashion title defenses. First up would be Jon Fitch, and then who knows. This time around I think its safe to say that GSP will hold on to the title for a while, and I really hope that people don’t start yammering on again about him moving up to fight Anderson Silva. Sure that’s a cool match to think about, but GSP has a lot of clutter to clean out before a bout with Anderson should even be considered.

Is Rich Franklin still Rich Franklin?

Yes, he’s still the guy who can likely beat everyone else in the middleweight division except for you know who. Not to take anything away from Rich’s performance, but Travis Lutter clearly gassed out- hard. In fact, it was one of the worst cases of cardio-crash I’ve ever seen inside the octagon. Lord only knows what could have happened if Lutter didn’t crap-out and managed to keep Franklin on his back. Perhaps Travis focused so much on making weight that he neglected to make sure that he could work for 15 minutes once he made the weight. Also I refuse to believe that Franklin “baited” Lutter by almost getting caught in a submission. That sounds ridiculous and Franklin should just admit that he almost got caught, escaped, and out worked Lutter. No need to make up stories in the post fight.

So what’s next?

For Franklin, he will have to keep beating people up at 185 until he gets his inevitable title shot yet again. Assuming Silva doesn’t lose the title before Franklin gets another crack at it, expect a future broken nose and knock out loss from Rich Franklin. Sorry Rich, but since you don’t plan to move up in weight or leave the UFC, its only a matter of time before The Spider puts his well documented hurting on you.

Expect Travis Lutter to be thrown into a random, un-televised middleweight undercard some time over the next few months. I don’t think the UFC will cut his contract short just yet, so if he can improve that cardio and prove himself against some of the other 185lb talent, he just might be able to hold on for a few more UFC pay days.

Is there anyone the UFC should “let go” (fire immediately!)?

Well as a matter of fact there is, and his name is Kalib Starnes. I don’t care how long Kalib has been with the UFC or how many respectful performances he has put on in the past. There is just no excuse for the disgraceful “running from the fight” strategy he utilized last night. Normally I’d frown upon the Frank Shamrock-esque antics which Nate Quarry showed off during the bout, but hey, there are exceptions to every rule. I think Quarry’s actions were damn well justified, and I actually applaud him for making it even more obvious that his opponent had not come to work that night. I also got a little kick out of his Rocky IV speech at the end there.

So what’s next?

For Kalib Starnes, a big bye-bye from the UFC. You just can’t market a guy after that kind of performance, and you shouldn’t have to.

For Nate Quarry, a decent opponent. Since his most recent fight wasn’t so much a fight as it was a battle to see who could circle the most without getting dizzy, I’d say the guy just needs a real fight and fast. Lets see what Quarry can do when his opponent isn’t in the middle of a non-violent protest against fighting.

Is Michael Bisping that much better suited at middleweight?

Absolutely. Though Charles McCarthy didn’t threaten Bisping a heck of a lot outside of an almost successful armbar attempt, Bisping still looked a world faster and more fluid in his 185lb debut. Not to mention the guy now has visible abs and muscle-cuts, something never seen from the Bisping we knew at 205lbs.

So what’s next?

For Bisping, simply another match at his new middleweight home against someone who will make the fight a lot closer than Charles McCarthy did. Maybe not someone on Rich Franklins level just yet, but perhaps a Patrick Cote or Chris Leben? I’d really like to see Bisping fight someone who will test his chin.

For Charles McCarthy, well since he’s supposed to be more of a ground guy, maybe he should be the undercard opponent for Travis Lutter’s next fight. Just a thought.

Is Mac Danzig the real deal?

Yes, he is. While Danzig is not in for any free rides in the 155-pound weight class, he does work a lot stronger at lightweight and may just find himself teetering in the LW top ten after a few more fights. Though in my opinion Danzig’s sprawl looked a little weak against Mark Bocek, I imagine it’s nothing a few months of mat-work can’t help remedy.

So what’s next?

For Danzig, I recommend a sit down with Joe Silva to pick out just the right opponent. Danzig needs to face a strong lightweight that will help prove his status among a very crowded division. A rematch against Kurt Pellegrino would be interesting, as would a match up against the growingly popular Nate Diaz, Gray Maynard, or Rich Clementi.

For Mark Bocek, well he was lucky enough to have a fight broadcast on a pay-per-view event, and I doubt next time he will be as fortunate. I expect Bocek to be another un-televised undercard fighter who may or may not be with the UFC much longer, since the LW division is so cramped.

Should any of the other undercard fights have been broadcast instead of Goulet-Hironaka?

Most would probably argue no, and that Jonathan Goulet’s knockout over Kuniyoshi Hironaka was sufficient post-main event icing. While I agree Goulet’s K.O. was great stuff, I would have liked to see Day vs. Belcher or Maia vs. Herman, as those matches hold a little more meaning and notability. I understand the UFC just wanted to show the most “entertaining” undercard regardless of who the fighters were, but honestly I would have preferred to see one of the matches I was more curious about. Plus I heard that Demian Maia’s submission was sick, would have been cool to see that.

All in all, a reasonably entertaining UFC pay-per-view that unfortunately gets dragged down a bit due to the now infamous Kalib Starnes shame-fest. UFC 83 went down pretty much as expected, which is usually a good thing for the promotion, but I expect UFC 84 to have a few more fireworks.

Matt Serra vs. George St. Pierre (welterweight championship)
GSP via TKO, round 3

As many MMA diehards well know, there are a number of great fighters out there that for one reason or another, just cannot for the life of them beat a certain opponent. Rampage can’t beat Wanderlei, Liddell can’t beat Rampage, Barnett can’t beat Cro Cop, Franklin can’t beat Anderson, Tanner can’t beat Franklin, Trigg can’t beat Hughes, Hughes can’t beat Hallman, the list goes on. The big question is, will Serra soon be added to the list of people who serve as kryptonite for an otherwise dominant fighter? I think not.

Though Serra definitely made St. Pierre look foolish the first time around, I think the smart money is still on GSP for this one. I will say that I don’t think that Serra can win this fight, but that GSP can lose it. If Serra wins it will only be because GSP is unprepared in some way, shape or form. Simply put, Serra on his greatest day is still not a better fighter than George St. Pierre on a good day. Don’t get me wrong, I believe Matt Serra is a top ten UFC welterweight and could hang in the UFC for quite some time, but there is no amount of improvement or training that Serra could undergo which would make him the type of fighter that GSP is. GSP is bigger, stronger, faster, and more dominant in pretty much every aspect of the game. Serra is a great ground guy, but I can’t give him a definitive advantage there because GSP is also ridiculously dangerous on the ground. Not to mention that outside of his TKO over GSP, Matt Serra has not finished a fight since 2002. I feel like Serra plays better defense than offense, and that will not be enough to get him past GSP.

On the flip side, Matt Serra has a short frame and uses good head movement, making him a difficult target to pinpoint. And while Serra has not finished a fight since 2002 as I mentioned above, he has also only been finished off once, by Shonie Carter back in 2001 via that famous spinning backfist. Some forget that Serra has also gone the distance with Karo Parisyan and B.J. Penn, not an easy task by any means. So if Karo and Penn couldn’t finish Serra, who’s to say the St. Pierre will either?

Of course, let’s not forget about the mental mumbo jumbo. Lots of chatter leading up to this fight about who’s got the mind game advantage. Will GSP’s hometown crowd help him or weigh him down with nerve-racking pressure? Will Serra have such a mental edge because he has relatively nothing to lose (other than the title) and GSP has a reputation on the line?

The final word: I think that all of the mental-toughness controversy coming into this fight is total B.S. I think its clear cut simple. GSP underestimated Serra once upon a time, he wont this time, and he will destroy him. I give Matt Serra a good chance at holding off GSP, but it won’t last more than a couple rounds. GSP via TKO 3rd round.

Travis Lutter vs. Rich Franklin
Lutter via split-decision

After speaking with the confident Travis Lutter personally, you would think that Franklin doesn’t even have a chance coming into this fight. But the truth is, Franklin is the all-around better fighter. While Lutter maintains a superior ground game, he will have to get Franklin on the ground to employ it. So if Franklin sprawls and brawls all night, Lutter will either get knocked out or lose on points. But that’s not how I see it going down. I think that Lutter will eventually be able to score the takedown, and will be able to neutralize Franklin for at least a round or two. I don’t think Lutter will be able to secure the submission, but I also don’t think that Franklin will be able to end the fight either. I predict a split-decision upset victory for Travis Lutter.

Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes
Quarry via TKO, round 2

Starnes will have the crowd, but Quarry has the skills. I think that Nate Quarry is a much better fighter than Kalib Starnes, and should be able to throw down some crazy ground and pound somewhere in the second round. Gotta go with Nate Quarry on this one.

Charles McCarthy vs. Michael Bisping
Bisping via TKO, round 2.

Many who frequent this particular website will noticeably comment “Bisping Sucks” from time to time, and at 205lbs, I can almost agree with that statement. But at 185lbs the man seems much better positioned to climb to the top of the division. Charles McCarthy is a better ground guy but Bisping has been working on his jiujitsu a lot lately, and should be able to defend a take down fairly easily. I say Bisping catches McCarthy in the second round and scores the TKO.

Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig
Danzig via unanimous decision.

Though I never really cared for Mac Danzig while he was on TUF, the guy does have undeniable skills and is rightly the favorite to win this fight. Danzig is very well rounded and at 155lbs, a lot better proportioned than when he fought at welterweight. Maybe Danzig won’t be able to finish Bocek off, but I bet he gets the decision once the final bell tolls.

Joe Doerksen Vs. Jason MacDonald
MacDonald via unanimous decision

Ah, the dueling Canadians. Jason MacDonald actually defeated Doerksen via rear naked choke once before back in 2005. While both fighters have surely improved since then, I really don’t see this fight going any differently than the first meeting. Maybe Doerkson will avoid the submission this time around, but I doubt he dominates the fight at all. Cruising decision for MacDonald.

Jason Day vs. Alan Belcher
Belcher via TKO, round 3.

Tough fight to call. Belcher has the heavy hands, Day has the ground game. I say this one goes to the ground but Day fails at securing the submission and ends up on the receiving end of some ground and pound. It doesn’t take many shots from Belcher to spell lights out.

Ed Herman vs. Demian Maia
Herman via split decision

Demian Maia has solid and tested BJJ, but I don’t know if he will able to combat the experience and well roundedness of Ed Herman. Close one to call, but I say Ed Herman squeezes out the decision.

Rich Clementi vs. Sam Stout
Clementi via submission, round 3.

Sam Stout definitely has the striking advantage, but Clementi is strong enough to weather the storm and should be able to get Stout down and submitted by the end of the third.

Brad Morris vs. Cain Velasquez
Morris vis submission, round 2.

We don’t know much of anything about Cain Velazquez other than that he is 2-0, with both wins coming via TKO. Brad Morris on the other hand is 9-2 with most of his wins coming by way of either submission or decision, but I haven’t been able to watch any of his fights, so it’s tough for me to say who the better fighter is. I will have to go with Morris on this one simply because of the experience factor. I’m assuming Morris will eventually look to take Velasquez down and apply a submission, which he probably gets due to Cain’s lack of ground game-familiarity inside the octagon.

• Matt Serra (+300) vs. Georges St. Pierre (-500)
  UFC Welterweight Championship
• Travis Lutter (+210) vs. Rich Franklin (-320)
  
• Nate Quarry (-265) vs. Kalib Starnes (+205)
  
• Charles McCarthy (+260) vs. Michael Bisping (-330)
  
• Mark Bocek (+300) vs. Mac Danzig (-500)
• Joe Doerksen (+135) vs. Jason MacDonald (-165)
  
• Jason Day (+300) vs. Alan Belcher (-450)
  
• Ed Herman (+140) vs. Demian Maia (-180)
  
• Rich Clementi (+120) vs. Sam Stout (-160)
  
• Brad Morris (+200) vs. Cain Velasquez (-260)
  
• Kuniyoshi Hironaka (-240) vs. Jonathan Goulet (+190)

Bet on MMA at BodogLife.com.

Eric: First let’s talk history for a second, can you explain how you got into martial arts?

Travis: I started wrestling when I was in sixth grade, I wrestled through high school and a little bit of college, then I started doing a little bit of Muay Thai, and then the UFC came out and I watched that and I wanted to learn jiujitsu.

Eric: I read that you’re a black belt under one of the most famous BJJ practitioners in the world, Carlos Machado, how did you meet Carlos?

Travis: I was living in South Dakota and I would come down here (Texas) to train jiujitsu and Carlos opened a school down here in Dallas, and eventually I bumped into him and started training with Carlos.

Eric: Let’s jump into more current events. You’ve got a big fight against former UFC champion Rich Franklin in just a couple weeks at UFC 83. What is training like for you and are you preparing any differently for this fight?

Travis: It’s business as usual. I train each fight basically the same, I work my stand up, I work my wrestling, I work my jiujitsu. I only train MMA once a week where you mix it up. GSP from what I hear only mixes it up once a week, otherwise he’s out there training wrestling by itself, training jiujitsu by itself, training stand up by itself. The reason is because you get sloppy when you just do NHB 24-7 and that’s all you do.

Eric: Are you at all nervous in facing someone as dangerous as Rich Franklin?

Travis: No, I’m not nervous I don’t really get too nervous. You know Rich is the former champ and he’s a really dangerous opponent, and I think a lot of people have written him off and I think that’s a mistake. You know Rich has only been beaten by two guys, it’s just that one of those guys has beaten him really bad really quickly, and very recently. I still think Rich has all the tools to beat 95 percent of the guys out there.

Eric: Since Rich Franklin is said to be one of the most well rounded guys in the game, do you have a strategy in mind for attacking him?

Travis: I’m going to go out there and circle him, take him down and beat him up. It’s going to be that simple.

Eric: Since you’re a jiujitsu specialist, is it safe to assume that you would like to take this fight to the ground?

Travis: Of course, I mean every one of my fights I always want them on the ground. You know I’ve won a couple fights on my feet but more than anything I always want my fights on the ground.

Eric: Since Franklin couldn’t seem to get the better of Anderson Silva on two occasions, do you think those losses have made him any less dangerous?

Travis: Well Rich is a professional, and just because he doesn’t match up- you know everybody’s got kryptonite out there, and Anderson is just his kryptonite, you know Rich isn’t Superman.

Eric: Do you think mentally you might have the advantage over Rich since he is coming off of that second loss to Silva?

Travis: I don’t think he’s (Franklin) ever really looked the same since that first defeat against Anderson. You know going out there and giving it your best on your best day, and then getting destroyed like that I’m sure its going to shake your confidence. But I’m expecting the best Rich Franklin and I hope he’s at his best when I get to meet him.

Eric: When you fought Anderson Silva you had the mount at one point and started delivering some good ground and pound, why do you think that you were unable to finish Silva off at that point?

Travis: I just made a mistake, I set up too straight, I got a little bit excited and he took advantage of that situation. I got myself over-extended and he hooked those long ass legs of his under my shoulder and he held me off. It’s one of the things he does, I know about it, but I just made a mistake I just got excited thinking I was going to kill him. But its one of those things you know. You make mistakes, you learn, and you get better.

Eric: There is still some debate as to Anderson Silva’s ground game, in your opinion how evolved is Silva’s jiujitsu?

Travis: Well look at what he’s done to some other fighters, I think Anderson’s got really really good jiujitsu. I don’t think he’s as good as I am even though he submitted me. I was beating him jiujitsu-wise the whole fight, I was out positioning and just got caught the way I see it. That being said you look at him against Nate Marquardt and he (Marquardt) went to take him down and Anderson switched him and I thought Andersons jiujitsu looked great in that fight. Against Dan Henderson, Dan controlled the first round and in the second round he got caught. I don’t think it was necessarily Dan’s best performance and I was pulling for Dan to win that fight, but I thought that Silva would probably beat him even on the ground.

Eric: Many people said that you got beaten at your own game (jiujitsu) when you submitted to Anderson Silva. I wanted to know if you specifically submitted to the hold or the strikes which he delivered while you were stuck in that position.

Travis: The hold. I got choked. I wasn’t submitting to the strikes- he caught me. It was just one of those things, I was in it for a long time and I thought I was out and I got caught. My hats off to Anderson he was the better man that night, but there have been other fighters that have been caught before and they come back and they prove that it was a fluke. And that is what I’d like to do, I’d like to come back and prove that Anderson’s win over me was a fluke.

Eric: If you were able to get another shot at Silva, how different would your game plan be the second time around?

Travis: The game plan is going to remain basically the same. Just once I get into a good position like the mount or the side mount I’d take my time. You know, not sit up quite so far. I’m still going to take him down, still going to beat him up from there- But I do think that I am a better fighter than Anderson Silva. I still think Anderson is a great fighter and he beats almost everybody, and I think there’s only a couple guys that can beat him, and I think that I’m one of them.

Eric: Do you see a definitive weakness in Silva’s game that can be exploited?

Travis: I don’t think he’s got the best jiujitsu out there and his wrestling isn’t bad, but it’s not up to my speed. Someone like Matt Lindland I think would give him a lot of problems.

Eric: Now it’s been over a year since you last fought, do you think this is works in your favor?

Travis: I don’t think it’s a problem. I’ve had gaps before between competition and it didn’t affect me. I’m in my gym everyday training and it’s just another day at work for me.

Eric: I hope this isn’t too much of a sore subject, but looking back on that fight against Anderson Silva, can you say why exactly you had trouble making weight?

Travis: I was just trying to see how heavy I could come into the fight, see how much weight I could cut. I thought I could have a little advantage being heavy but I found out that I can cut 204lbs, I can’t cut 208lbs. So 204lbs is my limit and I’m coming in a lot lighter for this fight. The weight shouldn’t be a problem for this fight and I’m not interested in doing the monster cut anymore. It was just a mistake and I was really playing Russian roulette with the wrong fight. I would never again do to myself what I did the two days prior to that fight in the sauna, it just wasn’t healthy.

Eric: Was the weight issue an isolated incident, or have you ever had problems like that in previous fights?

Travis: I’ve never missed weight before. I grew up wrestling in high school and college and I never missed weight once.

Eric: So what would you say is your walking weight?

Travis: Right now I’m 196, 197 lbs, but in between fights I can walk around a little heavier at around 215 lbs.

Eric: Jumping topics here, regarding your time on the The Ultimate Fighter, what was your experience like and what maybe can this season’s new batch of competitors expect?

Travis: Hell…Hell. That’s all you can say about that, it sucks. I hated it I thought it was the worst thing ever. But you know a guy like Matt Serra he loved it, he had his best friend Drago (Pete Sell) there and when you have friends or family or whoever around its definitely a lot better. I really didn’t know the other guys and of course you can become friends with them over the course of the show, but I still hated it. I hated that show.

Eric: Can you comment on your current contract situation with the UFC?

Travis: I’ve got five fights left on my contract so it doesn’t look like I’ll be going anywhere soon unless they cut me.

Eric: I was curious about the whole signing process with the UFC, do you personally sit down with Dana White and negotiate or how does it work?

Travis: Oh there is no negotiation, I’ll tell you about my last negotiation. I went on The Ultimate Fighter, I didn’t have a contract with the UFC at the time. I sat down in front of their lawyer, they had brought me out to Vegas on their dime, and they say if you want to be on The Ultimate Fighter this is how much you will make, here’s your contract, its two inches thick, you’ve got five minutes to look at it and sign it. So just like every other fighter that walked in there I said okay, where do I sign.

Eric: Prior to your appearance on The Ultimate Fighter you had fought in the UFC three times, but you never had a multi fight deal with the UFC?

Travis: I never had a multi-fight deal before now, they had to sign me for each individual fight. First one was against Marvin Eastman for 3,000 and another 3,000 to win. I made $6,000 that night. Only the past two years have I been able to make a living fighting. You know, not all of us are B.J. Penn

Eric: So would you prefer to stay in the UFC for most of your career or are you open to fighting elsewhere?

Travis: I’d rather stay with the UFC. They’re the number one organization in the world and I don’t think anyone is really a close second. This is where I’ll get the most publicity, this is where I hope to stay, I want to be the UFC Middleweight champion.

Eric: Have you ever fought outside the U.S.?

Travis: Yea, England twice, Denmark, Sweden. I’m actually undefeated outside of the United States.

Eric: So you might have some good luck going for you in Montreal then?

Travis: Absolutely, it’s actually the big venues in Vegas that I’ve had trouble with. I can win on The Ultimate Fighter I can win at the Hard Rock, but I just can’t win at the MGM or the Mandalay Bay.

Eric: Assuming you beat Rich Franklin, how much closer do you think that brings you to another shot at the title?

Travis: If I win this fight in dominating fashion I think you’ll see Travis Lutter and Anderson Silva fight, there’s a lot of color to that one. You know Anderson Silva’s talked shit about me since our fight, he said he thought his jiujitsu was better and that his knees were hurt which is why I was taking him down so easily, and I called bullshit. When I missed weight he also made some comments. I don’t have a bad thing to say about any other fighter, I just don’t like Anderson Silva. Long story short, I don’t like him and I want to kick his ass. I’ve emailed Dana White and said the first thing I want when I beat Rich is to fight Anderson Silva, let me fight him again. I just dislike the guy.

Eric: So how do you see this fight with Rich Franklin ending, what’s your prediction?

Travis: All I care about is that I go out of there with my arm raised. If it ends in the first, second or third round that’s great. But if it goes to a decision I don’t mind as long as my hand gets raised at the end of the fight, and I can go on and have a good life.

Eric: Getting back to your time on The Ultimate Fighter. As you probably know Matt Serra comes off as a bit of a heel at times due to his outspoken personality. In your experience with Serra would you say that he’s a generally likable character, and that his public portrayal might be a little misleading?

Travis: With Serra I think it’s what you see is what you get. I like Serra a lot I think he’s a great guy. We were on opposite teams on the show and we didn’t know each other before. We knew of each other because we’ve been to Abu Dhabi together but we definitely weren’t buddies. Now I guess you could say were friends, I consider him a friend you know I call him up see how his trainings going, shoot text messages back and forth, etc. The thing with Serra is he speaks his mind. You know he’s not going to come out there and pretend to be friends with you if he doesn’t like you. If he doesn’t like you he’s going to call you a prick or an asshole or whatever. And there’s something to be said for somebody like that in this over P.C. civilization that we live in, it’s actually nice to see something like that. I think that’s why he has so many fans. You love him, you hate him, but you’re still going to show up to watch him fight. I wish I could even be a little more like that sometimes so I got a lot of respect for Serra.

Eric: Alright, so what would be your prediction for Serra-GSP II ?

Travis: Well I’m cheering for Serra, nothing against GSP but Serra’s my boy and I think Serra can knock him out again, I think he (Serra) could submit him, and I think GSP could win a decision. But I don’t see GSP knocking out or submitting Matt. I think he could ground and pound on Matt for five rounds and pick up the decision, but that’s about the only way I see GSP winning.

Eric: I’d just like to get your opinion on something before you go. Given all of the newer MMA promotions which are emerging as of late, do you think they at all pose a threat to the UFC’s success?

Travis: Well the thing is you got lots of guys throwing their hats into the ring saying that they are fighters but they don’t have the skill. Look at HDNet fights, most of the guys on there, nothing against them, but they shouldn’t be fighting yet they should still be training. I don’t think that’s necessarily good for the sport.

Eric: Lastly, do you have any sponsors you’d like to thank at this time?

Travis: All my sponsors from my past probably don’t get enough recognition but the future sponsor that I got right now is Warrior Wear. Hopefully I’ll even get a few more before the end.

Eric: Alright well thank you for taking the time to do this, and good luck in Montreal.

Travis: Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

• Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre
  UFC Welterweight Championship
• Travis Lutter vs. Rich Franklin
• Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes
• Charles McCarthy vs. Michael Bisping
• Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig

Preliminary Bouts

• Joe Doerksen vs. Jason MacDonald
• Jason Day vs. Alan Belcher
• Ed Herman vs. Demian Maia
• Rich Clementi vs. Sam Stout
• Brad Morris vs. Cain Velasquez
• Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Jonathan Goulet

Recent knee injuries have forced light heavyweight contender Stephan Bonnar and middleweight standout Patrick Cote to withdraw from their April bouts. Bonnar was scheduled to face Matt Hamill on April 2nd’s UFC Fight Night card in Broomfield, Colorado. Cote was expected to compete on the UFC 83 card in Montreal on April 19th against an opponent to be determined. Replacements for Bonnar and for the Cote-TBD bout are expected to be announced shortly.

Yesterday MMAFrenzy.com passed along news that UFC newcomer Jason Day would be filling Cote’s spot on the UFC 83 preliminary card against Alan Belcher.

According to a report by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, Bonnar tore ligaments in his left knee while training jiu-jitsu and will be out a minimum of six months. He will undergo surgery “soon” in Los Angeles to repair the injured ligaments.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for news on Bonnar’s replacement as soon as it is announced.

For more information on upcoming UFC events check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.

Cote was rumored to face Alan Belcher at the event but according to Cote’s manager, Stephane Patry, they were not going to accept the bout:

“We were still talking [to the UFC] about an opponent when Patrick fell on the ice. He went for the MRI, and the doctor told him it’s sprained and he can’t train for four to six weeks – so he won’t be available to fight [in April].

We were not going to take that fight anyway. It wouldn’t make sense.”

Filling Cote’s spot on the card will be fellow-Canadian Jason Day according to MMA Weekly.

Day (15-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak and has won 9 of his last 10 fights overall. His lone loss over the span came against the fighter he is replacing, Patrick Cote. Day’s recent wins include victories over UFC veterans Jonathan Goulet, Ron Faircloth, and David Loiseau.

Belcher (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) amassed an 8-1 MMA record to start his career before coming to the UFC in late-2006. The Arkansas-native lost two of his first three UFC fights to Yushin Okami and Kendall Grove while picking up a victory against Jorge Santiago. Belcher has since won back-to-back fights in the UFC with wins over Sean Salmon at UFC 71 and Kalib Starnes at UFC 77. He was scheduled to face Ricardo Almeida at UFC 81 but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a severe case of bronchitis.

For more on UFC 83 check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.