There's really not much I can say that will make this any more awesome than it already is.  Full comic, translation and explanation after the jump.  Make sure to read right to left.

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UFC 118 is in Boston on August 28th. In the co-main event of the evening we'll finally get to see James Toney square off with Randy Couture. In our sport Couture is a legend, having won both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles. Out of 23 fights in the UFC an astounding 15 of them have been title fights. He's fought the best that the UFC has had to offer in the Heavyweight division. Now he'll face James Toney, a professional boxer with a big mouth. I won't profess to know much about Toney, as I'm not much of a boxing fan. But apparently he was a pretty big deal in boxing in the 90's. Now? Not so much.

That hasn't stopped him from talking even more trash than Chael Sonnen in the lead up to his fight with Couture. In an interview he did with MMA Weekly, he's still going off. Says Toney:

"Everybody asks how are you going to defend the takedown. I’m not worried about that. How are you going to defend these punches? I’m going from 10-ounce gloves to four-ounce gloves. If I hit someone with four-ounce gloves, oh my goodness, me and my crew might go to jail for homicide."

I doubt he actually isn't worried about the takedowns as Couture as repeatedly said that he'll be looking to take Toney down and beat him up. Which also answers Toney's question about defending his punches. Randy won't have to defend them because Toney will be on his back for the first time in a fight. How is he going to react to that? Apparently the idea of getting taken down is so ridiculous to him that he's not even going to change his stance. A traditional boxing stance when applied to MMA leaves a guy open for leg kicks and takedowns. Toney doesn't care.

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On The Spot ~ Brian Van Hoven

Coming off a devastating knockout win over Vinnie Samero at July's World Extreme Fighting show in Kissimmee, Fla., Brian Van Hoven recently took time out of his busy schedule to answer questions with MMA Spot's Chris Dennison. A former U.S. Marine, devoted family man and training partner, Van Hoven trains with the likes of Kris McCray of "The Ultimate Fighter Season 11," Elijah Harshbarger and many other up-and-coming fighters making names for themselves out of Gold Medal Grappling in Woodbridge, Va.

Van Hoven, a rising force in the lightweight division, spoke about his recent knockout victory, how his time in the Marines prepared him for his fighting career and his future aspirations in the sport of MMA.

Chris Dennison: How does it feel to get a victory following the first loss of your career?

Brian Van Hoven: It is never easy to swallow defeat, but as I always say if does happen it's how you come back from defeat that makes a true champion. I felt very humble, happy and relieved at the same time. It was just an off night when I lost.

Dennison: What was your game plan for your fight against Vinnie Samero?

Van Hoven: There was really no game plan other than to be the aggressor, let my hands go and set a pace to break my opponents spirit. That is always our motto at Gold Medal Grappling. We were both wrestlers, but I also wanted to show that I can also stand up if needed.

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Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen recently “participated” in a conference call with the media to discuss their upcoming bout on August 7th at UFC 117 (listen to call here http://videos.mmaweekly.com/view_player.php?id=2921).  I use the word participated loosely as Anderson Silva was not making a best effort or cooperating with his responses to most of the questions posed by the reporters.   He either responded with a “no” or very short comments and even those were unarticulated and never answered the question(s) asked.  His translator and manager Ed Soares finally had to step in to field some of the questions to talk about how he “thought” Anderson felt.

Here is a guy who ..Read more here: http://www.fightswewant.com/blog.cfm?feature=1491310&postid=376352

What's the sign of a good MMA manager?  If you never hear about or from them.  In order to be a good MMA manager, you need to keep your fighters happy without doing anything to negatively impact their career.  This is why you see very few managers ever giving interviews.  Most of the time, it is the fighter or their trainers speaking to the press leading up to a fight.  If a fighter can go through all the pre-fight media requests, fight night and post fight interviews without the manager ever being seen or heard from than the manager probably did a pretty good job.  Ed Soares, on the other hand, does not have that luxury. 

Soares, who manages some of the most elite fighters in the world, happens to be the bridge between the fighters he manages and the media.  This isn't because Soares wants to be in the spotlight, but more out of necessity since almost all the fighters he manages only speak Portuguese or don't speak enough English to be able to conduct a full interview on their own.  This is where the Soares Paradox comes into play.

Soares needs his fighters to do interviews, appearances and other events leading up to their fights in order to make them more marketability which in turn will help advance their careers both financially and in the Octagon.  This means Soares has to be with his fighters almost all the time to translate what they saying when they are doing public events.  The problem is, Soares is regularly blasted in the media for allegedly protecting his fighters by not translating what they are saying accurately. Read why after the jump...

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Good ol' JR has his latest blog post up. Some interesting tidbits in there including his thoughts on his inclusion in a political ad of one of Linda McMahon's opponents:

Many emailers are sending me the uncreative and "Mickey Mouse' political ad one of Linda McMahon's opponents is airing which shows me getting a low blow...over and over...which is an eye rolling, embarrassingly ridiculous ad. It comes back to the same thing that I have experienced personally and professionally in my life for years and years....its another illustration of the pro wrestling bias that exists in so many forms of our society. 

People who are colored with a pro wrestling brush are more often than not positioned to be one dimensional individuals who cannot successfully function outside the grappling genre. That sounds so ignorant to write but it is sadly true. Most young broadcasters realize this and many have left the biz over the years so that they are better able to get a day job in the mainstream sports world, etc. 

Pro wrestling is show biz...it's entertainment...it's not professional sports and if one doesn't like the presentation of pro wrestling one simply can change their channel and watch a litany of other programs. I don't see the childish, boorish merits of knocking those that are fans or participants of the business especially those POLITICIANS that are being depended upon to make vital decisions regarding public policy and improving our standards of living. 

Yeah, I want those mindless, insecure, professional politicos representing me in Washington. NOT.  In closing  and just to make sure that all understand my disgust with politics in general, particularly dirty politics, those that practice old school, dirt/manure slinging or endorse these ham and egger's who fancy themselves as full time, professional politicians can quite simply kiss my ample, Oklahoma ass.

His thoughts on Savage, Sid and War Games after the jump.

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