About a month ago, UFC 106 was going to be one of the best fights of the year. Brock Lesnar was to return to the cage in order to defend his heavyweight belt against Shane Carwin, probably the only person on earth that had a chance against him.

Unfortunately for UFC fans, Brock Lesnar had to bow out of his fight due to ongoing health issues. Just within the last week, Dana White (UFC President) has informed the media that this is much more serious than originally thought and could be potentially career-ending. Now, I've said more than a few not-so-nice things about Brock Lesnar over the years, but I sincerely hope he recovers swiftly and returns to the Octagon very soon. He is a gifted athlete and is a very entertaining fighter to watch (whether you're rooting for or against him).

With Lesnar vs Carwin no longer the main event, the UFC has bumped up the previously designated "co-main event" (Tito vs. Forrest) as the new headline bout for UFC 106. Tito Ortiz steps back into the Octagon for the first time in over a year against fan favorite, Forrest Griffin. Tito beat Forrest in a very controversial split decision over three years ago. This time the stakes are higher for both fighters involved and I doubt Saturday's fight will go to the judges.

Tito is coming off of two losses, a draw, and over a year's worth of "ring rust". A win against Forrest revitalizes his career and puts him immediately back into the light heavyweight title picture. Forrest on the other hand is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his UFC career and another loss could at a minimum move him to "undercard" fighter status. Being as popular as he is, I doubt Dana White would be ready to cut Forrest from the company, although he desperately needs a win to reclaim a level of relevance within the organization again.

A couple of other fights on the card to watch are Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck and Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah.

Johnson won his last fight in devastating fashion, but will attempt to get back on Dana's good side by making weight this time. He came in 6 lbs over in his bout against Yoshida! Koscheck looks to get a winning streak going that's long enough to get him into the welterweight title picture.

Baroni, a veteran of the UFC's early days makes his return to the Octagon after a four and a half year absence. He'll face the winner of TUF 7, Amir Sadollah, who lost his first official fight in the UFC by a very controversial stoppage against Johnny Hendricks at UFC 101.

Overall, this event won't be the "Mega Event" that we were all hoping for, but it is a very solid card from top to bottom and is certainly worth the $50 you'll need to fork over to catch it on pay-per-view. And don't forget, two prelim bouts will be broadcasted on Spike TV for FREE!

UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 21st.

My Fight Picks

MAIN CARD

• Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz: Tito wins by decision.
• Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck: Koscheck wins by decision.
• Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah: Baroni wins by decision.
• Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Little Nog gets the first round TKO.
• Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan: Hazelett by second round submission.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders: Davis by decision.
• Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt: Rosholt by first round submission.

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)

• Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann: Thiago by decision.
• Brian Foster vs. Brock Larson: Larson wins by decision.
• Fabricio Camoes vs. Caol Uno: Uno by decision.
• Jason Dent vs. George Sotiropoulos: Sotiropoulos by first round submission.

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Couture vs. Vera may not be the most tantalizing main event that the UFC has ever put together, but there are quite a few very good reasons to catch this fight!

1) To see 46 year-old Randy Couture defy the aging process when he faces Brandon Vera who is 14 years younger.

2) To see if Michael Bisping can shake off his vicious KO defeat by the hands of Dan Henderson at UFC 100. Up until that event, he had never been KO'd before.

3) To determine who will be the next welterweight "victim" to be fed to the champ, George St. Pierre.

4) To establish if TUF 9 winner James Wilks is the real deal. Can he win his debut fight in the UFC?

5) To watch the continuation of the US vs. UK rivalry established in TUF 9. There are 5 US vs. UK fights on the card. USA! USA! USA!

Bonus Reason: It's FREE on Spike TV!

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Mixed martial arts fans have had a lot to look forward to for the last couple weeks. And after this weekend, it looks like there is a big-time MMA show scheduled each week until at least the end of the year.

First, MMA fans were treated with a free Strikeforce show on CBS featuring the best fighter on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko. With one of his best finishes ever, Fedor kept his stellar record intact by crushing Brett Rogers with a devastating right hand that immediately crumpled Rogers in the second round. According to Strikeforce's Scott Coker, Fedor's next opponent is likely Fabricio Werdum who also won his fight against Antonio Silva earlier in that same event.

Second, more "free" MMA will be available this weekend, when the UFC broadcasts UFC 105: Couture vs Vera on Spike TV this Saturday. This event will be held in Manchester, England the home country for many of the fighters on the card such as Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy. The main event will showcase 46 year-old Randy Couture fighting against fellow light heavyweight Brandon Vera. The winner of this fight will be in the running for a title shot against Lyoto Machida, the current light heavyweight champion. Lyoto's first opponent will most likely be Shogun Rua in a rematch to their fight several weeks ago where Lyoto won in controversial fashion, but a convincing win by Couture or Vera will put either of them at the top of list.

Also on the UFC 105 fight card is a huge bout between Dan Hardy and Mike Swick. There's no doubt about the title implications attached to this fight. The winner gets GSP early next year.

And if you're looking for a battle between two fighters with opposing styles, make sure you watch Michael Bisping (Striker) take on Denis Kang (Jiu-Jitsu). Which martial art will prevail? You'll have to watch to find out!

The rest of the fight card is not too shabby either! Check out UFC 105: Couture vs Vera on Saturday, November 14th on Spike TV. Go to www.ufc.com for more information about the event.

Finally, after UFC 105, there is a steady stream of Strikeforce, WEC, and UFC events until the end of the year to keep even the most die-hard MMA fans content!

My UFC 105 Fight Picks

• Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera: The enduring Couture wins yet again by decision.
• Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick: Hardy gets the second round TKO.
• Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang: Kang gets the first round submission.
• Matt Brown vs. James Wilks: Wilks wins by decision.
• Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley: Pearson wins by decision.

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This weekend, Strikeforce (the UFC's main competitor) will attempt to break the record for the most watched MMA event in TV history when they showcase Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers on CBS. This is the first network-televised MMA event since Strikeforce bought out the now-defunct Elite XC organization which established the current record (6.51 million viewers at peak) by showcasing a gentleman by the name of Kimbo Slice.

The big question this weekend is whether or not Fedor will be as big of a TV ratings draw as Kimbo Slice or any other notable MMA fighter, for that matter.

Fedor has been described as the pound-for-pound best fighter in all of MMA, but is basically an unknown outside of the core MMA fan community. Over the last several weeks, Strikeforce has attempted to introduce Fedor to casual MMA enthusiasts by marketing him on a series called Fight 360 on Showtime. Producers are hoping to uncover and focus on Fedor who is depicted largely as a mystery to US fans. Fedor is widely known in other parts of the world, specifically Japan where he was a star in the now-defunct Pride FC.

Outside of the Showtime series and the 30 second commercials I've seen on CBS over the last 30 days, I don't think Strikeforce has done enough to properly introduce Fedor to the casual fan. Unfortunately for the organization, Fedor isn't necessarily a willing participant in the process. He's a very quiet, unassuming person who does everything he can to stay out of the spotlight and he isn't looking to be the face of MMA anytime soon.

If I were Strikeforce, I would attempt to learn from EliteXC's mistake and quit trying to make Fedor the main draw for the organization and focus on developing a wide-variety of talent in order to draw in the fans as well as compete with the UFC. When EliteXC put all of their eggs in the Kimbo basket, they went down for the count when Kimbo lost his fight against Seth Petruzelli. Hopefully history won't repeat itself.

For MMA junkies like me, Fedor vs Rogers is probably one of the top five MMA events of the year, but it will most likely stop short of breaking any TV records. But you never know, with the economy the way it is, an opportunity to watch a solid MMA fight card without having to shell out 50 bucks for a pay-per-view might be too much to resist.

Fight Picks

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers: Fedor wins by first round submission.
• Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title): Shields wins by second round submission.
• Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (non-title match): Mousasi wins by second round TKO.
• Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum: Werdum wins by first round TKO.

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The most successful mixed martial arts promotion in the world has to fall down every once in a while. Unfortunately for the UFC, they've been falling down for quite some time, and I don't see them getting their stride back until at least 2010. Although the most recent controversial decision in the Machida-Shogun championship bout was damaging to the organization, their problems began several months ago.

The first part of 2009 started off very well for the UFC. Penn vs. Pierre II at UFC 94, Shogun vs. Liddell at UFC 97, Machida upsetting Evans at UFC 98, the signing of Kimbo Slice, and all of the events surrounding UFC 100 (including Fan Expo) were highly successful events which were applauded by the MMA-fan base. Regrettably, the bad news for the organization started the minute Forrest Griffin (UFC poster boy and fan favorite) was annihilated by Anderson Silva at UFC 101. Forrest was so soundly beaten by Silva that he immediately ran out of the arena distraught with his performance. "Run Forrest Run!" (an obvious parody of the movie Forrest Gump) seemed to be the anthem for many of the Griffin-haters. After that very embarrassing moment in UFC history it seems as if the organization hasn't been able to catch a break. Let's take a look at some of the not-so-great news for the UFC over the last five months.

1. Although the UFC wins a battle when main MMA rival, Affliction, closes shop, they ultimately lose the war when another rival, Strikeforce, beats them to the punch and signs the best fighter in MMA history, Fedor Emelianenko.

2. Even though a bout between TUF 10 coaches has been advertised for the last six months, this fight will not happen any time soon. Rampage decided to get into acting and is portraying B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A Team movie. In addition, he announced via his blog that he was retiring from the sport. At this point, nobody is sure if he is "officially" retired, since he has left the door open for a possible return. What I do know is that Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson will have to wait until next year, if it even happens at all.

3. Fan favorite, George St. Pierre injured his groin in his dominating performance over Thiago Alves at UFC 100. GSP will be out of commission until at least early next year.

4. After Anderson Silva crushed Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, Silva went under the knife to address a persistent elbow issue and won't be available until 2010.

5. With a severe lack of headline talent available to fill both UFC 102 & 103 cards, fans were ultimately disappointed with the match-ups that ended up broadcasting on pay-per-view.

6. As discussed earlier, Machida beat Shogun at UFC 104 for the light heavyweight title in an extremely controversial decision. This left many MMA fans questioning the current 10-point must system in MMA. The majority of the fans that I've talked to, feel that the real champ is the one without the belt.

7. The most disheartening news came this week when Brock Lesnar, current UFC heavyweight champ, bowed out of his match-up against Shane Carwin due to an ongoing illness. Lesnar is a huge draw for the UFC and is directly responsible for two very successful pay-per-view events (with PPV buys over a million). His absence on the upcoming UFC 106 card is a huge blow to the organization.

Although the UFC has re-acquired fighters like Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort at an attempt to address their predicament, without names like Lesnar, Silva, Jackson, Evans, or GSP in the mix, look for the UFC to go out with a whimper in 2009.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that they get back on track starting with their January 2nd show. You never know, maybe all of these fighters currently out of action might end up on that card as a blockbuster New Year's event.

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