from Sam Caplan at fiveouncesofpain.com:
Highly-ranked lightweight competitor Eddie Alvarez suffered a disappointing first round defeat against Shinya Aoki during FEG's "Dynamite!!" event on New Year's Eve in Japan.

Alvarez was forced to tap at 1:32 of round 1 when he was caught in a heel hook by Aoki. Speculation has run rampant that Alvarez suffered a severe injury as a result of the submission. Some of the speculation was fueled by FEG/DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara informing the media after the bout that Alvarez had sustained a an injury that was expected to sideline him for several months.

When contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com for comment, Alvarez's manager, Monte Cox, indicated that X-rays conducted in Japan did not reveal a fracture and that Alvarez is expected to undergo additional testing to determine the extent of any injury he may have suffered.

Cox added that as of now, Alvarez is still scheduled to face Naoyuki Kotani (17-8-4) on January 23 during an Extreme Challenge event at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, the status show's main event could change pending results of additional medical testing on Alvarez. If Alvarez is diagnosed with ligament damage of any kind, it would make it unlikely that he'd be able to compete as scheduled.

This gif is a teaser for the upcoming UFC Primetime show on St-Pierre vs. Penn II. It's gonna be sick.

Lesnar on vacation in Puerto Rico recently.

According to Ashish at 411mania, Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir is likely to face UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at the April UFC show from Montreal.

Ted's Take: This fight would unify the two titles: Lesnar's HW and Mir's Interim HW strap. I might have to pick Brock Lesnar in this one, despite Mir's impressive win over Minotauro at UFC 92. After Mir's win, which gave him the interim heavyweight championship, fans were treated to a little pro wrestling hype, as Mir, still inside the cage, found Lesnar in the crowd and yelled to him something about "It's my belt," referring to Lesnar's HW belt he won from Randy Couture. Lesnar stood up and yelled back at Mir to the crowd's delight.

The two heavyweights clashed earlier in 2008 in Lesnar's UFC debut. He knocked Mir down with a punch and also took him down, but tapped to a knee bar. Since then, Lesnar totally domintaed MMA journeyman Heath Herring and destroyed Randy Couture, clearly showing his evolution as a fighter. I would put Mir and Lesnar's striking at about equal; Mir might be a little more technical, but Lesnar has more power. While Mir has BJJ, Lesnar has wrestling, and I bet you Lesnar's been working on his submission defense.

Dave "Pee Wee" Herman takes on Choi Mu Bae at Sengoku 7 in Japan later today.

Rampage

Evans

from fannation.com
UFC president Dana White on a radio show appearance Monday expressed his interest in seeing Rashad Evans make his first light heavyweight title defense against former champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. "I'd love to see Rashad and Rampage," White said on The Carmichael Dave Show on Sports 1140 KHTK. "I think that's a fun fight." A concern with Jackson in a title situation is that the fighter is currently facing two felony (driving recklessly, evading police) and three misdemeanor charges (hit and run) that could place him in jail for up to three years. However, White is confident that Jackson's legal problems will not be an issue and will not play a part in the UFC's matchmaking process.

Ted's Take: Will Rampage get the shot next? If he can clear up his legal troubles, probably. He's a bigger draw than Lyoto Machida or Thiago Silva, who will fight at UFC 94 on Jan. 31. The winner of that fight - both are undefeated at 13-0 - should really be the next contender for the LHW title, but Jackson, being a former champ, and given his recent destruction of Wanderlei Silva, will most likely get it. I don't see Jackson getting the better of Rashad in their match-up, but I do see Rashad losing the title to Machida in late 2009, if my crystal ball is working - ha-yow!

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Just had a conversation with Chad Dubin, head honcho at LionHeart Fighters, and he got me up-to-date on all of the goings-on there at one of the biggest and best MMA academies in the state.

First of all, unfortunately, Jim Hettes and Lou Armezzani lost their fights last month at Combate Extremo in the Dominican Republic. Hettes was submitted and Armezzani lost by split decision, Dubin said.

"No excuses. They got beat," Dubin said.

Both Hettes and Armezzani will return to action at a King of the Cage event Jan. 17, Dubin said.

LionHeart light-heavyweight Phil Davis and middleweight-turned-welterweight Paul Bradley are in California right now, training for their upcoming fights. They'll stop to train with Brandon Vera in San Diego and then with Dan Henderson in Temecula.

"They're totally pumped about it," Dubin said of the West Coast training tour.

Davis fights at the Palace Fighting Championship on Jan. 22 and Bradley takes on UFC veteran Roan Carneiro on Feb. 6 at a World Cagefighting Alliance event.

In addition, new LionHeart member Shannon Slack will fight for Palace Fighting Championships on Feb. 6, Dubin said.

Best of luck to all the LionHeart Fighters from MMA Explosion.