Popularity: 1% [?]

Brock Lesnar, who has recovered from diverticulitis that was caused by, he claims, an all-protein diet, in the Vancouver Sun: “I’m a carnivore. I’m not a big fan of PETA. I’m a member of the NRA and whatever I kill, I eat. And basically I was just, for years, surviving on meat and potatoes, and when the greens came by, I just kept passing them.” –Twin Cities.com

Popularity: 9% [?]

Is the growth of mixed martial arts the top breakout sports story of this decade?

The new millennium has seen a host of such breakout stories – Tom Brady’s Super Bowl conquests, the small-market Tampa Bay Rays’ run to the World Series, the emergence of non-BCS football powerhouses – and USA Today is asking readers to vote on the biggest since 2000.

MMA going mainstream had earned 53 percent of the vote, and none of the other nine picks had earned more than 11 percent as of Friday morning.

We actually posed the question about MMA being mainstream in a recent MMAjunkie.com/”Inside MMA” poll. A third of voters think MMA is already a mainstream success, and 86 percent think it is or will be in the next few years.

Perhaps most telling is that 93 percent of voters believe the sport will be mainstream – like MLB, the NFL and NBA – at some point in the future. (Of course, those numbers don’t represent the general population since voters are obviously MMA fans.)

USA Today, though, took the question a step further and now compares MMA’s breakout success to the conquests of the decade’s other top sports breakout stars. So far, MMA is putting up a hell of a fight.

To see the full list of picks and to cast a vote, go to USAToday.com.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The full list of suspensions include:

• Diego Sanchez: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 60 days and must undergo a CT scan and be cleared by a doctor
• Frank Mir: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons
• Cheick Kongo: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons 
• Jon Fitch: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 60 days for precautionary reasons but can be cleared early by a doctor
• Kenny Florian: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days due to a cut but can be cleared early by a doctor
• Clay Guida: Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a possible eye injury but can be cleared early by an ophthalmologist; regardless, suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons unless cleared early by a doctor
• Paul Buentello: Suspended indefinitely until ribs X-rayed and cleared by a doctor; regardless, suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days for precautionary reasons
• Alan Belcher: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days for precautionary reasons
• Wilson Gouveia: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons; can be cleared early by a doctor
• Matt Wiman: Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a possible right injury but can be X-rayed and cleared early by a doctor; regardless, suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days for precautionary reasons
• Shane Nelson: Suspended 14 days with no contact for 14 days due to a cut but can be cleared early by a doctor
• Johny Hendricks: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons
• Ricardo Funch: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons but can be cleared early by a doctor
• Rousimar Palhares: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons
• Lucio Linhares: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons
• DaMarques Johnson: Suspended three days with no contact for three days for precautionary reasons
• Edgar Garcia: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days for precautionary reasons but can be cleared early by a doctor
• Kevin Burns: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

Popularity: 6% [?]

The second installment of “UFC Undisputed,” THQ and the UFC’s bestselling and award-winning MMA title, will be released on May 25.

Details of “UFC Undisputed 2010″ were announced this past weekend during Spike TV’s broadcast of the 2009 VGA Awards.

The critically acclaimed “UFC Undisputed 2009,” which was the first product of the UFC’s multi-year deal with the game-maker, won the “Best Individual Sports Game” category at the awards show.

The MMA title topped the likes of “Fight Night Round 4,” “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10,” and “Wii Sports Resort.” The award went to “Shaun White Snowboarding” in 2008.

During the awards show broadcast, it was also announced that “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ cast member and current UFC fighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson will be a playable character in the 2010 edition. Last year’s debut title contained a roster with nearly 100 current and former UFC fighters.

“UFC Undisputed 2009″ sold more than one million units for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in its first month of sales. More than four million units could be sold by year’s end. That would be an exceptionally strong showing for a game considered to have a niche market and following.

Current UFC figthers Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Frank Mir, Joe Stevenson, Amir Sadollah, Tito Ortiz, Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez appear in a new trailer for the 2010 title, which can be found above. (MMAJunkie.com)

Popularity: 12% [?]

Quinton JacksonFormer UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who announced in September that he was “done fighting,” today announced on his official website that he’ll soon return to the UFC to finish out his contract:

” I’ve noticed that the UFC & TUF have some fans brainwashed or something. They still haven’t realized yet that the TV show is just a TV show. I did my job by entertaining people and if you ever paid any attention to me, that’s what I’m known for doing.

“Now, I wanted to let my fans know that I’m going to come back to the UFC & finish my contract. Not because the haters are talking shit about me being scared of Rashad or Titties or anybody else. I’m coming back for my fans & to shut Rashad’s mouth up & shut Dana’s mouth up. Then after that I’m going back to doing movies & I might do a boxing match once a year just to stay in shape. Hate on dis!”

Before abruptly announcing his retirement several months ago, “Rampage” served as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 10 and was slated for a grudge match with rival opposing coach and fellow former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 107, but the matchup was postponed and ultimately scratched due to Rampage’s role in the upcoming A-Team movie.

Courtesy MMAFrenzy.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

Some Great Knockouts from UFC and Pride

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