UFC fans were caught off guard recently with the release of octagon girls Logan Stanton and Natasha Wicks.

A replacement was sought out, selected, and delivered in the form of Oklahoma native Chandella Powell.

Powell has officially joined seats adjacent to UFC ring-girl veteran Arianny Celeste and can now be seen coming to a city near you.

Her unique journey began at UFC 108 in Las Vegas, NV on January 2. She was also in Fairfax, VA recently for the UFN 20 event. Two events down and hopefully many more to come.

Chandella took some time out of her schedule to discuss joining the UFC, getting accustomed to live mixed martial arts events, and her life outside the fight game.

Check it out:

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MMA is consuming an entire demographic and opening their eyes to this world class style of combat sports.  The cutting edge of MMA leaves in its wake many questions as to how the sport can improve and further evolve.

An area of great focus for many has been the aspect of officiating. Whether it be questions surrounding decisions made by judges or by referees, at times the choices made are deemed questionable.

Limiting those questions through continued education and awareness is paramount to the evolution of MMA.

All that being said, it is refreshing to hear about the efforts of Marc Fennell. He has made his intentions to improve this sport clear. He has an extensive background officiating, and has dedication to evolve MMA through knowledge and education.

Fennell is hosting a referee and judges seminar to further educate officials. This is not to say that the officials do not do a great job as they are today, but only encouraging them to know that their work improving their craft is never done.

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Shine Fights matchmaker Ron Foster was kind enough to share his thoughts and a little inside perspective on Mayorga’s transition to MMA and his character as a warrior. He shared his take on what fight fans may be in store for with this one of a kind fighter.

Mayorga is confident about the transition. Foster shared this perspective on Mayorga’s thoughts. “Talking to Mayorga, he says he thinks MMA is going to be easier because less rules, he can throw elbows, knee people in the face. In his mind, he thinks he’s a champion. He’s taking it very seriously. He’s not overlooking anybody.”

Heavy.com’s Ron Yacovetti sat down with Tito Ortiz at his Big Bear training facility to talk Forrest Griffin, his back surgery, and more.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar attended the latest iteration of the Mr. Olympia contest over the weekend in Las Vegas. Lesnar, in town to promote the Dymatize Nutrition products that he endorses, took time out from his busy autograph signing schedule to speak about his UFC 100 performance and his upcoming title defense against Shane Carwin in November.

Does Lesnar regret his actions after the destruction of Mir?

“People spend money and want to be entertained. If you don’t feel from UFC 100 that you got your money’s worth, you’re probably not gonna tune into something (with me). It’s good entertainment,” said Lesnar. “The old saying … bad press, good press — it’s all the same. Visibility is the key. Making attention, good or bad or whatever people’s opinion is on it, I guess we’re still out there. We’re climbing.”

Lesnar admitted that Shane Carwin was a tough fighter, but added his thoughts regarding the overall challenges Carwin has faced in the octagon.

“He’s a tough guy. He’s undefeated, but some of the guys he’s beaten aren’t worthy of having on your record,” said Lesnar. “He hasn’t fought anybody. He’s fought Gonzaga, so I really think he’s 1-0.”

“He’s a tough guy and a wrestler. But he’s a Division II national champion — enough said.”

Lesnar predicts victory come Nov. 21, when he steps into the cage to defend his belt for the second time.

“I don’t know what he is, 11-0, 10-0, but he’ll have a loss against Brock Lesnar.”

The legendary Don Frye joined us on The Takedown last night on 1560 The Game in Houston for an entertaining interview. Don also set what we believe is a station record for being “dumped” (the term for what happens when someone curses on air in live radio) within the first seven seconds of the interview.

Listen to or download the full interview with Don Frye here.

Former UFC tournament champion Mark Kerr has been immersed in the world of MMA since his freshman year in high school, even if he didn’t know it at the time. That was in 1983, ten years before the first UFC. Kerr spent that freshman year working out with a grizzled senior by the name of Pat Miletich, another future UFC champ.

College was like another UFC all-star team. Kerr faced off with the now legendary Randy Couture in the finals of the 1992 NCAA tournament. “I had waited so long for it,” Kerr said. “I was an underperfomer and in my first three tries, I never even won a match. When I finally made it to the finals, I had my foot on the gas and never let up.”

Couture was a great collegiate wrestler, but Kerr made him look like a chump, winning the NCAA title by a score of 12-4. It was a tremendous victory, one that helped propel Kerr onto the national stage. Before he could make a run at the Olympic Games however, Kerr had to find the right weight class. Cutting down to 190 pounds, like he did in college, just wasn’t an option anymore.

“In that last year of college, for me to get down to 190 pounds, I had to cut 46 pounds from my preseason physical,” Kerr said. “Imagine that. So when the floodgates opened and I was able to eat all year long, my body just filled out. I had forgotten how comforting food is.”

Kerr fell short of his Olympic dream, losing to future gold medalist Kurt Angle in the qualifying tournament. Like many former wrestling standouts, Kerr followed a coach, Richard Hamilton, into the world of MMA.

“There was a dojo here in Arizona where many of us trained,” Kerr said. “He would come in to watch wrestling practice and established a relationship with Dan Severn and than Don Frye and then Mark Coleman and then me. He was responsible for getting the four of us started. When you think about it, that’s pretty impressive. That’s four UFC champions.”

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Krzysztof Soszynski, the Canadian fighter who takes on the once promising Brandon Vera this Saturday at UFC 102, started his grappling career in a very different industry.

Although Brock Lesnar gets all the attention from fans and the media, Soszynski was also a wrestler in another life. Discovered as a massive 318 pound bodybuilder by promoter Tony Candelo, he was soon hopping around the ring and taking pratfalls all over Canada.

His career path seemed set when he encountered wrestling legend “Bad News” Allen Coage. Bad News Allen was more than a professional wrestler. He was also the 1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist in Judo.

Coage was the toughest man in a tough man’s business. As a black man in a notoriously racist industry, Bad News was continually forced to defend himself from insensitive and downright insulting remarks. Many black wrestlers were content to pretend not to hear the horrible slights on their person and their race. That wasn’t Bad News Allen.

In one famous incident, the monstrous Andre the Giant was making racist comments on a bus ride in front of all the other wrestlers. When Coage confronted him, Andre refused to stop. Allen walked to the front of the bus and asked the driver to stop. He stepped outside and challenged the 6-10 500 pound Giant to step outside with him. Andre refused. The next day at the hotel, Bad News renewed his challenge. Finally, the Giant backed down and apologized.

Even a monster wanted no part of Allen Coage.

“I met him after he had two hip replacement surgeries. He was still on the floor in his fifties, still grappling with the kids he was teaching. I could definitely imagine how tough he was back then and how well he would have done if the sport had been around,” Soszynski said. “He traveled extensively to Japan as well, learning Aikido and Jiu Jitsu. I had the privilege of meeting him during one of my circuits across Canada. He invited me out for a two-week camp at his place in Calgary and that’s where he showed me a Kimura and an armbar. I was hooked. Immediately after that two week training camp, I came back to Winnipeg, quit wrestling, and took up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Six months later I had my first fight. So, he was very instrumental to me turning into a mixed martial arts fighter. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be doing something else.”

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Seth Petruzelli went into the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, last October as just another Ultimate Fighter washout. Booted from the UFC after consecutive losses, Petruzelli was simply looking to hang on long enough to legitimately be called a journeyman. He was scheduled for the undercard and a little worried about his fight with Aaron Rosa. When the evening was over, he had shattered a street-fighting legend and changed his own life forever. And that was just the beginning of the excitement.

Kimbo Slice, a viral video sensation and the main attraction for a struggling Elite XC promotion, was scheduled to fight a fading Ken Shamrock in what was expected to be the most viewed fight in American MMA history. Shamrock was in the building that evening, but he wasn’t able to fight. He had sliced his head open during a hard sparring session that afternoon and instead of gluing the cut shut, a time honored tradition among fighters, he got stitches. That meant no main event, which sent Elite XC officials scrambling. They considered Ken’s adopted brother Frank Shamrock, one of the evening’s announce team, but he didn’t have the proper clearances to legally fight and was also 50 pounds lighter than Slice. The promotion instead turned to Petruzelli.

“I was warming up for my undercard fight and I was about 45 minutes from going out for my match,” Petruzelli said. “They told me Ken Shamrock was hurt and offered me the Kimbo fight and I accepted right away. I thought it would be awesome. The nerves actually kind of went away when they offered me that fight. I was nervous about my undercard fight, but the pressure kind of went away because there was nothing to lose. It was a win-win situation. I was taking it on short notice so if I went out there and lost, well, I did my best. If I won, obviously all this would happen.”

The entire spectacle took just fourteen seconds. It took Petruzelli longer to offer this explanation than it did for him to knock Slice out.

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Reed Harris has spent the last several years as the General Manager of the UFC’s sister organization. However, though a lot of the attention towards mixed martial arts lies on the UFC, the ever-explosive WEC is climbing the ranks with Harris at the head.

Reed Harris’ duties with the WEC were described by him as “varied and also pretty extensive”, as he handles the business side of the WEC, including addressing the media and dealing with managers to list a few.

Ever since he cofounded the WEC in 2001, Harris has strived to bring the best of mixed martial arts to his organization. Taking a look at the current roster would definitely rule that endeavor a phenomenal success.

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