The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner, Diego Sanchez, is healthy again and looking for a fight, but despite…

Just when you think you have it figured it out in the cage, beware! Alex Karalexis thought he had figured out the gameplan of Bart Palaszewski. He was wrong. Karalexis guessed low on a Palaszewski kick and the native of Warsaw, Poland went high. The right kick clipped Karalexis behind the left ear and down he went. Karalexis got up but was wobbled by a right at the 4:15 mark of the second round and then a left 24 seconds later put him on his back again. That’s when referee Kim Winslow rushed in to the stop the fight 1:11 of the second.

"He was trying to answer the kicks. He looked down and I went up," said Palaszewki, who picks up his 30th career win in his WEC debut. "It was a basic kick and I just jumped on him. I don’t care who you are those kicks add up."

Karalexis won the first round with the more effective striking. He consistently beat Palaszewski to the punch. He also guessed correctly on several low kicks catching Palaszewski’s leg.

Karalexis was angry about the stoppage claiming he was fine. Initially it did look like a quick stoppage but then it obvious that Winslow made the right call when Karalexis tried to take a few steps and stumbled to the side. That didn’t stop some moron cage-side from screaming, "no more female refs!"

Shane Roller started off the evening with a win over Mike Budnik. Roller scored a quick takedown and almost immediately got to mount seconds into the fight. Roller took Budnik’s back and cinched in the choke for a win at 1:01 of the opening round.

Cub Swanson waged a battle against Hiroyuki Takaya. He won most of the exchanges and the war blowing up Takaya’s face over three rounds. Swanson scored several takedowns in the third round to lock up the win 29-28 on one card and 30-27 on the other two.

In the next two months, the UFC will put on three major, pay-per-view events that will feature three championship fights and some of the best-known and liked fighters in the sport. The end of the year blowout, UFC 92, will decide two belts: heavyweight between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and light heavyweight between Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans. The fight on Super Bowl weekend, UFC 94, is a grudge rematch between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre. Yet, I’m the most excited about UFC 93 on January 17 in Dublin.

The official card for UFC 93 was released this week, and the card is filled with fighters who are fun to watch. The main event, Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson, will show just how deep the UFC is at light heavyweight. Both are former champions, and have done a great deal to build up the sport. More importantly, they’re exciting fighters. Both can end a fight with their hands, but are also extremely capable on the ground.

Beyond Ace and Hendo, UFC 93 will also have the return of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the jiu-jitsu phenom who hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations of his PRIDE career, but is still amazing to watch on the ground. My favorite fight on the card is actually the one between Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle. Davis is a fan favorite across the pond and always performs well there. His last five fights were in either England or Northern Ireland, and he went 4-1. Denis Kang, the latest UFC import from PRIDE, will also make his debut on this card. 

The shame is that of the next three pay-per-view events, this will probably perform most poorly in terms of buys. Since it is in Ireland, it will air in the afternoon. With the tough economic times, two pay-per-views in one month will add up quickly on a cable bill. When choosing between the two events in January, most fans will probably choose UFC 94. It’s a shame that the UFC scheduled these events so close to one another because most fans will end up missing one great card. 

In the next two months, the UFC will put on three major, pay-per-view events that will feature three championship fights and some of the best-known and liked fighters in the sport. The end of the year blowout, UFC 92, will decide two belts: heavyweight between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and light heavyweight between Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans. The fight on Super Bowl weekend, UFC 94, is a grudge rematch between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre. Yet, I’m the most excited about UFC 93 on January 17 in Dublin.

The official card for UFC 93 was released this week, and the card is filled with fighters who are fun to watch. The main event, Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson, will show just how deep the UFC is at light heavyweight. Both are former champions, and have done a great deal to build up the sport. More importantly, they’re exciting fighters. Both can end a fight with their hands, but are also extremely capable on the ground.

Beyond Ace and Hendo, UFC 93 will also have the return of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the jiu-jitsu phenom who hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations of his PRIDE career, but is still amazing to watch on the ground. My favorite fight on the card is actually the one between Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle. Davis is a fan favorite across the pond and always performs well there. His last five fights were in either England or Northern Ireland, and he went 4-1. Denis Kang, the latest UFC import from PRIDE, will also make his debut on this card. 

The shame is that of the next three pay-per-view events, this will probably perform most poorly in terms of buys. Since it is in Ireland, it will air in the afternoon. With the tough economic times, two pay-per-views in one month will add up quickly on a cable bill. When choosing between the two events in January, most fans will probably choose UFC 94. It’s a shame that the UFC scheduled these events so close to one another because most fans will end up missing one great card. 

World Extreme Cagefighting’s 135-pound champ Miguel Torres puts his belt up for grabs tonight against unbeaten Manny Tapia on Versus. There’s no shortage of Torres backers. They come from Mexico, a depressed midwest town and even an MMA writer.

Torres, 27, is an engaging guy and one the most exciting fighters in the world. He can bring it standing with his punches and kicks. And he’s a submission whiz on the ground. With Urijah Faber having to fight his way back after an upset loss last month, Torres has a chance to be the face of the promotion. That’s all great. But the real reason to root for the kid is for where he’s come from and what he’s doing to payback old debts:

"In the fight [game], anything can happen. I take it in stride. I don’t forget where I come from, I don’t forget who I am and I know my roots. So, as far as me being the golden boy, I wouldn’t even call it that."

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times points out that Torres’ hometown of East Chicago, Ind. wasn’t exactly Southern California or Rio de Janiero when it came to producing a top flight mixed martial artist:

Where Torres comes from is a city hit hard by the struggles of the steel industry. There is a lot of unemployment and crime in my hometown, which is predominantly Hispanic.

Torres wanted to be a boxer but there was nowhere to hone his skills as a kid:

"There was no boxing available in my town. My family didn’t have a lot of money, so we couldn’t pay for karate lessons or anything. So the community center was giving away free lessons for like a month and I started taking them. I had a big interest, when I started taking karate, I just loved it so much. I would watch (Samurai) Sunday every weekend with my dad, and Bruce Lee movies and the old Kung Fu movies and I was always mystified by martial arts. And the older I got, I started working, I was able to pay for lessons. Fighting just came natural to me and I’ve stuck to it ever since."

Torres is paying back Chicagoland with his gym, Torres Martial Arts in Hammond, Ind. You can guarantee he’s got lots of students rooting for him as well as some fighters who says he belongs right there with Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn in the pound-for-pound talk.  

Do you want to show how real you are, like Diaz brothers real, like gangsta real, but your High School Musical sheets just aren’t cutting it? Never fear, your friends from Tapout are here.

That’s right, Tapout bedding! It features a chain link pattern and Tapout logos throughout. You can get it any size, but you may as well just get it in twin. No one will want to join you in that bed. Get it at MMA Warehouse for $89.99. 

Photo via MMA Warehouse. 

1. He paid his way through Purdue University using purses from his fights.
2. His mullet-hawk is the best hairdo in MMA.
3. He is a technical genius in the cage.
4. He likes to get hit in the face.
5. He charges $100 for private lessons. $100 to work out with one of the top ten pound-for-pound fighters.
6. At 135 lbs., he isn’t afraid to make fun of Rampage Jackson, who weighs slightly more than that.
7. He has beaten every man he has ever faced. With only one loss on his
record, he came back and beat Ryan Ackerman by submission.
8. He opened Torres Martial Arts in the area he grew up in, and sees value in using his business to change people’s lives.
9. His jiu-jitsu is amazing for a reason. He learned from Carlson Gracie.
10. Yes, he’s the favored fighter tonight, and everyone loves an
underdog, but Torres is the exact type of guy you want as the face of
bantamweight MMA. 

Former WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough (16-5) will look to get back in the title picture when…

World Extreme Cagefighting rookie Nissen Osterneck (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who suffered first career loss to Jake…