White talks TV negotiations, Spike and cursing on Versus

Dana White has scratched and clawed for the last 10 years on behalf of his UFC, so he's ready to throwdown if need be during the negotiations for the promotion's next TV deal. White has definitely noticed Spike poking the UFC a little bit with some recent programming.

"Negotiating is never fun. And even though you're negotiating in good faith, you know, you're still giving some kicks to the balls here and there," White joked (1:40 mark).

During UFC on Versus 4 last Sunday, Spike ran a Nate Marquardt fight marathon against the live fight card. That's a little extra salt in the wound since Marquardt was dumped from the main event and fired the day before.

"I see Spike's side. That's what I would do too," White said candidly. "They might have [picked a fight with me]. We'll see. I would do the same thing they just did. I owe you one Spike."

The UFC and Spike have grown together over the last six years, but they may splitting soon. Rumors emerged last month in the Wall Street Journal that UFC officials were sitting down with folks from Comcast/NBC and that Spike could be looking at Bellator as backup plan for 2012.

"What everybody's saying, none of that stuff is true. People are out there speculating on what we're doing. We have no deal with anybody. We're out there talking with everybody. I don't buy into that stuff. When deals are done, everybody does what they're going to do and we'll see what happens." White said. He also pointed that the door isn't closed yet with Spike.

One other bit of television "news" discussed by White was the foul-mouthed Matt Mitrione. Fresh of his knockout win over Christian Morecraft, the emotional "Meathead" dropped a four-letter expletive on live television.

White said no action has been taken yet, but cussing on camera is a big no-no.

"He knew because I give these guys the riot act before, 'do not swear on free TV,' White said. The UFC president admits he's a virtuoso with four letter words, but there's a time and place. "I am good at doing it, but on live TV though. You gotta think and think before you speak. Calm down and think before you speak. But it's bad. It's real bad when you swear on live TV. they can't bleep it fast enough. First time it's ever happened."

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MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Should Faber, Bowles or Johnson Be Next?

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Dominick CruzIf it wasn't clear before, it's certainly clear now: Dominick Cruz is the best bantamweight in mixed martial arts.

Cruz handled his latest challenge, Urijah Faber, at UFC 132, and he has now won nine straight fights while beating most of the sport's other top bantamweights. The only question is whether his next fight should be against Demetrious Johnson, a rematch with former champion Brian Bowles or a third fight with Faber.

I vote for Johnson, for reasons that I'll lay out as I run through the top 135-pounders in mixed martial arts below.

Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter's rank in the last bantamweight list.)

1. Dominick Cruz (1): Cruz isn't just the No. 1 bantamweight in MMA, he's also beaten the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 bantamweights. In my rankings, Cruz is the only champion of any weight class who has beaten the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 fighters in the division.

2. Brian Bowles (4): Bowles could make a good case that he deserves to be next in line for Cruz: He's the former champion who lost his title to Cruz when he suffered a broken hand in their fight and had to quit, and after beating Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132, Bowles is the No. 2 bantamweight in the world, at least in my book. But considering that Cruz was comfortably beating Bowles before Bowles had to stop in their previous fight, I would like to see Bowles show more improvement before he gets another chance with Cruz.

3. Urijah Faber (2): A third Cruz-Faber fight would be the best call for the UFC if it wants to maximize the pay-per-view revenue in its next bantamweight title fight: The cheers for Faber and boos for Cruz at UFC 132 made clear that Faber remains the sport's most popular little man. But I didn't think this fight was close enough to merit giving Faber an immediate rematch, and I'd like to see some new blood get a shot at the bantamweight belt.

4. Joseph Benavidez (3): He's a great fighter, but Benavidez doesn't have many places to go as long as 135 pounds is the UFC's smallest weight class: He's already lost twice to Cruz, so he isn't going to get another title shot. If the UFC ever adds a 125-pound flyweight class, Benavidez will be that division's best fighter.

5. Demetrious Johnson (5): Johnson can make a very good case that he's the most deserving of the next title shot, as he's the highest-ranked bantamweight whom Cruz hasn't already beaten. I also think Johnson's quickness and his impressive takedowns are two attributes that could cause Cruz some stylistic problems. The biggest question is whether Johnson, who suffered a leg injury in his victory over Miguel Torres in May, will be healthy soon enough to get the next shot at Cruz.

6. Scott Jorgensen (6): After losing to Cruz in December, Jorgensen bounced back nicely by knocking out Ken Stone at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in June. I think it would make a lot of sense to put Jorgensen in the Octagon with Miguel Torres next.

7. Miguel Torres (7): After starting his MMA career by winning 37 of 38 fights, Torres has now lost three of his last five. He's on the down side of his career, but I still think he has a few big fights left in him, and I'd love to see Torres take on Faber next.

8. Brad Pickett (8): Pickett was originally slated to fight Torres at UFC 130 before pulling out of the fight with a back injury. Pickett has been talking himself up as a contender for Cruz's title, but he'll need to win at least one more fight before he gets that chance.

9. Eddie Wineland (9): Wineland, the former WEC bantamweight champion who gave Faber a tough fight in March, will return to the Octagon to take on Benavidez in August.

10. Renan Barão (10): Since losing his professional MMA debut in 2005, Barao has gone 26-0 (with one no contest). But he hasn't faced much high-quality opposition during that impressive run. I've got Barao in the Top 10, but I can't move him much higher than this until I see how he looks against a Top 10 opponent.

 

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Video: Radical Ducati RAD02 Pursang

If you’ve ever gotten a mouthful of hairspray before (we were awkward children growing up), then you surely know the need to get a bad taste out of your mouth. Helping us get over our magnificient indifference regarding Husqvarna’s latest video is this short clip from our friends over in Spain, Radical Ducati. In case you haven’t heard of these guys, they take junked-out Ducatis (typically air-cooled), do a bit of a parts bin mash-up, ...

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The Top 10 Late-Brakers at Mugello

Brembo has released a list containing the Top 10 late-brakers at the Italian GP in Mugello. Taken from teams’ telemetry from the Qualifying Practice, Brembo compiled the list based off who was applying the most braking force coming off the front straight-away, and into Turn 1. Of note, the list was based off only teams who use Brembo brakes, which means LCR Honda and San Carlos Gresini Honda were left off the list (they use ...

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Video analysis: Iole talks about Marquardt?s future

Nate Marquardt's situation looks pretty bleak right now. There's reportedly a press conference tomorrow so Marquardt can tell his side of the story. Because of HIPAA laws, both UFC and Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission have been tight-lipped on what the exact reason that prevented Marquardt from fighting at UFC on Versus 4.

Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole filled us in on what he's heard about Marquardt and his future.

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Guillard interview: Confident in his hands, ?Young Assassin? wants a KO and bonus

Gone is the Melvin Guillard who was questioning himself and getting in trouble away from the Octagon. The new "Young Assassin" is super confident, completely focused on the fight game, a getting a title shot and making lots of money.

Guillard has ripped off four straight wins and is now staring at Shane Roller on Saturday night. The 28-year-old Louisiana-native doesn't give Roller much of a chance.

"I kind of feel sorry for Shane Roller in a way," Guillard told RawVegas.tv (3:50 mark). "I never step in the ring saying I want to kill this guy, but I do want to hurt someone before they hurt me. I want to walk out of this feet with no scratches."

Roller, a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State has improved by leaps and bounds on the feet. He even scored a big knockout his last time out against Thiago Tavares.

"With that being said, I'm the wrong kind of guy to learn on," Guillard said. "It's gonna make for a short night hopefully for him. He's definitely gonna wake up with a splitting headache if he tries that wrestling crap with me."

In his last fight against Evan Dunham, Guillard won Knockout of the Night honors and took home an extra $30,000. Guillard said the money went toward buying his wife a 2008 Mustang Cobra. Now he's fighting for bonuses and a nice big house in Norman, Okla.

You can watch UFC 132 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC 132 weigh-in: Cruz says get ready to boo the hero

The intensity was definitely there at today's UFC 132 weigh-in.

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber dislike each other and the heat was evident. In comfortably making the 135-pound limit for the UFC bantamweight title fight, both main event fighters looked good on the scale. Cruz was definitely the villain in the MGM Grand Arena. After a huge ovation for Faber, Cruz heard the Bronx cheer.

"I've been waiting for this fight for four years. I'm gonna keep that belt and I'm gonna whup him tomorrow night," Cruz told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "So all you fans who are booing be ready to boo some more."

The main event staredown fell a little short of the fireworks from the Wanderlei Silva-Chris Leben, and Tito Ortiz-Ryan Bader fights.

Leben was smiling on stage until Silva got right in his face and started moving his head back and forth. Leben got all juiced up and did the same. Hopefully it produces a slugfest between the middleweights.

This is make or break time for Ortiz, who's 0-4-1 in his last five fights. He loses to Bader and he's done with the UFC. Bader, 28, was absolutely shredded and didn't back down when an emotional Tito got right in his face. Ortiz even faked a headbutt in the direction of Bader, who didn't budge.

The former UFC light heavyweight champ wore a Punishment Athletics shirt to the stage that featured a picture of Osama Bin Laden and the phrase "punished."

Melvin Guillard, who's fighting Shane Roller on the Spike broadcast, wore green trunks with matching green hair. Why? It blended nicely with the Bud Light Lime green numbers the Octagon Girls wore on weigh-in day. Guillard jerked around a little during the face-off when fainted a left hook and a knee in Roller's direction. Roller didn't look too pleased.

UFC 132 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):

MAIN CARD (Pay-Per-View)

Dominick Cruz (134) vs. Urijah Faber (135)
Wanderlei Silva (186) vs. Chris Leben (185)
Ryan Bader (205) vs. Tito Ortiz (205)
Carlos Condit (170) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)
Dennis Siver (156) vs. Matt Wiman (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike)

Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Shane Roller (155)
Rafael dos Anjos (155) vs. George Sotiropoulos (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Brian Bowles (135) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (136)
Aaron Simpson (185) vs. Brad Tavares (186)
Anthony Njokuani (156) vs. Andre Winner (155)
Jeff Hougland (135) vs. Donny Walker (135)

You can watch UFC 132 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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