Few, if any, would argue Ronda Rousey isn't the top female fighter on the planet. While Cyborg Justino might take issue with the claim, Rousey is demonstrably more accomplished given her status as the UFC women's bantamweight champion.

Yet, the question remains, how does she stack up against the best of the men? According to Rousey's coach Edmond Tarverdyan, the answer is right at the top.

Top three, for sure. Top three, yes, he told Ariel Helwani on Monday's The MMA Hour. Ronda finishes every fight. Ronda finishes every fight, she's amazing. With the skills and the hard work and what she shows in the Octagon.

With 16 seconds, she showed everything. Good punch, good knee, good takedown, good ground and pound. This girl did everything in 16 seconds, so she is in the top three. The way she performed against Sara McMann also, silver medalist, and the way she controlled her on the cage. Put those combinations together, mixed it up with elbows, everything, and dropped her. It's great.

As Tarverdyan sees it, it's not merely that Rousey's wins or accomplishments count. Certainly those count, but they don't tell the sum total of her career. According to him, it's the nature of how she's winning that also should be taken into account.

You have a girl that's a great grappler, he explained. The first opponent she knocks out, she gets it from the liver shot. Think about that. That's very difficult to do. In boxing, when we build our fighters, the way I do it is to make them understand the body shots. We work on that because it's going to be very important in a twelve-round fight. You drop people from the body, so you learn that in the beginning of your career when you're getting what people call those tomato cans to fight.

But it's a learning process, so you can be ready for that big fight. Ronda's first knockout she gets is from the body. That's amazing. That's amazing because she was dropping people in the gym with the body shots. She did it. She was dropping people in the gym with head shots, the overhand right. In this case, she did it. She's an amazing athlete.

While the debate is likely to rage over where Rousey belongs in the pound-for-pound rankings in addition to how Tarerdyan's comments exacerbate the back and forth, the coach of the UFC champion is unwavering in his belief.

What I see with her, yes, the fights finish early, but she's the best in the world, he argued. She's should be in the top three.

http://www.mmafighting.com

‘Bigfoot’ Silva: I want to finish Andrei Arlovski this time

Antonio Bigfoot Silva and Andrei Arlovski will meet again, and the Brazilian heavyweight wants to go 2-0 against the former UFC champion with a finish.

Bigfoot and Arlovski battled for three rounds in Strikeforce in 2010. Four years and four months later, Silva, who won that bout via unanimous decision, headlines the UFC Fight Night 51 card in his homeland of Brasilia, Brazil.

We fought once and we know what we can do, but we fought four years ago and I changed my game a lot since, Silva told MMAFighting.com. I was too anxious in that fight. It was the second time I was fighting a well-known fighter, after Ricco Rodriguez, so I wanted the win no matter what. I tried to finish him but I couldn’t. I’m sure that it’s going to be different this time.

I will do everything I can to finish him, he added. I don’t like to let the fight go to a decision, we never know what the judges are going to do. My goal is to end it as soon as possible, but I will be ready for five rounds. I will try to submit or knock him out all the time. Arlovski deserves respect, but I only care about myself.

Bigfoot asked the UFC to fight at the Fight Night card in Brasilia on Sept. 13, but Arlovski wasn’t the opponent he had in mind. The American Top Team heavyweight campaigned for a bout against Josh Barnett, but is happy to face a former champion.

I really wanted to fight Josh, but the UFC thought that Andrei Arlovski would be a better fight right now, he said. He’s a really tough opponent, a former heavyweight champion, and I’m happy to headline a UFC card in Brazil against him.

Out of the UFC since 2008, Arlovski returned to the Octagon in June with a split decision victory over Brendan Schaub. UFC president Dana White criticized both fighters for their performances, but Silva won’t underestimate Arlovski.

It was a weak fight, technically speaking. Neither fighter wanted to expose, he said. It was an ugly fight, but I’m pretty sure he will be back better this time. He will be back better trained, and I know he wants to fight better.

http://www.mmafighting.com

H ow much has life changed for UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman since he won the title? He was getting set to head to the airport to catch his flight to Los Angeles when he appeared on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Weidman, who defeated Lyoto Machida last week at UFC 175, has been nominated for an ESPY award for the Best Upset of 2013 for his UFC 162 knockout of former champion Anderson Silva. He joins fellow UFC champions Ronda Rousey (Best Female Athlete and Best Fighter) and Jon Jones (Best Fighter) as nominees at the awards show.

The ceremony will happen on July 16 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on ESPN. The next day, July 17, is officially Chris Weidman Day in Nassau County. That, too, is to commemorate the champion’s feat of dethroning Silva.

As for everything that comes after, Weidman is still in the process of figuring out whom he’ll fight next, and when. Although, if he had his druthers, he’d defend the 185-pound title next against the guy who is rightfully next in line, Vitor Belfort.

I wish I could tell you, I’m in the same boat as you, the Long Island native told Ariel Helwani. I haven’t spoken to Dana [White] or anyone at the UFC since my fight [on July 5].

I do want to fight Vitor Belfort. He’s the guy who’s been floating around the top for awhile now. He’s another legend. I’ve kind of grew to enjoy fighting legends that I got into the sport watching and admiring. Obviously he has his drug test issue going on. I hope somehow he can figure it out and we can get him licensed and, I really don’t know how that’s working. But that’s the guy I do want to fight.

Belfort has been the No. 1 contender since he knocked out Dan Henderson in November of last year, but it’s complicated. Belfort was supposed to fight Weidman at UFC 173, which was shifted and ultimately changed due to Weidman needing surgery on his knees and the abrupt February ban on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in Nevada. Belfort, who fought three times in Brazil in 2013, was on TRT at the time of the ban.

Belfort, who was busted for steroids back in 2006 when he faced Henderson in Pride, was randomly tested out of competition while visiting Las Vegas in February. He still needs to go before the Nevada Athletic Commission to try and get licensed in the state, which has presented a lot of murkiness to the matchmaking process.

With this being the case, Weidman ran down the list of other eligible contenders that might become his next challenge.

Then you have [Gegard] Mousasi who’s fighting Jacare [Ronaldo Souza], so I don’t know if the winner of that…and then you have [Luke] Rockhold, who lost to Vitor, but he came back with two big W’s over [Tim] Boetsch and Costas [Philippou], he said. I think he may need another win, another top five win to get it, but that’s up to the UFC…but there’s no one out there for him to fight, so I don’t know. I don’t really know what’s going to happen. It’s a weird division we’re in.

Weidman said he would strongly recommend that Belfort be thoroughly tested for PEDs before fighting him, but said he wouldn’t demand it with the UFC. When pressed as to why not, he said that he was 100 percent positive that he would be anyway.

As for down the line, Weidman said his goal would be to clean out the middleweight division and then take some super-fights outside of it. When the name Jon Jones was brought up, Weidman said that would be a fight that he’d be very interested in if and when it came up, given that they are both still in the same position they’re in now.

It depends, right now he would be [at the top of the list of things to accomplish], because I’m at the top, and he’s at the top. That’s the guy I’d want to fight, he said. But, who knows where he’ll be at that point. I think he’s going to be on top for awhile, and I think I will too. So, if I had to say right now, I’d say that’s the fight that I would want. I want to fight the best guys in the world…I want to fight people that other people think I have no chance of beating. So, he would definitely be an awesome test for me.

As for welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks, who recently expressed interest in fighting Weidman?

I don’t even think that I’d entertain that, he said. Not that he’s not good or anything like that, but it just doesn’t make any sense to talk about it now. [Hendricks] hasn’t defended his belt yet, and I have more people to fight in my weight class. On top of that, I would never call out a guy who’s smaller than me. I’m a lot bigger than him, I think. I know he walks around heavy but I’d feel like I’d have a huge advantage in that fight, so I’m not calling him out.

Jon Jones is different, he continued. He’s taller than me, he’s bigger than me, so that’s a different story. That would be more of a test than Johny Hendricks.

http://www.mmafighting.com

Callum Smith says he must perform in his televised clash with Vladine Biosse on July 12 in order to justify his reputation as one of boxing’s rising stars.

The super-middleweight defends his WBC International title live on Sky Sports at the Echo Arena in Liverpool as he looks to extend his perfect record to 12 wins.

The 24-year-old caught the eye in 2013 after a run of six successive first round wins, but Smith insists he has a long way to go before being regarded as one of the world’s hottest prospects.

“I think I have a lot to do but it’s nice to be named as one to watch,” said Smith.

“I don’t believe I am the hottest prospect in world boxing as there are some great young fighters out there, but I must be doing something right if people are talking about me in that way.

“You are only as good as your last performance and if I am poor against Biosse then the same people who think I am one of the ones to watch will say I’m not as good as they thought.

“I just need to keep working hard in the gym and listening to my trainer Joe Gallagher and just beating whoever Eddie (Hearn) puts in front of me.”

Smith believes tricky southpaw Biosse will present a sterner test than some of the opponents he has faced in the last 18 months.

“I saw his last fight, he’s an experienced southpaw and another step up for me which is what I wanted to end the season with,” said Smith.

“I’m looking to perform well again and it looks like a distance fight for me. He’s only been stopped three times in 20 fights and last time out against J’Leon Love he went to the tenth round so it looks like it could go a few rounds.

“I like the early KOs but I do think that I need to get some rounds and he’s been brought in for that reason.

“In boxing one punch can change a fight and that has been the case with me. He’s a southpaw so it might take me a few rounds to get used to him and he’s been around so it’s good experience for me.”

Smith’s clash with Biosse is part of an action-packed card which features fellow Liverpudlian Tony Bellew fighting Julio Cesar Dos Santos and Nathan Cleverly taking on Alejandro Valori.

Anthony Joshua is also on the bill against Matt Skelton along with Luke Campbell, Anthony Ogogo and Rocky Fielding.

www1.skysports.com

Lightweight bouts between Bobby Green and Abel Trujillo, as well as Michael Johnson and Josh Thomson are no more.

The shuffle comes on the heels of the news that Johnson has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Thomson at  UFC on Fox 12 “Lawler vs. Brown” on July 26 in San Jose, Calif., stepping in will be Green who now leaves Trujillo without an opponent.

UFC officials confirmed the switches on Friday. The promotion went on to add that it’s actively searching for a new opponent for “Killa.”

Green and Trujillo were originally set to meet in February at UFC 169, but that matchup was scratched when Green withdrew from the bout due to injury. The fight was then scheduled for UFC 176, but that event was subsequently cancelled and again the tilt was moved to  Aug. 16 card in Maine.

Green last competed in December, when he extended his current winning streak to seven with a unanimous decision against Pat Healy.

Thomson hinted at possibly hanging up his gloves following a controversial decision defeat to Benson Henderson this past January, but that is clearly not the case. The former Strikeforce champion has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights and debuted in the UFC last year with a second-round technical knockout of Nate Diaz.

http://www.sherdog.com

Wadi Camacho admits defeat is ‘not an option’ as he prepares to face Stephen Simmons in a crucial cruiserweight clash.

The Londoner’s career has stuttered amidst costly defeats against China Clarke and Tony Conquest, but he will rise up the rankings with a win over Simmons at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow on June 27, live on Sky Sports.

Camacho, a Prizefighter champion, insists he learned from the two setbacks and will produce a dominant performance in front of his Scottish rival’s supporters.

He said: “Losing to him is not an option. It's the mistakes I've made that have seen me lose and I have learnt from my two defeats as I gave those fights away. I am strong-minded and in a happy place.

I've got this boy in front of me and I need to do the business. I'm going there full steam ahead and it's going to be a hot night for him, too hot.

“There's only going to be one man throwing bombs and that's me. He's going to be chucking wild shots, but I am not predicting what I am going to do, everybody knows what I do, so I'll let the fans talk about that.

“I am just going to go and enjoy myself, and put on a beautiful performance for the Scottish fans.”

The pair were team-mates in the Great Britain set-up but have fallen out since then, stoking up their rivalry with some ugly exchanges on social media sites.

Amateurs

Camacho is confident he will dish out a first defeat to his unbeaten foe, suggesting that the Scot has not improved since they were amateurs.

“We were on the GB team together and went to America on the same team and I even have photos of us two together as mates,” said Camacho. “Maybe he was worried about me taking his place on the squad? I don’t know.

“We did a bit of sparring a few years ago, but it was just a bit of technical stuff. With him what you see now is that same as he was six or seven years ago, he hasn’t been exposed properly and on June 27 I’m going to expose him.”

All of the bad blood in the build-up should mean Camacho receives a hot reception in Glasgow, but he has vowed to keep his cool when the first bell rings.

“I’m expecting a hostile atmosphere in the Braehead Arena come fight night,” said Camacho. “Booing and jeering, loads of noise, but I say to his fans: ‘Keep that coming, the more boos I get the more it will lift me up’. I’m going to take all the negativity and turn it positive, it’s going to be great.

“I'm just grateful that I have the chance to box on a big bill and fight somewhere I have never fought before and put on a great show on Sky Sports.”

Former world champion Ricky Burns returns to action on the same bill, facing unbeaten Montenegrin Dejan Zlaticanin in an official eliminator for the WBC world lightweight title.

Reigning British champion Curtis Woodhouse will also face Commonwealth title holder Willie Limond.

www1.skysports.com

A former Ultimate Fighter champion has found a home in the Titan Fighting Championships.

Efrain Escudero, the TUF 8 lightweight season winner, has signed with the company and will debut against E.J. Brooks on August 22 at TFC 29 in Fayetteville, N.C., new TFC COO Lex McMahon announced on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.

Escudero (22-8), a native of Sonora, Mexico who now lives in Tempe, Ariz., defeated Philipe Nover to win TUF 8 back in 2008. He had a pair of stints in the UFC, the last one ending after a decision loss to Mac Danzig at UFC 145.

Since then, Escudero has made the rounds, competing in RFA, Bellator, and myriad independent promotion. He has won four out of his past five fights, including a TKO win over Juha-Pekka Vainikainen in his last fight in March in Sweden.

Brooks (7-3), a 28-year old from Illinois, is a former Bellator and RFA competitor. He's dropped his past three fights after winning the first seven of his career.

http://www.mmafighting.com

Jackson’s MMA Announces That They Will Start Their Association Program Allowing Gyms To Affiliate With One Of The World’s Premier Combat Sport Gyms. Being Part Of The Association Earns A Gym A Three And A Half Day Seminar At The Jackson’s MMA Gym And The Opportunity To Share The Curriculum From The World Renowned Gym.

Gyms around the world have utilized an affiliate program to expand their brand, whether it has been the Gracie Barra line of gyms or the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu gyms, even the American Top Team gym has a program to become their affiliate.

The basic idea of this opportunity is to align a smaller gym with a well-recognized gym in order for the small gym to expand on reputation and the larger gym to expand the brand into new markets. It is a trade-off between the two entities without the need for large-financial commitment. It would take the small gym several years to grow to even a fraction of the size of these larger gyms which in turn would cost an exponentially significant amount of money to accomplish and the larger gym would have to open their own gym in these small markets which would force commitment to getting a building, sending instructors and hoping the gym flourishes.

The association or affiliation program is basically a middle-grounds for both small and large gyms to erase those complications. In an announcement today, it was revealed that Jackson’s MMA would start their own association.

Per the Press Release sent out today by Jackson’s MMA General Manager Ricky Kottenstette:

A unique opportunity is now available to Martial Arts Instructors and Coaches. Renowned Mixed Martial Arts Coach Greg Jackson is extending an invitation to join the Jackson’s MMA Association and be part of the world’s premiere MMA team. Coach Jackson is seeking affiliates who share his passion for coaching and teaching Mixed Martial Arts. For those who choose to become part of the team – they will benefit from a structured, leveled, progressive MMA curriculum program customized for children as well as adults. Existing Martial Arts Schools and Gyms can add a well organized and structured MMA program to existing class offerings.

Affiliate instructors will train in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, home to Coach Jackson’s fight team for three and half days. Training will be conducted at our primary facility as well as at our pro facility – a truly unique and exciting opportunity. Coach Jackson and his staff will provide instruction so that affiliate instructors will be confident teaching Jackson’s MMA to their students. Support extends beyond initial instructor training as the association has an affiliate portal with access to curriculum schedules, class plans, video instruction and much more. Choosing to become an affiliate will allow your school or gym to become associated with the most accomplished and recognized fight team in the world today.

Martial arts school owners should contact our representatives to understand how adding the Jackson’s MMA program through the association can benefit their school and their business. By becoming an affiliate the school and students will be recognized as such on the association web site as well as with social media.

The association is also recognizing the first 100 affiliates as Founding Affiliates. Founding Affiliate Instructors will be provided a special 4 hour exclusive seminar with Coach Jackson prior to the start and in addition to their instructor training. Class sizes for instructor training sessions are capped at 25 students so you will be assured to have access to Coach Jackson.

This new opportunity is major for the expansion of the Albuquerque gym that has remained local despite it’s global brand expansion. The opportunity to work with world-renowned Greg Jackson would be a great opportunity looking to improve, upgrade or jump-start their own gym curriculum. The Jackson’s MMA gym is also home to renowned and elite level coaches Brandon Gibson, Mike Valle and the one of the sport’s top striking coaches Mike Winkeljohn.

The Press Release also leaves contact information for potential suitors:

Contacts: Greg Hendrick or Ricky Kottenstette

Call 505.209.3080 (Ext 703 or Ext 704) for more information or visit www.jacksonsmmaassociation.com

http://swfight.com

Donald Cowboy Cerrone is on a hot streak, winning his last four inside the Octagon. UFC.com takes a look at what could be next for the lightweight contender.

Putting together a win streak nowadays inside the Octagon is no small feat. Every division is absolutely packed with talent and, on any given night, even the best of the best are bound to taste defeat.

Donald Cerrone continued his impressive beat down of the lightweight division at Fight Night Atlantic City Wednesday when he became the first man to hand Jim Miller a loss by knockout.

That makes four straight finishes for Cowboy and there seems to be plenty of options waiting for him in his next potential fight. Let's look at some of the possible matchups.

> Watch: Donald Cerrone's Fight Night AC Post Fight Octagon Interview

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Maybe the sexiest potential fight for Cerrone, Khabib took to Twitter almost immediately after Cowboy's big win to let everybody, including UFC President Dana White, know that he's game to fight the red hot Cerrone.

The undefeated Russian lightweight, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the official UFC rankings, would be a massive test for Cerrone. The first thing most fight fans think about when referencing Khabib is his amazing sambo, which was on full display in his dominant win over Abel Trujilo at UFC 160.

But Cowboy's elite takedown defense may be the answer to handing Nurmagomedov his first loss. Cowboy defends takedowns at an 87 percent clip, which is good for the second-best mark in lightweight history. If the fight remains on the feet, look for Cowboy to unload his devastating striking assasult which has helped him to a division record 12 finishes in his UFC/WEC career.

> Watch: Cowboy Talks About The Meaning Behind Tattoos

Winner of Benson Henderson/Rafael dos Anjos

Cerrone has some unfinished business with both Benson and Rafael, suffering losses to both fighters earlier in his career.

But some would argue that the current version of Cowboy is the most dangerous ever. Those looking for evidence need to look no further than his relentless pursuit of the finish throughout his current win streak. Against dos Anjos the first time around, both fighters landed their share of shots on the feet, but Rafael was able to pull off a pair of takedowns and control Cowboy on the ground.   Benson holds a pair of victories over Cerrone back in their WEC days, but the last meeting was over four years ago. It might be time for the third episode in the trilogy to see who gets a crack at the winner of Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez.

Josh Thomson

Making his presence felt immediately when he made his return to the Octagon in April 2013, Thomson became the first fighter to ever finish Nate Diaz by KO or TKO with a brutal head kick.

Thomson, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion, made three appearances in the UFC back in 2003 and 2005. After beating Diaz, Thomson met former UFC champ Benson Henderson back in January and lost by split decision. The Punk will fight Bobby Green at UFC on FOX: Lawler vs. Brown on July 26, and if he wins he'll be looking to get back into the title conversation, and what better title eliminator bout  than Thomson vs. Cerrone.

Going into Cerrone vs. Miller, everybody seemed convinced the bout had fight of the year potential, and a Cerrone-Thomson slugfest has the same appeal.

www.ufc.com

 Zak Cummings: Laughing at the Odds

Zak Cummings laughs at your betting odds. Literally.

At least when it concerns him being a 5 to 1 underdog to a fellow Ultimate Fighter alum who was also making only his second Octagon appearance. Add to that, Cummings’ UFC debut was a Submission of the Night win by way of a very slick first-round D’arce choke. Nevertheless, at UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva, Cummings found out the bad news at the last possible moment that oddsmakers had little to no faith in him that evening against Yan Cabral, and he couldn’t have cared any less.

“I laughed when I saw the odds come out,” reveals Cummings. “I knew I was the underdog, but I didn’t realize how stacked it was until he was actually entering the cage and I looked up at the screen and saw the odds (laughs). I started laughing in the cage when I saw them. I was like, ‘Whatever. We’ll see.’”

The 29-year-old, originally from Irving, Texas, was full of confidence heading into a clash with Nova Uniao’s highly-regarded BJJ black belt Cabral. Sure, Cabral was an accomplished grappler with an undefeated pro MMA record that saw him score 10 of his 11 wins by submission, but Cummings is a game fighter who had competed at a high level one and two weight classes above 170 pounds and owned nine of his 16 career wins by submission. Maybe they didn’t see it, but Cummings knew what he was capable of, especially after tasting Cabral’s best in the first round, and he went out there and proved the oddsmakers dead wrong.

“It pretty much went how I thought it would,” tells Cummings. “I knew he was going to come out and try to take me down and put me on my back. He was able to in the first round. He wanted no part of my standup. After he felt my power, he shot over and over again. It started wearing him down and he was mentally breaking and I just took control of the fight. I didn’t really feel in danger in the first round. He had a fully locked down triangle and couldn’t finish me with it. He ended up on top and somewhat had a mount position when I was against the fence, but I never really felt in danger. Even though he was in a normally dominant position, I didn’t feel in danger at all. That gave me a huge confidence boost.”

Cabral took the opening five minutes on the scorecards, but the next 10 belonged squarely in Cummings’ hands. “We came out for the second round, he threw that head kick that I caught and I chucked him off to the side - that kind of set the pace for the rest of the fight,” remembers Cummings, who would go on to score three takedowns and land four times as many significant strikes in the remainder of his unanimous decision win.”I just didn’t think he had fought anybody that had the grind and the wrestling that I have. I was really a bad matchup for him.”

In his two Octagon appearances / wins since his stint on TUF 17, Cummings has proved that he’s a truly dangerous animal at welterweight. Previously, Cummings racked up 18 pro fights at 185 and 205 pounds, where he went 15-3. Of those defeats, two were five-round decisions, with one being to currently #15 ranked UFC light heavyweight Ryan Jimmo, and Cummings has only been finished once and that was five years ago to currently #6 ranked UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy. Now, in back-to-back 170 performances, Cummings has shown improved speed, strength, durability, and, as mentioned, sheer confidence in the cage.

“I feel amazing at this weight,” states Cummings. “I never got manhandled or ‘out-strengthed’ at 185 or at 205, but this is the weight that I really need to be competing at. I’ve known that for a while, but it’s one of those things where if you’re not losing then there wasn’t a reason to do it. Now, I’m fighting the best guys in the world and fight for the best promotion possible, so let’s take a serious run at this and do it at the right weight class. I knew I could get to 170, but I just had to make a lot of changes. I made those changes and it has meant the world to me. My speed is there and I feel very strong and powerful. I’ve got knockout power in both hands and I’m very strong when I clinch on to somebody. I finally feel like I’m at a weight class where it is all coming together for me.”

Up next, Cummings will get his biggest opportunity yet to climb the divisional ranks as he meets Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao. The #13 ranked Nelson is coming off a highlight reel effort in London against Omari Akhmedov, where the Icelandic wunderkind scored a Performance of the Night bonus with his first-round guillotine choke victory. The 25-year-old Renzo Gracie BJJ black belt is unbeaten as an MMA pro in 13 bouts and he owns three wins inside the Octagon. With the clash set in Dublin, Nelson will no doubt have the crowd’s support as he trains under coach John Kavanagh at SBG Ireland.

“The last time I watched him fight I thought he was impressive,” admits Cummings. “Actually, my mom called me and was like, ‘That guy’s pretty good.’ I know Gunnar is a more dangerous fighter than Cabral was MMA-wise, but I feel like they’re very similar guys. Gunnar’s striking is very different with that unorthodox, karate style, but he’s a grappler at heart. He’s a very good grappler like Cabral and he’s going to try and take this fight to the ground and put me on my back. I really feel like it’s going to be very similar to the last fight stylistically. I’ve prepared for a war, I’ve prepared for a Fight of the Night. I hope he has too.”

In preparation for Nelson, Cummings has been busy training under the watchful eye of coach Deryck Ripley at Glory MMA Fitness in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. A resident of “The Show-Me State” since he was three years old, Cummings’ small Midwestern gym boasts two more UFC rising talents besides himself in lightweight James Krause and #11 ranked flyweight Tim Elliott. For strength conditioning, Cummings works with Brian Wilkerson at River Market Crossfit and is an avid swimmer. In charge of keeping him upright is his chiropractor Renny Russell, as Cummings jokes, “If I didn’t have him my body would be falling apart (laughs).”

Obviously, Cummings’ ground game was tested against Cabral in his last outing and, most likely, will be tested again by Nelson. As mentioned, Cummings is a BJJ brown belt, and before that he wrestled from sixth grade through junior college. Nowadays, Cummings’ ground talents are being honed by one of the best in Wendell Alexander (co-founder of Nova Uniao) BJJ black belt Leo Pecanha. When asked why he can excel on the ground against someone like Cabral or Nelson, Cummings answered, “I’m not going in there to put on a gi and put on a sports jiu-jitsu match with these guys - it’s a fight and that’s something I do pretty well.

“I think I do a very good job remembering that I’m in an MMA fight and not in a jiu-jitsu match when I hit the ground,” continues Cummings. “A lot of these guys, these top level jiu-jitsu guys, they strike and strike and then when they hit the ground they pretty much go straight jiu-jitsu. I do a very good job of mixing in my punches and wrestling and my scrambles along with my jiu-jitsu game. I know that helped me out a lot in my last fight. If we had just done a straight jiu-jitsu match, who knows what would have happened. But I was able to hit him in the face with a couple of punches and he was letting go of all kinds of submission attempts. He went for a kneebar and I landed a couple of hard shots with my left hand and he let go immediately and that’s how I took his back.”

This Saturday in Ireland’s capital city, Cummings will collide with Nelson for a co-main event scrap with Fight of the Night written all over it. “When you have two guys who don’t want to play the point system - they want to choke the other guy out or knock him out - it makes for an exciting fight,” asserts Cummings, who is ready to take out the favorite once again with a smile on his face. “I know I’m going to come in as the underdog and I’ll be laughing at it again. I know where my skill set is and I know I can compete with these guys and I know I can compete with the best guys in the world and Gunnar’s one of them. But it’s my time to prove to everybody else that I’m one of those guys too.”

www.ufc.com

Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow on Monday in Los Angeles, trainer Henry Ramirez told ESPN.com.

On May 10, Arreola challenged Bermane Stiverne for a vacant world title -- the belt that Vitali Klitschko relinquished when he retired in December -- and got knocked out in the sixth round in Los Angeles in a rematch of a previous decision loss to Stiverne.

Ramirez said the elbow has been bothering Arreola (35-4, 31 KOs), 33, of Riverside, Calif., for the past few years but that it further deteriorated during training camp for the title fight.

The doctor said he couldn't believe that Chris has been fighting all these years with it, said Ramirez, who was at Kerlan-Jobe Surgery Center with Arreola, who was waiting to be released. He always favored the arm and this camp it was happening almost every sparring session, especially when he got hit on it. It really bothered him in camp. And he hurt it in the fight.

The doctor termed it an arthritic elbow. They did a scope. They cleaned up scar tissue and fragments.

Ramirez said Arreola would not have full motion in the elbow for about a month and then would have stem cell treatment before he being allowed to train again in about eight weeks.

He had a cortisone shot going into the fight, which he got in late April, Ramirez said. But by the time the fight came it had gone away. It's something he's been dealing with but it has gotten progressively worse.

Ramirez and promoter Dan Goossen said if all goes well with Arreola's recovery the plan is to schedule his next fight for sometime in October.

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Heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Czar Glazkov, coming off a career-best victory against longtime contender Tomasz Adamek in March, will return to action against Derric Rossy on Aug. 9, Main Events announced Wednesday.

The scheduled 10-round bout will headline a Fight Night tripleheader at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Also on the card is a 12-round light heavyweight fight between Robert Berridge and Vasily Lepikhin and red-hot heavyweight prospect Joseph Parker of New Zealand, who will face an opponent to be determined in the scheduled eight-round opener.

This card features a bunch of powerful big men, so I expect to see some fireworks at the Sands on August 9th, Main Events chief executive Kathy Duva said. I'm happy to bring Czar Glazkov back after his impressive performance against Tomasz Adamek in March and to introduce some new faces to the 'Fight Night' fans.

The 29-year-old Glazkov (17-0-1, 11 KOs), a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist from Ukraine, who moved with his wife and daughter to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, about a month ago, will be working with trainer (and former world titleholder) John David Jackson for the first time.

He is 100 percent concentrated on boxing. Many changes came into his life since he moved here, manager Egis Klimas said. He started working with his new trainer John David Jackson so it will be interesting to see the new Czar.

Said Glazkov, Preparation in Florida is going well and John and I have a good understanding. He is adding some new stuff and I like it. I can't wait to try new things in the ring.

Rossy (29-8-0, 14 KOs), 34, of Medford, New York, is a journeyman opponent who has lost two of his last three fights and six of his last 10. But when few opponents were willing to face Glazkov, Rossy was.

Tune in boxing fans because you will see some great heavyweight action, Rossy said.

Berridge (24-1-1, 20 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw from New Zealand, will be making his United States debut against Lepikhin (15-0, 8 KOs), 29, of Russia, who will be fighting outside of his home country for the first time.

Parker (9-0, 8 KOs), 22, a former amateur standout, scored a seventh-round knockout of veteran American Brian Minto in New Zealand last Saturday. Parker has been getting enormous hype in his home country. The fight will be his second in the United States, having fought in Irvine, California, in his fifth pro bout in May 2013.

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