Nick Diaz Out of GSP Fight

Nick Diaz didn't show up to the press conference and Dana White cuts him from his title fight scheduled to take place in UFC 137.  Carlos Condit will replace Diaz and face Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight UFC title.

No one can find Diaz as he was last seen at Ceasar Gracie's house and allegedly "snuck out the back door".

Alistair Overeem Signs With UFC - First Fight is Lesnar

It looks like one of the best Heavyweights is finally making his way to the UFC.  And to put the icing on the cake, he will be fighting Brock Lesnar in his first fight in the UFC.  I'm excited!

[via MMAFighting.com]
One of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in recent MMA history -- Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem -- will air live pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 30. News of the fight, as well as Overeem's new contract with the UFC, was announced Tuesday afternoon.

MMA Fighting spoke to Overeem shortly after the big news broke about his new deal with the organization, others fights that were offered to him, whether he can still fight for K-1 and what it feels like to finally sign with the UFC.

A transcript of the conversation can be found below.

Ariel Helwani: How long has this been in the works for?
Alistair Overeem: It's been in the works for, I would say, the last couple of weeks. I know that the parties had found a common ground to work on, the talks were positive and slowly they came together in the last couple of weeks, which resulted in this deal.

How are you going to get paid?
I'm going to be paid like any other fighter.

So you will be paid and then you will pay your management team, Golden Glory?
Yeah, but that was already the case before. From Strikeforce, I basically got a check so ...

Are you still able to fight for K-1?
No, I will only be fighting in the UFC.

Was Brock the only fight offered to you for your debut?
I got offered to fight for the championship belt but that would mean I had to wait, because of course dos Santos is fighting Velasquez Nov. 12, it's going to be a great fight, then probably these guys are going to need some healing time, relaxing time, so November plus six months, that will probably be May. I'm a fighter, I like to be active, so then some names came rolling out and Brock Lesnar was among them and I think it's a dream match-up. The fans wants to see it; I want to see it. I'm very excited about this fight, so I immediately said yes.

Does that mean that the winner of this fight will fight for the title?
Yeah.

How many fights is the contract for?
Do you want to have my credit card pin number as well, Ariel? (laughs)

I didn't want to know how much it was for, just how many fights.
That was going to be your next question. Of course, I can't get into all the contract details unfortunately for you guys.

Is it your understanding that Lesnar is 100 percent healthy now?
I expect him to be 100 percent. I mean, he's a professional athlete for some period of time now. So he'll be 100 percent, I'm not worried about that. But basically, I'm just focusing on myself. I'm going to make sure I'm 100 percent, 120 percent, because Brock is a very strong, big guy, and I don't really worry about his shape.

Is this your first time at the UFC office in Las Vegas?
It is, actually. It is.

What do you think of it?
Well, it's big. It looks very professional. I had no idea what to think, actually. Lot of staff running around, they have a great kitchen, they are drinking a lot of UFC water. It's a very pleasant environment. The energy is good, a lot of enthusiastic people, everybody is motivated.

How does it feel to finally sign with the UFC after all these years?
Honestly, it feels like one of the biggest days in my life, a sort of life-changing thing. UFC is really big, they just did the FOX deal, you have all these possible match-ups happening right now, so for me, it's a very exciting time, the team is very excited, UFC people are very excited.

Is The Lengend (Randy Couture) Hanging Them Up?

It sure seems like it from this post on MMAFighting.com.

The time has come for former UFC champion Randy Couture to be "rational" about where his fighting career is headed, the 47-year-old MMA veteran told Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.

Despite his three-fight win streak in the UFC, including victories over fellow former champ Mark Coleman and boxer James Toney in 2010, Couture said he doesn't see another title shot in his future.

"I think that realistically the end of me making runs at the title was a while ago," said Couture. "I've had a great year. I've had some great fights. Not too many of them really put me in line to be a number one contender or make a run at the title. To be honest, I just don't see myself doing that at this stage in my career."

Not that he's necessarily declaring his retirement from the sport altogether, Couture was quick to add. Having tried that once before, "The Natural" said he wouldn't rule anything out when it comes to his athletic future. Still, having already cemented himself as a legend of the sport with a decorated career in the UFC, Couture said he doesn't feel as if he has anything left to prove in the cage.

"I've had my battles. I've had my wars. I think there are a lot of guys out there who are hungry and out there and ready for those kinds of wars. I'm kind of in transition and still enjoying competing at a high level, but I think I'm going to definitely focus on making some more movies and heading in that direction."

In addition to his role alongside Bruce Willis in the upcoming action film "Setup," Couture also said he hopes to be cast in the sequel to "The Expendables," with filming set to begin in March. Such a busy schedule doesn't leave much time for training and fighting, he said, even though he said he feels that "style-wise" he matches up relatively well with UFC light heavyweights like Lyoto Machida or even 205-pound champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

"I think some of it boils down to what I really want to do," Couture said. "I'm trying to make smart decisions. I have all this other stuff going on, and timing is everything. The timing seems right for me to look at those things and to be rational and to really look down the road."

Couture added that he might consider another fight if the UFC were to offer him something "interesting," but estimated that there was about a "60 to 70 percent chance" that he wouldn't fight at all in 2011.

"I've had very candid discussions with [UFC president] Dana [White] about where I'm at and what I'm focused on," Couture said. "I think he understands. I think he gets the timing of it and I think he gets where I'm at and where I'm coming from. He's been very supportive. That doesn't mean he doesn't have his own ideas about what he'd like me to do, but I think he's been very understanding."

And if it happens that his first-round submission of Toney in what was essentially a novelty bout at UFC 118 in August was the last time he ever fights professionally, Couture said, he can live with that.

"If that's the way it goes, I'm absolutely happy. I've been having a blast. It was amazing, this last twelve months and fighting four times from August to August was incredible. Some of those fights were very memorable and they were a lot of fun to train for. So, if [Toney] was the last one, then I'm absolutely okay with that."