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'The Ultimate Fighter: Live' episode No. 12 discussion thread

The 12th episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" airs tonight on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

This serves as tonight's discussion thread for the double-fight episode, in which the tournament's semifinal round unfolds.

Follow along with tonight's episode and live elimination fights on FX, and discuss it in the comments section of this thread. We'll then have an episode recap posted at the show's conclusion.

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UFC 146 salaries: Headliners Dos Santos and Mir to make flat $200K paydays

Regardless of which fighter wins Saturday's UFC 146 title fight, heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and fellow headliner Frank Mir each will earn a flat disclosed payday of $200,000.

Neither is eligible for a win bonus.

MMAjunkie.com today confirmed the payouts with Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer.

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UFC 146 weigh-in results: At 2,485 total pounds, all main-card fighters on weight

LAS VEGAS - MMAjunkie.com was on scene and reporting live from today's official UFC 146 fighter weigh-ins, where all 24 competitors successfully made weight.

Today's festivities took place at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same venue that hosts Saturday's pay-per-view event.

UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (239 pounds) and former title holder Frank Mir (261) were among the 10 heavyweights weighing in for the super-sized main card.

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Watch tonight's Bellator 70 event live on MMAjunkie.com at 6:30 p.m. ET

You can watch a live web stream of tonight's Bellator 70 event live on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT).

The event takes place at New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The event includes a heavyweight title fight and the finale of Bellator's season-six lightweight tournament.

Prelim bouts include the likes of Keith Schneider vs. Josh Shockley, A.J. Matthews vs. Charlie Rader, Jonas Billstein vs. Mike Seal, Kyle Bradley vs. John Harris, Derek Arcement vs. Blake Dufour and Jeremiah Riggs vs. Kelvin Tiller.

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With 'journeyman' status, UFC 146's Darren Elkins looks to continue streak

Becoming a journeyman is usually a bad thing for your fight career, but in Darren Elkins' case, it's where it's at.

Elkins maintains another job as a steamfitter - a tradesman who works on piping systems - in addition to fighting.

Recently, he graduated from apprentice to journeyman in that job, and that means he doesn't always need to show up to work. As long as he keeps paying his union dues, he can take off eight weeks for a fight camp.

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After two false starts, UFC 146's Paul Sass finally ready to embark on lightweight run

LAS VEGAS - For undefeated lightweight prospect Paul Sass, the plan is simple: Win his fight with Jacob Volkmann at UFC 146 and then avoid any more stupid injuries.

Unfortunately for the man they call "Sassangle," that's been easier said than done thus far.

"Hopefully I'll get more fights in now and don't have any stupid injuries," Sass told MMAjunkie.com. "I realized that I need to protect myself a bit more."

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As career progresses, Bellator champ Cole Konrad worried little about UFC counterparts

Cole Konrad spends an alarmingly small amount of time worrying about MMA. Well, outside the cage, anyway.

While the Bellator heavyweight champion slowly moves up the heavyweight rankings - and looks for his ninth win in nine pro fights when he meets Eric Prindle tonight at Bellator 70 - he actually pays little attention to the sport.

In fact, until a friend told him about it, he had no idea the UFC even was hosting an all-heavyweights pay-per-view card this weekend.

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Street-fighting youth led UFC 146's Daniel Pineda to MMA, and eventually Mike Brown

UFC featherweight Daniel Pineda didn't get involved in MMA because he wanted to apply martial arts at the highest level or emulate past octagon stars.

He did it because his brother was training and tired of his fights in the streets every weekend.

"He never initially wanted to fight," Pineda's trainer, Robert Perez, told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "I was a sparring partner for his brother and I became his trainer.

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Reminder: 'UFC Primetime: Dos Santos vs. Mir' concludes tonight on FX

As a reminder, "UFC Primetime" returns tonight in anticipation of UFC 146's heavyweight championship headliner.

The three-part series focuses on UFC champ Junior Dos Santos and former titleholder Frank Mir, who headline Saturday's UFC 146 event.

Episode No. 3 of the series debuts Friday night at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on FX, immediately following the 12th episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live."

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MMAjunkie.com Radio (noon ET): Herman, Del Rosario, Castillo, 'Stitch,' House, Tuff-N-Uff

MMAjunkie.com Radio today concludes another stacked week of MMA programming by welcoming to the studio UFC 146 fighters Dave Herman and Shane Del Rosario.

UFC lightweight Danny Castillo and noted cutman Jacob "Stitch" Duran well help co-host the show, as Iridium Sport's Agency's Jason House and the Tuff-N-Uff crew also stop by the studio.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from noon to 2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio, or watch it live on select television markets as part of Fight Now TV.

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Embarrassed by previous loss, Kingsbury reinvented for UFC 146 bout with Teixeira

Looking for an honest evaluation of what it's like to be stuck in bottom position, letting a UFC win slip away with each moment you're unable to push Stephan Bonnar off of you and return to your feet?

Look no further than Kyle Kingsbury.

"It was hard being in the middle of the cage and being teabagged in north-south position and having 20,000 San Jose fans booing Bonnar, and there's just nothing I can do about it," Kingsbury told MMAjunkie.com Radio.

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UFC 146's Jamie Varner on Edson Barboza: 'This is going to be a painful fight'

Las Vegas already was on lightweight Jamie Varner's itinerary, but not to fight.

His training partner, Jeremy Larsen, was scheduled to do that June 1 at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale. He was a cornerman and mitt holder.

So it was convenient to Varner when his manager called and asked whether he'd like to bump that trip to Vegas up a week and get in the cage. It was hair-raising when that offer was for UFC 146 and against Edson Barboza.

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UFC 146's Johnson: 'Save the jiu-jitsu for jiu-jitsu tournaments; the UFC is for fights'

LAS VEGAS - Lavar Johnson hasn't really had the time to peruse the Stefan Struve library in the UFC.

Nevertheless, he's pretty sure what Struve will try to do when they meet at UFC 146, and he has a pretty simple plan to ensure that doesn't happen.

"I don't really have a gameplan except for just hit him in the mouth," Johnson said.

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Bellator 70 discussion thread

Welcome to our discussion thread for tonight's Bellator 70 event.

The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) from New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Stay tuned for a full recap of the event, which includes an MTV2 main card with a heavyweight title fight between champ Cole Konrad and challenger Eric Prindle, as well as a season-six lightweight-tourney final of Rick Hawn vs. Brent Weedman.

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The Sunday Junkie deadline reminder, win a free 'Fighters Only' subscription!

As a reminder, submissions for the upcoming edition of "The Sunday Junkie" are due Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.

All topics - including this weekend's UFC and Bellator events - are open for discussion. The person who sends in the submission we deem the best (based on timeliness of subject, clarity and overall persuasiveness) is the winner.

Each winner receives a free year's subscription to "Fighters Only," the world's leading MMA and lifestyle magazine.

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Watch today's UFC 146 weigh-ins live on MMAjunkie.com at 7 p.m. ET

LAS VEGAS - UFC 146 fighter weigh-ins take place today, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMAjunkie.com.

Today's weigh-ins take place at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the first fighter is on the scale at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT local time).

In addition to the video stream, you can get live weigh-in updates in our text-only results post on the MMAjunkie.com homepage.

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Fear of school kept UFC 146's injured Shane Del Rosario focused on MMA

LAS VEGAS - Several herniated discs? Not a prognosis for a long athletic career.

Shane Del Rosario considered throwing in the towel on being a pro fighter, and for six months, the towel was thrown in for him.

It will be 14 months since a near-career-ending car accident when Del Rosario steps into the cage against Stipe Miocic at UFC 146, and he's excited to return to the cage.

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Radio (8 p.m. ET): Daniel Pineda, Aaron Simpson, Mick Maynard, Joey Oddessa

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the studio UFC 146's Daniel Pineda, UFC on FUEL TV 4's Aaron Simpson, and Legacy Fighting Championship promoter Mick Maynard.

We also preview Saturday's UFC 146 card with noted MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs tonight at a special time of 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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UFC 146's Cain Velasquez misses the belt, but not the media attention

LAS VEGAS - Cain Velasquez is, of course, bothered by the fact that he's no longer UFC champion.

But he certainly doesn't miss the press duties that come along with that job.

"Less media, the better," Velasquez told MMAjunkie.com in advance of his fight with Antonio Silva at UFC 146, which takes place Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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Bellator 70 weigh-in results: Champ Konrad (265.2), challenger Prindle (265) on weight

Bellator 70 fighter weigh-ins are in the books, and all four co-headliners successfully made weight.

Today's weigh-ins took place at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, which also hosts Friday's season-six-ending event.

Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad (265.2 pounds) and challenger Eric Prindle (265) made weight for their title, as did season-six lightweight-tourney finalists Rick Hawn (156) and Brent Weedman (156).

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Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 results: Champ Grimaud taps Taylor in third round

Position before submission.

Well-traveled veteran Jesse Taylor learned that lesson in painful detail after failing to choke out Cage Warriors welterweight champ Gael Grimaud and then succumbing to an armbar.

The title fight headlined "Cage Warriors Fight Night 6: Grimaud vs. Taylor," which took place Thursday at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, Bahrain. The main card streamed live on MMAjunkie.com.

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UFC 146's aspiring pro wrestler Roy Nelson: MMA more entertainment than sport

LAS VEGAS - He's not ready to hang up his fingerless gloves just yet, but Roy Nelson foresees a fighting future that's not in the octagon - or even MMA for that matter.

"I don't know why I couldn't do it," Nelson told MMAjunkie.com of a possible pro-wrestling career when his UFC days are done. "What's wrong with being a two-sport athlete?

"You've got Deion Sanders, you've got Bo Jackson, and you've got Michael Jordan, (though) he wasn't a very good baseball player. There's nothing wrong with crossing over."

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'Strikeforce: Grand Prix Finale' officially draws 5,413 attendance, $226K gate

This past weekend's "Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Final" event officially drew 5,413 attendees for a $226,005 live gate.

Of the 5,413 attendees, a substantial 2,609 (48 percent) received complimentary admission.

MMAjunkie.com today obtained the figures from the California State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event.

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For firefighter and EMT Stipe Miocic, UFC 146 is an opportunity for fun

LAS VEGAS - Stipe Miocic's continued wide-eye wonderment may give an outsider the impression he's somehow lucked into his current position.

Just two years and eight fights into his pro career, the Ohio-based Miocic now finds himself on perhaps the biggest heavyweight fight card in UFC history.

But the 29-year-old has no doubts he belongs on Saturday's UFC 146 pay-per-view card.

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Fight Path: After surviving war-torn country, Mirsad Bektic heads to Titan Fighting 22

Barely 16, and to that point mostly a practitioner of karate, Mirsad Bektic made a somewhat unique decision for a 130-pound high schooler.

He was going to be a bodybuilder.

There was some need for structure in Bektic's life. One of his favorite pastimes was heading straight for the lunch room when he got to school so he could sneak a nap.

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Radio (noon ET): Eric Prindle, Ulysses Gomez, Kyle Kingsbury, Ramsey Nijem, Joey Diaz

With the MMAjunkie.com Gathering in full effect, MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the studio a trio of notables, including guest host/fighter Ulysses Gomez, UFC 146's Kyle Kingsbury and UFC on FX 4's Ramsey Nijem.

We also chat with Bellator 70 title challenger Eric Prindle and MMA fan/comedian Joey "CoCo" Diaz.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from noon to 2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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Video: 'Countdown to UFC 146' full episode

"Countdown to UFC 146," the latest installment of the UFC's traditional pre-event preview show, debuted earlier this week.

Now, the entire half-hour episode is available for free viewing.

Check out the video, which focuses heavily on UFC 146's headlining title fight between heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and former titleholder Frank Mir.

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Bellator 70's Rick Hawn looks for grand finale to latest tourney run

It probably wouldn't be fair to call UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and fellow UFC 146 headliner Frank Mir bitter rivals, but there's clearly some disdain for each other.

The same can't be said for the co-headliners of this weekend's other big event.

After all, season-six lightweight-tournament finalist Rick Hawn admittedly feels a connection to Brent Weedman, his opponent at Friday's Bellator 70 event.

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UFC 146's Frank Mir would prefer not to break champ Junior Dos Santos' arm

Frank Mir hopes UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos learns from his mentor's mistakes.

Mir recently defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and broke the Brazilian legend's arm when he refused to tap from a kimura.

Mir didn't want to break his arm, and he doesn't want to break Dos Santos' either. He'll take a win anyway he gets it, but for admittedly selfish reasons, he wants his competition looking good afterward.

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UFC on FUEL TV 4 adds Page-Caceres; Njokuani-dos Anjos, DeBlass-Penner official

A bantamweight bout between Damacio Page and Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres has been added to July's UFC on FUEL TV 4 card.

Additionally, two previously reported bouts are now official: lightweights Rafael dos Anjos vs. Anthony Njokuani and light heavyweights Nick Penner vs. Tom DeBlass.

UFC officials confirmed the bouts overnight.

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Watch today's Bellator 70 fighter weigh-ins live on MMAjunkie.com at 6 p.m. ET

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans plays host to today's official Bellator 70 fighter weigh-ins, and we're providing a live video stream of the proceedings at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT local time).

Bellator 70 takes place Friday and features heavyweight champion Cole Konrad vs. Eric Prindle, as well as a season-six lightweight-tourney finale of Rick Hawn vs. Brent Weedman.

In addition to the live weigh-ins, we'll have full text results posted after the proceedings.

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UFC 146's 'Bigfoot' wasn't motivated to fight Cormier, but Velasquez? Boa!

LAS VEGAS - Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva hardly had the look of a man being thrown to the wolves three days before a fight with former UFC champion Cain Velasquez.

Despite his status as a promotional newcomer and massive underdog, Silva looked relaxed at open workouts in support of UFC 146, where he faces Velasquez in the co-main event.

"I like it when I'm not a favorite," Silva said. "I'm so relaxed. Now I'm in the same situation as the Fedor (Emelianenko) fight."

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Watch today's Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 event live on MMAjunkie.com at 2 p.m. ET

You can watch a live video stream of today's Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 main card on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). The main-card streams follows Facebook prelims at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Today's event takes place at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, Bahrain.

In addition to a welterweight title fight between champion Gael Grimaud vs. Jesse Taylor, featherweights Jim Alers and Matteus Lahdesmak clash in the co-headliner.

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Watch today's UFC 146 press conference live on MMAjunkie.com at 2 p.m. ET

LAS VEGAS - The traditional pre-event press conference for this week's UFC 146 show takes place today, and you can watch a live video stream of the festivities here on MMAjunkie.com.

Today's event takes place at Las Vegas' MGM Grand with UFC broadcaster Jon Anik and UFC 146 fighters Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Antonio Silva, Roy Nelson, Dave Herman, Shane Del Rosario, Stipe Miocic, Lavar Johnson, Stefan Struve. Evans.

The video stream begins at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).

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For UFC 146's Dave Herman, less is more with pre-fight preparation

LAS VEGAS - The always-serious Dave "Pee Wee" Herman was all business today during open workouts and while discussing the biggest fight of his career, a UFC 146 bout with Roy Nelson.

And by business, the boisterous UFC heavyweight discussed everything from his recent weight-cutting technique fueled by binge drinking on a college campus, a hair-shaving trip to Europe, and how less training actually means more when taking fights on short notice.

But first, the (semi-)serious stuff.

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Cage Warriors' Jim Alers, the submission specialist, looking for a knockout

Featherweight Jim Alers has been a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for four years and has competed for some time in grappling competitions such as the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship.

Alers is either a colossal underachiever or a student with a stingy sensei, but that's another story.

Parallell to that experience, though, is six wins by submission in MMA. Early on, he would push to put opponents on the mat out of pure comfort - like most fighters who join the sport from a specific discipline.

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Radio (8 p.m. ET); Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson, Jamie Varner, Darren Elkins

In a new "Primetime" edition of the show, MMAjunkie.com Radio tonight welcomes to the studio recent Strikeforce grand-prix winner Daniel Cormier, as well as UFC 146's Jamie Varner and Darren Elkins.

We also talk to Josh Thomson following his narrow split-decision defeat to Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs tonight at a special time of 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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UFC 146's Dos Santos sticks by criticism of challenger Mir, but says it's not personal

UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos added fuel to the promotional fire when he said Frank Mir's heart was suspect in fights.

But fans shouldn't take it as a sign that Dos Santos is abandoning his nice-guy rep for that of a trash-talker. The way he sees it, he's an honest guy, and he'll continue to be.

"I wasn't talking bad about him," Dos Santos today told MMAjunkie.com. "I just gave my opinion. I have nothing personal against him."

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UFC 146's Stefan Struve: Lavar Johnson's Strikeforce losses are telling

LAS VEGAS - Stefan Struve is by no means overlooking Lavar Johnson this Saturday, but the 24-year-old Dutch fighter doesn't see Johnson - or any other heavyweight for that matter - beating him once he couples all his physical tools together.

"I think on a good day I can beat anybody in the division if I can use my physical abilities to the point that I should use them," Struve told MMAjunkie.com today.

"I'm not worried about fighting anybody on the ground.

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TUF Live Finale adds Jeremy Larsen vs. Joe Proctor to prelims

After a flurry of additions earlier today, The Ultimate Fighter Finale's fight card has another.

Officials today added a bout between eliminated "TUF: Live" cast members Jeremy Larsen and Joe Proctor to the event's lineup.

The TUF Live Finale takes place next Friday, June 1, at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

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