If all of this talk sounds bizarre to you, it should be. The media apologists for this are out of their minds. It’s the equivalent of you paying for a concert ticket and going to the event and realizing that the performing artist is lip-syncing the entire time, only to read the next day in the newspaper or see on the local telecast the critics praising the artist for screwing over the fans and taking their money by ‘working the marks’ over.

If the UFC apologists in the media want to get all Southern Fried Carny on us, then let’s use an appropriate wrestling term to describe what we saw on Wednesday night. Screwjob seems like a tame phrase. We could use the term fuck finish but realistically speaking, the finish was ‘perfect’ and it was the fans who get fucked.

In a mailed letter from Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, McCarthy, who submitted his application Sept. 10, was informed that the state “[does] not anticipate adding any additional referees at this time. We will place your application in the pending file in case the situation changes.”

MMA: Gina Carano has to be one of the biggest marketing let-downs in MMA history. She is like the female Kimbo Slice.

   
• Jake Rossen: Carano is pretty, and pretty people often land on their feet

   
• Jonathan Snowden: Gina Carano's loss is a loss for women's MMA

   
• Dann Stupp: Rich Franklin's manager may have some competition for Gina soon

   
• The Tampa Examiner: The face of women's MMA gets punished

   
• Michael Rome: The live-TV Strikeforce gap and the future of women in Strikeforce

   
• MMA Memories: Did Carano's showing against Cyborg prove Kit Cope right on Xtreme Couture?

   
• Irvin Muchnick: Cyborg/Carano could transform Strikeforce into a legitimate rival to UFC

   
• Jay Hieron defeated Jesse Taylor by unanimous decision (30-27 across the board)

   
• Fabricio Werdum defeated Mike Kyle in R1 (1'24) by submission

   
• Lightweight Title match: Gilbert Melendez defeated Mitsuhiro Ishida in R3 (3'56) by referee stoppage (TKO)

   
• Light Heavyweight Title match: Gegard Mousasi defeated Renato Babalu in R1 (1'00) by KO.

   
• Women's Featherweight Title match: Cris Cyborg defeated Gina Carano in R1 (4'59) by referee stoppage (TKO).

"The commission has um contacted you know Diaz's people and Strikeforce to find out what time and as of a couple of hours ago, and they made all these you know they contacted everyone yesterday like it was Saturday, maybe Saturday evening or Saturday afternoon, trying to get what time Diaz was come tomorrow because you know because Strikeforce was going to fly him to Los Angeles, who's going to take the test, they're going to rush it to the UCLA lab and the deal was is that if the results come in before weigh-ins on Friday and he's clean, then he can weigh-in and if the results don't come in, um, by weigh-ins, then he's off the card.  And they haven't heard back, they may have by now, but they have not back as of a couple of hours ago.  But it was, I mean it was 24 hours after everybody had been contacted multiple times trying to get answers where they still had not heard from anyone, so I was wondering if they, you know, my impression is that they'd already thrown in the towel in the sense of saying that whatever reason I don't want to speculate, but if he doesn't take the test obviously you know they have thrown in the towel but they should have arranged a time at some point today you would think."

(Like Josh Barnett, Nick Diaz's license in California currently is expired.  This is becoming the loophole that fighters are discovering if they know they might fail a drug test.)  "If he knows he's going to fail the best thing to do is to no-show the testing and get clean and fight on the next show."

"Well, hey listen, listen, I don't have any sympathy for the guy because he went, you know, he went in the LA Times and he bragged that he could beat a test at any time and that he was still doing it and he's the same guy who went before the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the Gomi fight you know when he didn't want to be suspended and told them that he would never do it again, it was a mistake and then you know he's bragging you know that's like I will grant you that I don't think that smoking pot is that of a big deal, I really don't.  Now as far as it being illegal to be on pot while you are fighting, I can certainly understand why that is and that's the rules, but the whole point is that everyone knows what the rules are, you know what I mean?  It's like, if you can want to change the rules you can fight to change the rules and if the rules change, you know, that's fine.  But these are the rules that you go by and what a lot of people don't seem to realize is that fighting is not a right, fighting is a privilege and being licensed to fight is a privilege, you know, it's not something that anyone can do because most people shouldn't be allowed to do it, I mean because it's dangerous and you know granted he certainly has the skill to do it but you know I mean you know there's a reason that they have these rules and um I know that you know their claim was that they were told that they would never be tested out of competition.  Um, but the law changed.  You know like, even if Armando Garcia said that and I just don't I don't believe that he did because I just know Armando Garcia was such a hardass, I mean he was more of a hardass about drug testing than anyone, I think, so I don't believe he said it but let's just say he did, the fact is is when he did say that they didn't legally have the right to test off-season anyway.  Now they do, the law changed."

"And that's right, and Garcia hasn't been there for months anyways.  So what he said you know I mean I sense people like really grasping at straws for excuses and they're not very good excuses."

"Oh, yeah, well when the law changed they told everyone.  It was not a secret when that law changed.  So, you know and you know of all people, I mean to me you know I mean Diaz is already you know missed one fight over it, he's been suspended once over it, which was a different situation, you would think if anyone would be careful or would have learned something it'd have been Nick Diaz, so if you know I mean I have no sympathy for him at all right now, I mean I have less than no sympathy for him because he no-showed the thing on Friday and you know if he doesn't you know, I don't know, I guess we'll see tomorrow what happens but what can you say?  I mean a guy who's like you know was going to get a chance you know especially it's a championship match."

"This is the second time you know, I mean one of the things with him is because he's so charismatic, you know I mean Elite XC created a title for him except KJ Noons beat him in a match so, um, which is another one, heh heh."

Penn said he believes St. Pierre uses steroids, though he concedes he has no proof. St. Pierre is arguably the sport’s most popular fighter and Penn knows that making such allegations isn’t going to win him any friends.

Penn, though, isn’t the type to be shy about offering his opinion though it may be unpopular.

“It’s just my opinion that he uses steroids,” Penn said. “That’s it. 

My opinion. I do believe it. I can’t hand you any proof, but that’s my opinion.”

In an earlier conversation on the topic, Penn said, “In my opinion, he doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to steroids and growth hormones and that stuff. Look at him. He’s the worst. He looks like that every day. That’s cheating. There is a reason why there are rules against using steroids. The rest of us, we get fat, then we train and get skinny and the cycle goes over and over again. He looks the same way all the time. Come on.”