It's been three years since UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin has competed without major pain.

The pinched nerves in his neck that brought his training to a standstill this past fall are now repaired. He is a new man, or at least a newer man. There are no major problems on the horizon - only the minor ones that accompany everyone who steps inside the cage.

But he is also an incomplete man. He hasn't fought since UFC 116 this past July, and he desperately misses the thrill of competition.

If all goes well, the UFC could have all the top-ranked featherweight talent locked up by next month.

Japanese featherweight Hatsu Hioki turned down an offer to fight featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takeya at DREAM.17 and on Tuesday announced that he's vacating his Shooto lightweight title.

Shu Hirata, an associate of Hioki who represents several Japanese fighters, today told MMAjunkie.com that the fighter is headed to UFC 131 as a guest, and all signs point to contract negotiations.

Jake Rosholt believes officials made the wrong call this past Friday.

The ex-UFC middleweight fought John Ott at Titan Fighting Championships 18 and was disqualified after he threw an illegal knee in the third and final round.

But Rosholt today told MMAjunkie.com that the knee was unintentional and the fight should have been ruled a technical decision or no-contest rather than a disqualification.

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defends his title in August when the UFC returns to his home country of Brazil for the first time since the late 90's as he takes on Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC: Rio.<Br><Br> Silva has faced Okami one time before, losing to the Japanese fighter in Hawaii via a disqualification, and will look to avenge that loss in the process of defending the strap.<Br><Br> Silva talked about Okami this week and gave his thoughts on his decision to align himself with Chael Sonnen and company prior to the contest to prepare:<Br><Br> “You have to find the best people to train with, and I think [Okami] chose wrong,” Silva said. “I’d never align myself with a loser, a loser in every sense. He didn’t win the fight [between us] and got caught doping. You want to be a champion? Get with good people, with winners. Moreover, Sonnen wasn’t a tough opponent for me. I was injured with cracked ribs and fought five rounds. If I hadn’t been injured, the fight would have been different.”<Br><Br> “Brazilians are involved in MMA; they’re talking about it. Many people call me to talk and to tell me they’ll be at my fight. They want to see me live. It’s a different emotion. I’m starting to feel like Brazil vs. Argentina, not the rivalry but the pressure. I’m trained not to feel pressure, to approach it as just one more fight. And I’ll have to train because [Okami] will be well-trained, just like the Argentines when they come to play here [in soccer].”<Br><Br> Props: <a href=http://www.sherdog.com>Sherdog.com</a>

UFC 130's list of walking wounded was lengthy, and five fighters from this past weekend's card face medical suspensions of up to six months.

MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the list of suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commissions.

The potential half-year suspensions went to main-event winner Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, co-main-event winner Frank Mir, main-card fighters Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago, and preliminary-card competitor Michael McDonald.

UFC veteran and Ohio native Rich Franklin is hosting a country-music fundraiser on Friday in northern Kentucky.

The event, the "Country Cures Concert," benefits cancer-research facilities in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

The concert takes place at Madison Theater in Covington, Ky. Artists/bands Heather Roush, the Danny Frazier Band and Dallas Moore all are scheduled to perform.

If it's glorified high-school drama between champion Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, then it's a mutual-admiration society between Evans and rising contender Phil Davis.

There may be a single common denominator involved, but there's a stark contrast between the two relationships that have been on full display in recent weeks - ones available for public dissection and consumption.

The latter pairing - the much more tempered dynamic - happens to be the main event of August's UFC 133 event. It carries with it major title implications. What it doesn't carry is any indication it will amass any sort of bad blood over the next two months.

Co-main-event winners Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Frank Mir were the top earners at this past weekend's UFC 130 event. The total payroll for the show was $931,000.

Both competitors earned disclosed paydays of $250,000. Jackson's was a flat rate while Mir earned $125,000 to show and an additional $125,000 as a win bonus.

MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the list of disclosed paydays from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Phil Davis will face the toughest test of his career on August 6th at UFC 133 when he takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans as both fighter vie for a shot at current Champ Jon Jones.<Br><Br> Davis talked about his opponent this week and assessed his chances while speaking with Tatame.com:<br><Br> And do you see your chances against Rashad? Do you believe you have better Wrestling skills than him?<br><Br> I think he has pretty good Wrestling for MMA, but I guess I’m a little bit kind of a better wrestler, but he’s good in mixing the strikes in Wrestling, so it’s not bad. But I think I’m better.<br><Br> And talking about a possible bout in the future between you and Jon Jones… How do you see that?<br><Br> It’s good because Jon Jones has only been winning fights, so, you know, he wins and it’s good because he’ll say: ‘this guys has won all of all of his fights too’, so he’s doing that comparison now… It’s good.<br><Br> Do you think you’re ready to become a UFC champion?<br><Br> I feel it’s like one of those things you don’t know until you win a belt, I’ll only know it when I actually get it done.<br><Br>

UFC President Dana White wasn't too impressed with the UFC 130 co-main and main events of the evening and following the card had some harsh criticism for the particpants:<Br><Br> "I thought it was borderline embarrassing ... If they were earlier in the card (it would be fine), but being in the co-main and the main event position is when you take the most criticism. When you're the co-main or the main event, you've got to go out there and perform and look good. When you don't, you're going to hear my opinion about it – and the fans and the media, I'm sure."<Br><Br> Less than 24 hours later, White eased the assessement, at least of Mir. "I think I was a little harsh on Mir," White said. "He came into that fight with the perfect gameplan, and he nailed Roy with some big shots. Mir dominated that fight from start to finish, and he deserves some credit for that."<Br><Br> "Overall, I thought the card was great. Brian Stann-Jorge Santiago, Demetrious Johnson-Miguel Torres, Rick Story-Thiago Alves, those were all great fights. Travis Browne and Stefan Struve, those guys come out to finish fights, and that knockout was amazing.<Br><Br> "But the main event and co-main event just didn't really wow that crowd, and you know how I get. I think I was just a little frustrated last night that we didn't end on a high note, and I was probably too hard on Mir."<Br><Br> Props: <a href=http://www.mmajunkie.com>MMAJunkie.com</a>