("I'm sorry, what was your name again?" PicProps: Sherdog)

Thank God that Josh Barnett only did a couple of the things he threatened to do to Geronimo dos Santos at Impact FC in Brisbane last night.  Despite his threats to the contrary, reports from Sherdog’s Jordan Breen – who was cageside for the event -- indicate that Barnett’s short-and-sweet win over dos Santos in the main event of the upstart Australian promotion went strictly according to the unified rules. And no, that is not a euphemism.

The former UFC heavyweight champion took his enormo Brazilian opponent down and achieved full mount twice during the 2 minute, 45 second contest and eventually used a barrage of strikes from behind dos Santos to force John McCarthy to call the fight. Dos Santos attempted to protest the stoppage, but reportedly failed the “What the [sic] is your problem?” test with his unsure, rubbery legs.

Fellow UFC castoffs  Karo Parisyan, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Jeff Monson also recorded wins, while former champion Carlos Newton lost an ugly fight to Brian Ebersole.

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More La Masia Recruits for Barca

With Chygynskiy's and Toure's departure, Guardiola is looking to La Masia for defensive cover for next season. Atleast four Barca Atletic defenders may find more playing time with the first team next season. Barca is expected to release Marquez and Caceres and also is expected to send Henrique out on loan yet again. Caceres performance against Holland in the World Cup semi-final may force the management to think about a loan deal rather than selling the player. He still may fulfil all the promises he shown at a very early age. Marc Muniesa, Andreu Fontas, Marc Batra and Sergi Gomez all are expected to make the cut for the first team this season. Muniesa is widely regarded as the natural heir to Puyol's throne and he should see more playing time than others. Add to this, Jonathan Dos Santos and Thiago, we have two brilliant midfielders also emerging from the academy.

The current management has wisely decided to focus on La Masia to find reinforcements for the team. Many Barca fans has been shouting this for a pretty long time. In this back drop, is it wise for the Management to pursue Cesc Fabregas signing anymore? He is a quality player but he will not come any cheap. If we manage to secure his signing, we will have to part with atleast 40-45 million Euros. We already have Xavi and Iniesta in the midfield and Fabregas will find it difficult to break into midfield unless Iniesta is given a more attacking role, which I firmly oppose. last season, in the whole drama of getting rid of Eto'o, Guardiola and the management failed to find a quality reinforcement for the fading Henry. This season we are in the danger of doing it again in the whole mess of Cesc Fabregas pursuit. We need two definitive reinforcement at present. First the left side of the attack and next the defensive midfielder position. It looks like the management is banking on Fabregas signing to solve both the problem, which for me could be a huge blunder - both tactically and Financially.

Ask someone to give you the first words that come to mind when you mention Brazilian soccer. Most likely the response include some of the worlds best ever players, Brazil's dominance as the most successful nation in the World Cup and so on.

Now ask someone the same question with regards to England, Spain and Italy. More than likely the response will include answers such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus, Milan, Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

To the masses worldwide Brazilian soccer consists of some of the greatest players in history along with countless international trophies. To the masses inside Brazil the story is much, much different. National team games are a celebration, a place for the entire country to root for one team, one cause and one goal. However internally, it is much more than that. It is written in the soul of millions upon millions of extremely loyal as well as extremely demanding fans from birth. It is part of daily life for all Brazilians, it is a way to identify yourself amongst others in a crowd. Hell, the day my mother told her father she had just met a man, who would later become my father, the first question out of his mouth wasn't what is his name? It wasn't what does he do? It wasn't is he a good guy. It was is he a   Corinthiano? (Corinthiano is the name given to fans of S.C. Corinthians Paulista).

The system in Brazil is not like any other league in the world. Each state inside of Brazil holds its own league, allowing only teams from inside the proper state to participate. These include Paulista (Sao Paulo) Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) as well as others. Many of these began just after the turn of the 20^th century with the Paulista being the first league held in Brazil beginning in 1902. For many a reason it was not until 1971 that the actual Campeonato Brasileiro as we know it came into existence.

There has been one thing in common each year up until this season, the 40^th Campeonato Brasileiro, no one has a clue who will win. Seasons are so unpredictable it is astonishing. No other league in the world matches up to its ability to surprise the fans.

I want to make one thing clear right away, I am saying the Brazilian league is the hardest to win in the world. I am not saying it contains the best talent in the world but so many of the best players in Europe have come and will continue to come out of Brazil in a constant stream of athletic outsourcing.

When comparing the numbers from Brazil against the worlds best leagues it becomes clearly obvious that indeed Brazil contains the most unpredictable league in the world. I wont even make a mention of European teams coming and plucking away the top players each and every year, not after the season, but in the middle of it. That fact alone is noteworthy because no other country suffers the same fate. Sure players leave teams for others in Europe but they also leave behind millions to be invested into new players, be it from Brazil or anywhere else in the world. Players come from Europe to play in Brazil in only two circumstances: They are too old and want to finish playing back home and players who did not meet expectations in Europe who then become loans to Brazilian clubs in an effort to salvage the millions the European clubs spend for him.

Now the numbers

La Liga: Initial season in 1929, this year marks the 78^th season (there was a break from 1936-1939 due to civil war) and in these 78 long years Spain has seen its share of amazing talent. They have also seen a lot of the same things, over and over again. The nations top 2 clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have won a combined 50 La Liga crowns. That is 64% of the time one of these two teams lifts the trophy at the end of the season. Recent history continues to back up the consolidated hold place on the title by the two giants. In the past 20 seasons, Madrid or Barca took the title 16 times, a big jump to 80% success rate compared to the overall 64% they have enjoyed in the last 78 years. Even more surprising, there have only been 9 teams to ever win La Liga, 3 of them winning one sole trophy.

The EPL is actually even more consolidated to the major clubs in England. Starting back from 1992, the first EPL season, only Blackburn  Rovers has nudged its way alongside the top English clubs. In its 18 years the EPL has seen just 4 winners, Blackburn (1), Chelsea (3), Arsenal (3) and Manchester United (11). That's a 94% of titles held by the top clubs in England, without even mentioning the fact that Liverpool has still yet to win an EPL crown.

In Serie A control at the top remains as strong as ever. With its initial season in the current format being 1929, Italy has seen its top flight soccer league ruled by the big three, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. 75% of titles in the 81 year history of Serie A have been taken by the very same trio, Juventus (27), AC Milan (17) and Inter Milan (17) including 18 of the last 20 titles.

Now on to the Campeonato Brasileiro and its always entertaining and surprising abundance of talent spread through more champions than anywhere in Europe. Note: I am only including the current format in the Brazilian league which began in 1971.

Last week the 40^th edition of the Brasileirao kicked off and promises not to disappoint the soccer lover. With more players than ever who have already made their mark through Europe's biggest clubs this season promises not to disappoint. 14 of this years 20 clubs in the top division have already laid claim to the title of Brazil's best, not to mention traditional teams such as Bahia, Coritiba and Sport who are fighting their way through Serie B in hopes of returning to their former glory. In all, 17 teams have been able to claim the title and quite honestly there are probably 17 teams this year alone who have a real shot of hoisting this seasons hardware. Only once in its history has a team won 3 titles in a row, Sao Paulo 2006-2008 and no one has yet to win 4 in a row, a feat accomplished in all European leagues (In England before formation of the EPL) If the lack of homogeneity in the champions doesn't influence your thoughts of how open each season is, on several occasions the number of teams participating has exceeded the now standard 20, including the biggest season in 1980 which included 104 teams from all over Brazil. 1978 had 74 clubs, 1979 had 96 clubs and the 1981-1983 seasons saw 88 clubs try for a shot at glory. There is no other place with such a diverse soccer population with so much of the rich success that so many clubs in Brazil have in their history.

Think the comparison is unfair? Are you saying these teams can not be better than Europe's top clubs? Take a look at the list of World Club Champions, both intercontinental and FIFA World Club Cup, and it may surprise you. World wide, Brazil has the most teams who have been world Champions 6 so far with 9 trophies. Italy has just 3 teams who can claim to be champions of the world along with Spain. England, the nation with the richest league, has a mere 1 champion, less than Holland, Germany, Uruguay and Argentina and no more than Portugal, Paraguay and Yugoslavia. This includes 3 teams, Corinthians in 2000, Sao Paulo in 2005 and Internacional in 2006 who took home the FIFA World Club  trophy. On a side note, the 2000 FIFA World Club Championship was the first and only tournament so far to include 2 clubs from Europe, in that occasion it was Manchester United and Real Madrid. In this instance the two European giants watched the world final, which contained two Brazilian teams in the final, Corinthians and Vasco da Gama.

So there you have it, the most balanced, most intriguing league is the Brasileirao. There's no if or buts about it.

Santos-Vs-Gilbert-Yvel_0.jpg" height="266" alt="Stefan Struve Junior Dos Santos UFC" width="400">

(Dos Santos knocked out Stefan Struve in 54 seconds. Nelson knocked out Struve in 39 seconds. It'll be a stretch, but we're confident that the UFC can somehow twist that into a "grudge match" angle.)

According to a report published this morning on MMA Junkie, a heavyweight tilt between Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson is being targeted for UFC 117 (August 7th, Oakland). Nelson was previously slated to fight Cheick Kongo at UFC 116 in July, but Kongo won't be able to make that date because of a back injury, and since Dos Santos had been stuck in a holding pattern without an opponent, it seems that the UFC will have Cigano and Big Country square off against each other. Dos Santos has already stated that he'd be down to fight the TUF 10 winner, and Nelson would also welcome the matchup:

"That might be a fight that might happen. I'm hoping, all you can do is hope...If you think about who's out there fighting for the belt, or getting ready to fight for the belt it would be Brock (Lesnar) of course and Shane (Carwin), and then right underneath them it's Dos Santos and Velasquez. So those are the four guys I'm looking for that can kind of catapult me right into belt contention."

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Following the success of the first show, the Versus network will host a second UFC event on Aug. 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Utah State Athletic Commission confirmed the booking with MMAJunkie earlier today, although it has not been officially announced by the UFC.

FiveKnuckles.com previously reported that the Aug, 1 event would take place in Oakland, Calif., as confirmed by Versus president Jamie Davis last month.

UFC on Versus 1 was an instant hit, as headliner Jon Jones put forth a great showing by TKO-ing Brandon Vera half-way through the first round. Junior dos Santos also cemented his name as a top heavyweight contender when he KO'ed Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round. Another first-round win came to Alessio Sakara, who defeated James Irvin via doctor's stoppage after a punch in the eye inhibited Irvin from continuing. The only three-round fight on the main card was between Paul Buentello and Cheick Kongo, who walked away with the victory.

The only match up currently slated for UFC on Versus 2 is Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard.

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"I knew out in the open that I was a superior boxer. I just knew that he had a very good advantage in up-close fighting - against the cage. And I had said it leading up to the fight, also, that if I got taken down near the cage, and hadn't made improvements in my game, that I'd have a problem.

"I think it became a problem of over-training for one aspect. I think I was so obsessed with not being taken down. And you could see, when he shot on me, I was so appeased with myself, like, 'Look, you can't take me down, you're an excellent wrestler.'  I think I was celebrating mentally, like, 'Hey, look, I can avoid the take down now, I've improved my game.'  I forgot about getting punched in the face.

"Against the cage, I remember looking over at my coach. He's like, 'Ninety more seconds.'  I think, 'Alright, cool. I'm gonna wait about another 30 seconds. With a minute left, I'm gonna steal the round. I'll go ahead and push off the cage. I've used no energy so far yet in this fight whatsoever. Four minutes into it, he's done all the energy expenditure so far. One little flurry real quick, and I can sneak the round by on the judges. Go into the second round and maybe he'll be more desperate to make chances and shoot from far out. I'll get ahead and cause him to panic a little bit.'  And as I'm thinking these things, he bumps me - hits me with an uppercut. And the guy hits really, really hard."  - Frank Mir

Now that UFC 111 is over, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir recounted his latest fight in the Octagon to MMACanada.

Mir's fight against Shane Carwin was fueled by an urge to get back in the ring with Brock Lesnar for a third time. Because of this, Mir had gained 30 pounds of muscle in order to compete with the former WWE star. Therefore, he over-trained in certain areas that would help him win his bout against Carwin, and subsequently Lesnar, but failed to remember other aspects of fighting.

The size difference between Lesnar and Mir has always been a big hindrance for the former champion. Mir now feels that he needs to rethink his game plans, and is currently considering simply reverting back to what he does best, and sticking with it: jiu-jitsu. He feels like this would be his best option rather than attempting to compete with such big fighters like Carwin and Lesnar, in terms of wrestling and being a "muscle-head type of fighter."

Contemplating who his next opponent might be, Mir said that he could wind up facing either Ben Rothwell or Gabriel Gonzaga - both of whom are coming off of losses. For those who were looking forward to Mir competing again Junior dos Santos or Cain Velasquez, those match ups will have to wait, he said. The UFC usually does not pair up a guy coming off of a win with a guy coming off of a loss.

*Please visit FiveKnuckles.com for more mixed martial arts media*

After last night's fights, fans can all agree that there should be more free UFC. Luckily, there's more ahead.

UFC on Versus 2 is a-go!  The event is scheduled for August 1 in Oakland, Calif., confirmed Versus president Jamie Davis. News of the summer show was first reported by MMAJunkie.com. A venue or possible fight match ups were not announced.

Last December, when Versus and the WEC renewed their contract, it stipulated that two UFC events must be shown on the Versus network in 2010.

UFC on Versus 1, which took place last night, demonstrated why Jon Jones and Junior dos Santos are in the upper echelons of their divisions. The sold-out crowd in Broomfield, CO, watched 11 great bouts, while viewers at home watched four exciting bouts - three of which ended in the first round.

Jones elbowed his way to a TKO victory over Brandon Vera, while dos Santos KO'ed Gabriel Gonzaga. The battle between strikers Cheick Kongo and Paul Buentello saw the Frenchman win via third-round verbal submission; and James Irvin was forced into a TKO stoppage after being punched directly in the eye.

*Please visit FiveKnuckles.com for more mixed martial arts media*

UFC on Versus 1: "Vera vs. Jones" is officially in the books and it turned out to be an exciting night of fights for the promotion's first-ever live event on the Versus network. Here are some interesting tidbits that came out of the post-fight press conference for the event:

-UFC on Versus 1 drew a sell-out crowd of 6,443 to the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado for a $568,125 gate, according to UFC President Dana White.

The same building, which was previously known as the Broomfield Events Center, was host to UFC Fight Night 17 in April 2008. That event brought in 6,742 spectators for a $753,429 gate.

-The UFC dished out $200,000 in bonus money to four of the 22 fighters who competed in last night's UFC on Versus 1 event. Headliner Jon Jones and co-headliner Junior dos Santos as well as preliminary card fighters Clay Guida and John Howard were awarded the money. They each earned $50,000 "Fight Night" bonuses for their outstanding performances at the event.

For the first time in the promotions history, the UFC handed out three "Knockout of the Night" awards as Jon Jones, John Howard, and Junior dos Santos took home the honors for their finishes.

Jones scored a first round TKO win over Brandon Vera in the night's main event and Dos Santos notched a first round knockout win over Gabriel Gonzaga in the night's co-main event. Howard also scored a first round knockout win, as he defeated newcomer Daniel Roberts in a preliminary card bout that ended up being televised on the Versus broadcast.

Also, Clay Guida earned "Submission of the Night" honors for his second-round arm-triangle choke win over Shannon Gugerty on the preliminary portion of the card. No "Fight of the Night" bonus was given out.

-UFC President Dana White revealed that UFC on Versus 2 will take place on August 1 in Oakland, California. It will be the UFC's first ever event in Oakland.

-Also of note, Brandon Vera reportedly suffered three broken facial bones from the vicious elbow recieved courtesy of Jones, and Duane Ludwig reportedly suffered a severely broken ankle during his loss to Darren Elkins on the preliminary portion of the card.

*Please visit FiveKnuckles.com for more mixed martial arts media*

1. Jon Jones is officially an elite light-heavyweight.

Mr. Jones got a thing going on...

Not many fighters on the planet can claim such a diverse and advanced skill set. The lovechild of Anderson Silva, Karo Parisyan, and Randy Couture has ripped through the sea of the UFC's light-heavyweight division like a maelstrom, leaving a vast wake of destruction in his path.

The virtually undefeated phenom is the best young fighter in all of MMA, and at just 22-years of age it's scary to think that Jones has not yet come close to his full potential. Jones, already among the best strikers in the light-heavyweight division, and certainly the divisions' most creative, has, in back-to-back fights, out-grappled and pounded-out two of the divisions best wrestlers: 2004 U.S. Olympic team freestyle participant Matt Hamill, and highly underrated Greco-Roman practitioner Brandon Vera.

Add his elite-level creative striking, and now clearly elite grappling and ground-and-pound skills to his Dhalsim-like reach and devastating throws, and it looks like Greg Jackson's second light-heavyweight title holder could be just one or two fights away.

2. It's time to mention Junior dos Santos in the same breath as Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and Cain Velasquez.

When MMA historians look back upon our beloved sport, 2008 will stand out the year of the UFC heavyweight division's resurgence. Current champion Brock Lesnar, and undefeated top contenders Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez all debuted that year with much fanfare.

Touted as the "Big Three" by Yahoo Sports before they debuted, fans, reporters, and even the UFC itself, counted on these three blue-chip prospects to bring new blood into the UFC's stale heavyweight division; and the trio would not disappoint. All three lived up to their enormous potential, and each has now reached the top of their division where they are now poised to battle amongst one another for divisional supremacy.

However, 2008 also marked the debut of a no-name, stand-up fighter from Brazil named Junior dos Santos. The then 23-year-old was essentially "fed" to a surging Fabricio Werdum who was on the fast track to a title fight after consecutive knockout victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera. Werdum was expected to easily run though the fresh-faced newcomer en route to a possible title fight with then UFC heavyweight interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but a heavy dos Santos right-uppercut drastically changed the trajectory of both men's lives.

Werdum was subsequently released from the UFC, while dos Santos continued to knock out good fighters. Stefan Struve, Mirko Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, and now Gabriel Gonzaga have all fallen to the thunder in dos Santos hands; and we've yet to see the stoic Nogueira disciple in any kind of trouble during those fights. With his decisive win last night, dos Santos now takes his rightful place along side Lesnar, Carwin, and Velasquez as the future of the UFC's heavyweight division.

3. Cheick Kongo can out-wrestle a boxer.

Cheick Kongo has always been the beautiful girl with the rockin' body, but not too much upstairs. She's fun to go out with for awhile, but ultimately you get bored... and now you just drunk dial her once in a while when you couldn't score at the bar.

Follow me now, I'm bringing it back. 

Kongo has all the requisite physical qualities to be a solid contender in the UFC's heavyweight division. He's strong as an ox, and has great kickboxing. He tantalizes fans with his physical skills and sexy knockout power, but he no ground game what-so-ever. No substance to be a real contender, right?

Well, my contention about Kongo's game hasn't changed with his ground-and-pound win over tough-as-nails, Paul Buentello, but let's give him a little credit. It's clear that Kongo's been working on his ground game, and he was able to out-wrestle Buentello and get a decently well-rounded victory, for whatever that's worth.

We'll check in on him again after he faces another wrestler.

4. Brendan Schaub has re-established himself as a top UFC heavyweight prospect.

The last time we saw Schaub, he was face down on the canvas after getting crushed by veteran Roy Nelson at The Ultimate Finale 10. Schaub came into that fight undefeated in four pro fights, knocking out each of his opponents in less than a-minute-and-a-half.

After running through the field on "The Ultimate Fighter" 10, Schaub was pitted against the show's only veteran in Nelson, a former IFL champion. It may have been too big of a step up in competition too quickly for Schaub, who looked like a world-beater against his peers (fellow MMA newcomers) en route to a the show's finale.

In any event, Shane Carwin's understudy got back on track against Chase Gormley last night, knocking out the All-American wrestler in just 47-seconds, and reminding fans that his athletic frame and big power can be a dangerous combination.

5. Gabriel Gonzaga is now officially a heavyweight gatekeeper.

Webster's Dictionary defines "gatekeeper" as a, "person who has charge of a gate and controls who may pass through it."

In fighting, we label someone a gatekeeper if they consistently defeat mediocre or average fighters, but consistently lose to elite fighters.

Gonzaga's UFC wins: Kevin Jordan, Fabiano Scherner, Carmelo Marrero, Mirko Filipovic, Justin McCully, Josh Hendricks, Chris Tuchscherer

Gonzaga's UFC losses: Randy Couture, Fabricio Werdum, Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos

That is all.