Given that the average Brazilian MMA fighter can hold a grudge long enough to make the Count of Monte Cristo look like a goddamned amateur, it should come as no surprise that Thiago Silva hasn’t exactly gotten over suffering his first career loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 last year … or that the fighter took such glee in seeing his rival get knocked out earlier this month by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Silva told Tatame.com this week that he respects Shogun, so was pleased to see him finally emerge from UFC 113 with the 205-pound strap around his waist, but I don’t think we’re reading too much into it to say there are also some lingering bad feelings about Machida bubbling underneath the surface. Silva’s (fully sic’d) comments are after the jump …

From Tatame:

There’s just something a little bit sinister about the phrase “even happier” combined with that parenthetical laugh. As if Silva didn’t really care how or when it happened, as long as karma caught up with Machida somewhere down the road.

Thiago had cruised to 13-0 before meeting up with The Dragon in January of 2009, but Machida derailed the Sao Paulo native’s rise by knocking him cold with a downward punch just a second before the end of the first round. The win boosted Machida into a title fight with Rashad Evans (which, as you know, he won) and was equally important to dashing the public notion of him as a fighter who “couldn’t finish.” On the heels of the loss, Silva rebounded to knock out Keith Jardine at UFC 102 but then encountered another setback when he fell to Evans by unanimous decision at UFC 108.

He now tells Tatame that he’s slated to fight Tim Boetsch on Aug. 7 at UFC 117. Silva has agreed to the bout, but the paperwork is not yet signed, he says. After that, if the UFC saw fit to grant him a rematch with either Machida or Evans, Silva wouldn’t say no …

UFC light heavyweight, Steve “the Robot” Cantwell, has been officially cleared by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In January, four days before his scheduled bout against Vladimir Matyushenko, the NSAC refused to give Cantwell a license after finding issues with his medical paperwork. Although the reason was never revealed, UFC President, Dana White, feared that “the Robot” would never fight again.

Keith Kizer, the NSAC Executive Director, said the initial problems arose after Cantwell had difficulty securing a doctor’s approval on one of his tests.

“What (fighters) have to do is they have to go get a physical, blood work, eye exams and all this other stuff, and have their doctor sign off on it then send it all in. I guess on one of the medicals, and I’m not going to get into what it was, he was having an issue getting a clearance on something,” said Kizer.

Cantwell’s manager, Nick Blomgren, said that everything has been settled with the NSAC.

While a future bout is still undetermined, Blomgren is confident they will get the call shortly.

“That’s up to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva, but I’m sure it will be soon,” Blomgren said. “I think he is just glad he got his license. (He’s) glad it’s resolved and just wants to move on in his career and fight.”

(Source: MMA Junkie)

The speculation is over. Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Alistair “the Demolition Man” Overeem, has passed his drug test.

Leading up to his bout with Brett Rogers last week, many in the MMA community were looking forward to the test results as much as the fight itself. With long standing rumors of Overeem’s use of performance enhancing drugs, the Dutch striker’s career and reputation were seemingly on the line. Throughout the ordeal, “the Demolition Man” has attributed his muscle mass to changes in his diet and workout routine.

The Missouri Office of Athletics, which oversaw last Saturday’s event, screens competitors at random, which left the possibility that Overeem would be overlooked. Additionally, their results remain confidential unless disciplinary action is required.

To avoid any controversy, Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker, decided to conduct additional, independent testing of all its participants.

“When the commission here said they’d only be random testing, I didn’t want there to be an ounce of doubt and have all these critics say, ‘Ah, Alistair didn’t get tested, Feijao didn’t get tested.’”

Now that Overeem has been cleared, sellers of horse meat everywhere can look forward to increased revenue.

(Source: Sherdog)

After defeating Paul Daley at UFC 113 and earning a coaching spot on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, perennial welterweight contender, Josh Koscheck, has his priorities in order.

“This time it is everything. This is going to be it man. This is my run to the title and I’m going to get it. I’m close. I’ve got to be focused. I’ve got to train and I’m coming out of this fight with a victory.”

At the end of TUF 12, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter will get his first title shot against current champion, Georges St. Pierre. The two met before at UFC 74 where St. Pierre won by unanimous decision.

With their bout set to happen sometime in late 2010, a venue has yet to be determined. While St. Pierre has had the luxury of fighting in front of his hometown crowd of Montreal, Kosheck would like the UFC to schedule the impending main event in his neck of the woods.

“I think the city of Pittsburgh needs something like that. I’m from the area and it would be great to come home and have the support of all of my fans that have been backing me all the way since I was in college wrestling all the way up to now fighting for the title. Pittsburgh would be a great, great city to have the UFC.”

On Tuesday, the organization will make a “major announcement” from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is assumed by many that the news will declare the official legalization of MMA within the Canadian province. If so, the St. Pierre vs. Koscheck fight will likely headline the first UFC fight card in Toronto.

“Bringing the UFC to Pittsburgh would be awesome, but regardless where it is it’s going to be a great event and me and St-Pierre are going to put on a good show.”

Koscheck has admitted that he took St. Pierre’s wrestling abilities for granted during their first fight. This time, however, he believes it will be a different story.

“Georges, you better work on your power because I’m going to force you to stand up with me when we fight and I’m going to knock you out.”

The Ultimate Fighter 12 will air on Spike TV in September.

(Source: MMA Weekly)