* Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin 2 is a go for UFC 106. Mark Coleman was scheduled to face Ortiz at the event, but had to pull out because of a second-degree tear of the medial collateral ligament in his knee suffered during training. In steps Griffin. Forrest enters the emotional rematch after a break long enough to get married and was recently seen getting embarrassed by UFC MW champion Anderson Silva at UFC 101. Ortiz returns to the UFC after being a highly sought after free agent while providing fight commentary and now boasts a 15-6-1 record. Ortiz and Griffin originally met at UFC 59 in Anaheim, CA, with Ortiz winning by controversial decision.
* Pending Illinois Athletic Commission approval, explosive Judoka Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou will be Gegard Mousasi’s opponent on the upcoming Nov 7 Strikeforce card. Recent reports have waffled on whether the fight will be for Mousasi’s Strikeforce LHW crown or not, with the latest indications leaning towards it being a non-title fight. Mousasi is currently riding a 13 fight win streak including victories over Hector Lombard and Renato Sobral, while Sokoudjou has dropped 3 of his last 6 and is still looking to regain the form he once displayed in Pride.
* The UFC announced that it terminated Junie Browning’s contract immediately upon hearing of his prescription drug overdose and subsequent arrest at a Henderson, NV hospital. Dana White confirmed the news to Yahoo. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” White said. “I haven’t heard anything regarding Junie where he’s acted up or been bad in a long time. You could tell on the show he had issues.” He later added, “He was given an amazing opportunity, but he has some serious issues that are beyond me and what I can do.”
* Strikeforce HW champion Alistair Overeem is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to fight swag-stealin’ Sam Hoger at Glory 11 on Oct 17 in Amsterdam.
* Rumors are swirling that Fabricio Werdum will fight Antonio Silva in an all-Brazilian HW match up at the upcoming Nov 7 Strikeforce card. While not officially confirmed by Strikeforce yet, both fighters are now optimistic about the match up. In addition, two additional fights have been unofficially announced for the undercard of the same event. With time rapidly running out, moves have been made to schedule The Ultimate Fighter 9 cast member Mark Miller taking on Deray Davis and Christian Uflacker meeting Jonatas Novaes. Not exactly Ali-Frazier, but the card needs fights!
