(Photo Courtesy of www.mmajunkie.com)

Ed “Pee Wee” Herman was scheduled to face Mike Russow at UFC 136, but was pulled from the fight after testing positive for Marijuana. Ed has denied using weed leading up to his fight, and thinks this positive drug test may be because of whom he hangs around with. Herman released a statement to MMAJunkie.com stating, “Marijuana is legal in California. Maybe it's just being in the same room. I don't know. I see people smoke every day.” Time will only tell if Herman was rightfully pulled from the fight or not. However, Marijuana has been a touchy subject in the MMA world, with some (including athletic commissions) believing it is a PED and is rightfully a banned substance. Others believe it is ridiculous to ban the use of Marijuana leading up to a fight, and that it cannot be construed as a PED at all.

(I gotta take my boy Rampage in this fight. By KO hook or KO slam. Either way, I am very excited for this fight - GG)

I have been looking at the betting lines and see that most have Rampage at -500 or more!  I have such a hard time believing this.  I know he is getting older, but this could be a real money maker for someone.

I know Jones has the youth, speed, technique and skill to beat anyone and most feel he is unstoppable, BUT most importantly, I do not think anyone has been able to test his chin.  I think he is amazing at dodging the punch and staying on the outside with his amazing reach.

Rampage has one of the best chins in the game and if he has worked on his foot work and can get inside and land a punch solidly on Jones' chin.... it could spell lights out.

After missing 2 press conferences and being completely MIA for a couple days, Diaz lost his title shot and it was instead given to Carlos Condit.

Nick Diaz now faces BJ Penn as the co-main event on the same card, and everyone has been wondering if the winner of this fight will be the number one contender. White has stated previously that Diaz does not “play the game” and Diaz seemed to verify White’s statement by failing to attend the press conferences.

(Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem, December 30th. This is a blockbuster match made even bigger by Overeem's international appeal. Photo Courtesy: www.combatlifestyle.com)

On July 30th, Alistair Overeem was released from Strikeforce, which meant he was stripped of his Heavyweight title and out of the GP. Speculation began that he was in talks with the UFC and would get a chance to fight for the UFC Heavyweight title in another champion vs champion superfight. Although Ubereem will not be involved in said superfight, he has been signed to the UFC today, and will be fighting Brock Lesnar on December 30th. No news of how many fights it will take The Reem to receive a title shot, but it might be fair to assume a decisive win over Brock Lesnar will get him a shot at the winner of JDS vs Cain.

FighterStrength Head Coach Ollie Richardson is an S&C specialist with an unquenchable desire to learn. He promotes an evidence based style which has helped bring some of the UK's biggest names to victory, including the likes of Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, Andre Winner and famed female competitor Rosi Sexton. Outside of MMA, Ollie is involved with the coaching of the Leicester Tigers and English Rugby. Out of the goodness of his own heart, he let me pick his brains about his own personal approach to S&C preparation for the MMA athlete.

Sean Cassidy: How did you come to be involved with MMA/Team Rough House?

Ollie Richardson: I first got involved with Roughouse after Nathan Leverton from Leicester Shootfighters introduced me to Andre and Jimmy (Wallhead). I wanted to get into the sport for personal reasons and started taking privates with Nathan. After a few weeks we got talking about what I do for a living and I explained about my role with Leicester Tigers, he made the intro and we went on from there, I took on Jim and Andre and started looking after their S&C and tweaked their timetable, recovery methods, diet etc. After a while they introduced me to Dan Hardy and Dean Amasinger who came on board, then Daley came to train with us for a while. It's a great team and they are very dedicated to their trade. I hope that all I did was bring a bit of direction to their dedication and enthusiasm and provided them with S&C that was appropriate for their needs.