April showers bring fights: Top seven bouts this spring

Spring is an especially busy time for MMA, with six championship belts from the UFC and Strikeforce on the line in the next three months. With so many fights on the docket, which ones stand out? These are the fights that will keep you warm until the summer solstice.

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley -- Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri: In his first fight in the U.S., Kawajiri will get a chance to avenge a 2006 loss to Melendez while also showing off his bruising style. Melendez spoiled the American debut of one Japanese fighter in Shinya Aoki. Can he do it again with Kawajiri and hold onto his Strikeforce lightweight belt?

Bellator 41 -- Patricio Freire vs. Wilson Reis: Last year, Freire won his bout over Reis in a decision. Freire earned his berth in the semifinal with a third-round destruction of Georgi Karakhanyan, while Reis got his second chance at Freire with a quick rear naked choke of Zac George. Can Freire follow in his brother's footsteps and create another Bellator highlight?

UFC 129 -- Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick: The hype for this event has been focused on Georges St. Pierre's title bout with Jake Shields, including the best commercial that the UFC has ever produced for a bout. That doesn't mean it's the best fight on the card, because a case could be made for the featherweight championship bout between Aldo, the champ and force of destruction, and Hominick, the hometown favorite who is on a five-fight winning streak.

UFC 130 -- Brad Pickett vs. Miguel Torres: Since moving up to Montreal's Tri-Star training camp, Torres has become a more disciplined, but still dangerous fighter. It will be fun to watch what kind of strategy he comes up with for the always-exciting Pickett. Bonus: the fight is on Spike, so you just have to pay your cable bill to catch it.

The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale -- Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis: Does anything even need to be written about why this fight will be fun? Pettis, the WEC lightweight champ, will be fighting with a chip on his shoulder after being denied a title shot by the Gray Maynard/Frankie Edgar draw. Guida is eager to stop the Pettis hype train. The two have earned a combined eight fight night bonuses for Fights, Knockouts and Submissions of the Night. This all adds up to this being an amazing bout. Oh, and it's on Spike, so again, pay your cable bill.

UFC 131 -- Brock Lesnar vs. Junior dos Santos: After the loss to Cain Velasquez, Lesnar has a huge question hanging over his head. Can he take a punch? He'll have a chance to show if he's grown as a fighter since UFC 123, and his test will be one of the hardest hitters in the UFC. Even without the build-up from "The Ultimate Fighter," this fight was a must-watch.

Strikeforce in Dallas -- Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum: Just days before the solstice, two of the world's best heavyweights will square off in Dallas. Can Werdum recreate his upset magic and submit Overeem like he did Fedor Emelianenko? Or will Overeem throw Werdum around the cage like he did to Brett Rogers in Overeem's last Strikeforce bout?

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Should the UFC allow Tito Ortiz to drive racecars?

One can only imagine Dana White's reaction when he heard Tito Ortiz wrecked his car. The good news is that Tito came away unscathed and it was a race car he was driving during a practice run for a celebrity event. But it's begs the question - why is one of the most injury-prone guys in MMA putting himself at risk?

TMZ posted the photo of Tito's trashed Toyota Scion. The gossip website claims Ortiz wrecked the car twice during a Tuesday practice run for the "Fueled by Fame" Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Apr. 16.

Ortiz, who has a history of neck and back problems, already bailed on a 2011 fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Ultimate Fight Night 24. He's scheduled to face Ryan Bader in July at UFC 132.

If Tito goes through with the race it is for a good cause.

On behalf of each celebrity racer, Toyota donates $5,000 to Racing for Kids every year and another $5,000 to the winning racer's charity of choice. Racing for Kids, a national nonprofit program benefiting children's hospitals throughout the country, (in this case, Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach and Children's Hospital in Orange County, Calif.), was created as a way to connect sick children with their favorite celebrities and race-car drivers. Toyota has donated more than $1.9 million to various children's hospitals since 1991, on behalf of this race and its participants.

Additionally, a $15,000 donation will be made in conjunction with the 14th-annual "People Pole Award." Sponsored by People magazine, the award honors the pole-position winner of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race qualifying session on Friday, April 15.

Other celebrities racing include Anthony Anderson, Jillian Barberie Reynolds, Tyson Beckford, Kevin Eubanks, Dennis Haysbert, Megyn Price and Kimora Lee Simmons. The race takes place on the downtown streets of Long Beach, Ca. Insert your Quinton Jackson joke here.

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Scott Coker Comments on Working With Zuffa, Strikeforce's Future

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SAN DIEGO -- Watch below as Scott Coker talks about Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce, what is like working with Zuffa, whether he holds any ill will towards his former partners, Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, for selling Strikeforce to Zuffa, Paul Daley stating he "sold out," the state of Japanese MMA and much more.

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Paul Denning Explains the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R


While the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R may look the same on the outside as the 2010 machine, but as Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning explains, nearly everything on the bike has either been changed, modified, or optimized for the new season. In all fairness, the team really has just continued development of their current race package, but it is interesting to see what changes they’ve made to be more competitive in the 2011 season. With ...

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Heavy on organization and rules, Ontario’s first MMA show deemed a success

The sport had to jump through plenty of hoops to get approval in Ontario, so it was good to hear the first MMA show in the Canadian province was run professionally. Trainers, fighters and media members in attendance said Saturday's "MMA: Day of Reckoning" at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, came off as a big-time show.

The main event featured former UFC fighter Josh Burkman. He gave props to the promoters and regulators.

"They were strict but they weren't overbearing by any means," Burkman told Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press. "They just make sure that the show's ran right and the fighters are taken care of.  And I have no problems with the way they do the testing and the physicals and the bloodwork. As a fighter, you want those things to be lined up the proper way so fighters are healthy and taken care off."

Misha Cirkunov, who also fought on the card, said it was clear that Ontario is going to ensure only qualified fighters step into the cage on their watch.

"It's very organized, it's very nicely done, it's very fair. But at the same time, it's not that easy to just be a fighter in Ontario. There are certain things you have to go through… . I've fought in many provinces before and it was much easier to go through all the medicals, all the tests, and all of that," said Cirkunov.

The commission also went the extra mile by bringing some of the more established referees in the industry. "Big" John McCarthy also thought the event came off as first-rate.

"It's time for MMA here and it's great that the Ontario Athletics Commission is now going to be running the events, sanctioning everything and showing everybody what MMA is really all about," McCarthy said. "It really doesn't matter what promotion it is or anything like that. It's about putting the right fighters together that put on great fights and I think in those two (main and co-main event) fights alone, you're going to see what MMA is all about."

Referees Yves Lavigne and Dan Miragliotta also worked the event.

Burkman lost his fight to 21-year-old Jordan Mein. Burkman is now 3-1 since being cut by the UFC. He was a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 2." Another UFC vet Chris Horodecki was victorious over David Castillo.

Davidson reported the show sold out with 5,000 squeezing into the casino's concert auditorium. The promoter Robert Waterman recently changed his focus from boxing to MMA. He saw immediate gains. His recent boxing shows at Casino Rama were only drawing 3,000.

SportsNet.ca did play-by-play for all the fights.

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Overnight MMA hijinx: Lesnar chokes Fallon, Guida funnels beer

Brock Lesnar got a pop on Jimmy Fallon's show last night to promote Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. Fallon closed by having Brock "show him a move." The former UFC champ demonstrated a version of the rear-naked.

Next time a TV host or reporter asks to be manhandled someone needs to lock on that twister "The Korean Zombie" used on Saturday during his win over Leonard Garcia.

In other overnight news, UFC fighters drink beer and sometimes lots of it. Apparently, Clay Guida funneling some brew at Lake Havasu during an unnamed time recently is news, so TMZ posted this photo. Since the site is also following the awesome "Teen Mom" brawl from last week, we'll oblige.

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