Kenny Florian (Submission of the Night), Roy Nelson (KO of the Night) and the duo of Ross Pearson/Dennis Siver (Fight of the Night) pocketed $30,000 bonuses for their work on last night’s UFC Fight Night 21 event, but what’s money compared to the numbers of the Potato Index? Sure, maybe the Index’s arbitrary numerical rankings system can’t be exchanged for goods and services, but on the flip side, no one has ever accused the Index of being the root of all evil. Not yet, anyway.

Let’s see who’s up and who’s down on this fine Thursday morning.

Kenny Florian +74
Beating Gomi doesn’t mean quite as much as it once did, but Florian looked sharp, patient, and smart in victory. He probably still wouldn’t beat B.J. Penn, which makes him the second-best lightweight in the UFC. Guess it’s better than being the third-best.

While promoting the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 11 , former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Chuck Liddell, discussed where he envisioned himself in the stacked weight division and how he’d like the tail end of his career to play out.

“I want to make another run at the title. I’m guessing it will take another couple fights, I’m going to have to beat Tito, and beat a couple more guys, and then hopefully a title shot after that.”

“One more shot at going out on top. I can still beat anybody in the world. I’m going to try for one more shot at it.”

After losing four out of his last five fights, including three brutal knockouts by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, UFC President, Dana White, made it clear that he wanted Liddell to retire from active competition. White believed Liddell’s best days were behind him and further punishment was unnecessary.

It seems things have changed.

“I think it’s a fight by fight basis. He’s happy with me, he’s seen me train, and seen me training, I think he feels good about seeing me come on the show. I think with the time off and how I look and how I’ve been carrying myself, I think he sees my re-dedication to getting back to fighting. How much I wanted it.”

While Liddell has seemingly reset his priorities, the question remains whether or not he can compete with the younger, faster, stronger generation of MMA fighters. Can he avenge any of his previous losses? Can he compete with the likes of Lyoto Machida, Jon Jones or even Ryan Bader?

(source: MMA Weekly)

Fresh off his unanimous decision loss to UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, at UFC 111, Dan Hardy talked about his future in the division. While many competitors would likely be disheartened by losing, Hardy sees the defeat as motivation to sharpen his skill set. In fact, Hardy believes that his future not only includes becoming a champion, but he’ll do so sooner than most would think.

“I know I can become a world champion within 12 months. The thing about UFC is that, unlike boxing, a defeat doesn’t put you right down at the end of the queue. This sport has many examples of fighters losing a number of bouts and then challenging for, and winning, a world title. My contest against GSP has tought me a lot and I will utilize all of the lessons I have learnt (sic) to make me an even better fighter. There are certain aspects of my game that I can change for the better. I can now go straight back into the gym and do my best to learn lessons from that latest fight of mine.”

Will one calendar year be enough for Hardy to develop a strong enough takedown defense to thwart St. Pierre’s wrestling? Who should Hardy face next? I think Thiago Alves could be interested.

(source: The Daily Record)