With February coming to an end and the event-heavy month of March
nearly upon us, the variety of topics for discussion is the sport of
MMA is nearly limitless.

Strikeforce’s Challengers event, controversial middleweight Paulo
Filho, UFC 110’s Cain Velasquez and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and the
state of MMA’s fanbase were all topics for discussion in this week’s
edition of The Sunday Junkie.

But this week’s winner, back-to-back champion Ralph “RJCT” Purificato,
focused on one of  the most widely debated stories of the past week:
Frank Mir’s controversial rant on Brock Lesnar and subsequent apology.

A lightweight contest pitting Rob Emerson (9-8 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) against
Nik Lentz (17-3-2 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) is targeted for UFC Fight Night 21,
MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the
situation.

Although bout agreements have yet to be signed, both fighters have agreed
to the fight and are expected to put pen to paper shortly.

UFC Fight Night 21 takes place March 31 at Bojangles Coliseum in
Charlotte, N.C. The main card airs live on Spike TV and serves as the
lead-in for “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ season debut.

A lightweight contest pitting Rob Emerson (9-8 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) against
Nik Lentz (17-3-2 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) is targeted for UFC Fight Night 21,
MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the
situation.

Though bout agreements have yet to be signed, both fighters have agreed
to the fight and are expected to put pen to paper shortly.

UFC Fight Night 21 takes place March 31 at Bojangles Coliseum in
Charlotte, N.C. The main card airs live on Spike TV and serves as the
lead-in for “The Ultimate Fighter 11.”

The co-main event of Friday’s “Strikeforce Challengers VI: Kaufman vs. Hashi” event was all about speed vs. power.

As the first round of the fight between Trevor Prangley (22-5-1 MMA,
3-1-1 SF) and Karl Amoussou (11-2-2 MMA, 0-0-1 SF) unfolded, the South
African connected an a few powerful blows while the Frenchman danced
around his foe and delivered rapid-fire shots.

But just as the fight started to gain momentum, it was halted due to an
accidental blow. While the eye-poke delivered by Pranley was
unintentional, he believes the ensuing stoppage was anything but.

Former Major League Baseball great Jose Canseco has often found himself as the center of a controversy.

And from steroid-use tell-all novels to “Celebrity Boxing” appearances, the
45-year-old Canseco has never been one to shy away from the spotlight.

Such was the case in 2009 when Canseco traded in his outfielder’s glove
for a pair of the four-ounce variety to face Hong Man Choi in DREAM’s
“Super Hulk” tourney. That effort didn’t work out too well, but Canseco
hopes fans will see that he’s deserving of a second shot.

Stratus CEO sees co-existence, not competition, as goal of new ProElite Since
its inception in December 2006 as the “new big player” on the MMA
scene, the question was how ProElite, Inc. planned to compete with the
UFC.

With brash figurehead Gary Shaw serving as ProElite’s face, the company
got swept up in that race as it continued to hemorrhage money. But
after 20 months of operations and $55 million burnt, it closed up shop.

Paul Feller, CEO of Stratus Media Group, the company that assumed
control of ProElite, Inc. this week, said his goal is not to be the
next promotion to challenge the UFC.

Highly touted heavyweight prospect Cole Konrad (2-0) is the latest
addition to the upstart Bellator Fighting Championships organization.

The former NCAA wrestling champion and current training partner of UFC
heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was officially announced as the
newest member of the organization immediately after a first-round TKO
win at a Matrix Fights event in Philadelphia.

MMAjunkie.com has since learned that the 25-year-old is expected to compete in two
non-tournament bouts during Bellator’s second season, and positive
results will likely lead to a spot in an as-yet-unannounced heavyweight
tournament during the promotion’s third season.

Michael DiSanto, UFC – In the first part of the Land of the Giants heavyweight breakdown, we examined the top guns among the big boys. But there’s more than just the Fab Four of Lesnar, Carwin, Mir, and Velasquez, as you’ll soon find out…

Frank Curreri, WEC – Despite his opponent’s recent stretch of bad luck, 11-year pro Javier Vazquez knows better than to underestimate a former UFC Champion. A Gracie Barra Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Vazquez sternly dismisses talk of there being an “Old Jens Pulver” and a contemporary Jens Pulver whose skills have slipped over time.

Frank Curreri, WEC – Despite his opponent’s recent stretch of bad luck, 11-year pro Javier Vazquez knows better than to underestimate a former UFC Champion. A Gracie Barra Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Vazquez sternly dismisses talk of there being an “Old Jens Pulver” and a contemporary Jens Pulver whose skills have slipped over time.