Emotional Dana White defends Stephan Bonnar's UFC Hall of Fame induction (Yahoo! Sports)

The UFC president says he'd be 'picking up cigarette butts' if not for Griffin-Bonnar.

Mark Munoz shows off slimmed down physique for UFC 162 after ‘turning to food for comfort’

Last summer, Mark Munoz was knocked out by Chris Weidman. Then he had to recover from a foot injury sustained while training for the Weidman bout. It was a rough turn of events for a fighter who had title shot hopes and who had been on a four-bout winning streak.

He turned to what so many turn to for comfort in tough times -- food. Munoz talked about his struggles on his website.

Battled through injury, self-doubt, and depression. I turned to food for comfort and what I found was more heartache. A never ending cycle of “eating because I was sad and sad because I was eating.” I had to find peace and comfort in my faith in God, He shaped my life.

In the above picture, Munoz showed off how far he has come since January of this year. He went from 252 lbs. to 199 on June 27, which is not far from his fighting weight of 185 lbs. It's an impressive turnaround for a 35-year-old fighter.

This Saturday, he'll fight Tim Boetsch at UFC 162 with a whole new physique. It's his first chance to get back on the winning track after the loss to Weidman, who will fight for the middleweight belt on the same card. Will his newly healthy body make a difference? Make your pick here.

Take a look back at the pivotal Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar fight from the first TUF finale

By now, you have heard of the important bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar at the first "The Ultimate Fighter" finale. It was on April 9, 2005, and happened at a time when the UFC needed a big win to keep going. The fight was fun, exciting and neither fighter gave up for even a second. It won the UFC many fans when paying customers was what the promotion needed most.

Now, eight years later, Griffin and Bonnar are retiring after long careers with the UFC. The promotion now has a network television deal after moving on from Spike. Bonnar and Griffin will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this week, so they're inviting a look back to the fight that meant so much. Is it how you remembered?

Time to make your UFC 162 picks

UFC 162 is days away, and we want to know who you think will win. On Cagewriter's Facebook page, you'll find polls asking who you think will win for every main card fight that will happen this Saturday in Las Vegas.

Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman
Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira
Tim Kennedy vs. Roger Gracie
Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch
Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson

Take the poll, then tell us why you think your fighter will win in the comments of the poll. The best comments will be featured right here on Cagewriter with picks from Kevin Iole and me. It will be lots of fun.

Frankie Edgar 'wouldn't say no' to dropping more weight if right opportunity came along (Yahoo! Sports)

The UFC's iron man has found a home at featherweight, but he's leaving the door open for another move.

Where did Miesha Tate, the Jones family and Brendan Schaub fall on Cagewriter’s hot list?

It's been a slow week of MMA, but never fear. UFC 162 and a championship fight are oh-so-close. Who had a good week, and who didn't?

Hot -- Miesha Tate: She's filming "The Ultimate Fighter" now as a coach against UFC women's bantamweight championship. She will also pose nude as a part of ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue.

Not -- Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione: The one-time teammates started squabbling on Twitter like a bunch of seventh graders. They are fighting on July 27, so the squabbling will likely continue until then.

Hot -- The Jones' jewelry collection: According to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones' Instagram, the Jones family has much better jewelry than most of us.

Hot -- GLORY: The kickboxing promotion will become more available to the U.S. fans. They will start airing fights on Spike come October.

Thank you for reading Cagewriter this week. Want more? Follow Cagewriter on Facebook or Twitter.

T.J. Grant says Anthony Pettis’ attempt to take the lightweight title shot was ‘disrespectful’

No cuts, no butts, no coconuts. It's something we were taught as we lined up for dismissal in grade school. It's a lesson we live with when in line at the grocery store or the ATM. It's an idea heavily enforced as we board planes by specific groups.

With that in mind, you can see why T.J. Grant was miffed when he heard Anthony Pettis trying to take his title shot with Benson Henderson at UFC 164. After an injury to Pettis forced him out of his featherweight title bout with Jose Aldo at UFC 163, Pettis said he wanted to fight later that month.

“I can be 100-percent ready to fight Benson Henderson in [at UFC 164] Milwaukee. With all due respect to TJ Grant, Milwaukee is my town and the fight with Ben is the fight everyone has wanted for years,” read a statement that Pettis released to Fuel TV. “If it works out, great; if not, I will get my shot very soon. But I think we all know which fight the fans want to see and the entire city of Milwaukee!”

Pettis' pleas to fight at UFC 164 didn't matter as his injury required he sit out for six weeks. Grant was still unhappy that Pettis tried to take the shot.

“I wish it was handled a little differently. Him of all people, I think it was disrespectful, to do that against someone who has earned the right to fight is not right,” Grant said to ESPN. “Unfortunately he got hurt but it was low class, I thought. I didn’t want to get into the whole talking thing. I got here legitimately and earned it. Ultimately, what he was saying was that he wanted my title-shot which was incredibly disrespectful. It was pretty dirty.”

On two different occasions, Pettis had and then lost title shots. First, the draw between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard put Pettis back in line, and then the injury. You can see why Grant was upset when Pettis tried to do to him what has happened to Pettis before.

Count Stephen Thompson among those who think Chris Weidman can beat Anderson Silva (Yahoo! Sports)

Thompson has trained with both fighters and helped Weidman prepare for the UFC middleweight beltholder.

The Jones family jewelry box includes a Super Bowl ring and UFC championship belt (Photo)

Plenty of families have jewelry that is special to them. I have a pearl and sapphire ring that belonged to my grandmother that means the world to me. However, when you're a member of the Jones family, that jewelry is just a bit different.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a gold-encrusted belt for being the champ. His brother Arthur is a member of the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens, and he received his ring earlier this month. Jon displayed the two pieces together on his Instagram account. Jon's younger brother, Chandler, is a member of the New England Patriots, so there's a good chance this jewelry collection could grow soon.

Second quarter report card: Who had the best upset, knockout, fight and more?

The second quarter of the year is coming to an end, so it's a good time to look back at the last three months. There weren't as many events in the last three months of 2013 as there were the first three, but there were still plenty of memorable performances. Who stood out? See the first quarter awards here.

Biggest upset: In "The Ultimate Fighter" finale, Cat Zingano pulled out a win over former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. Stipe Miocic's opponent at UFC 161 changed late in the game, but he still came up with the win over Roy Nelson. Speaking of late replacements, James Krause wasn't even in the UFC until weeks before his fight -- and submission win -- Sam Stout at UFC 161. But the biggest upset was definitely in the final of TUF. Uriah Hall destroyed every opponent during his run on "The Ultimate Fighter." However, Kelvin Gastelum was the winner, coming up with a decision win over Hall at the TUF finale.

Best knockout: There were many fine candidates from this quarter for best knockout. You could go with Josh Thomson taking out the previously unknockout-able Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7, or from the same card, Yoel Romero's flying knee to Clifford Starks. Just last week, there was Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal's one punch knockout of Seth Petruzell in Bellator. The one that stood out the most, though, was Vitor Belfort's spinning heel hook to Luke Rockhold's face at UFC on FX 8.

Best submission: Glover Teixeira's submission of James Te Huna at UFC 160 was fast and fierce. Pat Curran's technical submission from a guillotine of Shabhulat Shamhalaev at Bellator stood out, too. But nothing was slicker and sweeter than Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza's arm triangle of Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8.

Best rising star: Teixeira's win over Te Huna, as well as his earlier win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, put him near the top of UFC light heavyweights. It's odd to think of someone who has been fighting for eight years as a rising star, but Matt Brown's dismantling of Jordan Mein did wonders for his standing among welterweights. The winner is Sara McMann, the Olympic silver medal winning wrestler has just seven pro bouts under her belt. Still, she made a huge debut in the UFC with a TKO of Sheila Gaff.

Best fight: The result was eventually overturned because of Healy's positive drug test, but that didn't take away the fun of Pat Healy's bout with Jim Miller at UFC 159. Krause and Stout's UFC 161 bout was fantastic before it ended in a submission with mere seconds left. The one that sticks out more than any other, though, is Junior dos Santos and Mark Hunt's bout at UFC 160. They both withstood ridiculously hard hits before JDS used a spinning hook kick to take Hunt out.

Agree? Disagree? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.

Young female Muay Thai fighter takes out boy (Video)

This kiddie Muay Thai bout comes to us from Thailand, and it features a mixed-gender match-up. It appears the young man -- and the crowd -- thinks he's going to get an easy win. What he -- and the crowd -- did not count on was this young lady coming ready for a fight. After she gets in several punches, taking the fight as seriously as anyone should take a fight, he retires.

Kudos to the young lady. She worked hard, went about her business, and got the win. It's a safe bet this is the last time the young man doesn't take a fight seriously -- no matter the opponent.

Thanks, Deadspin.

How Chris Weidman could beat Anderson Silva (Yahoo! Sports)

'Spider' hasn't lost in over seven years, but many believe Weidman's tool set may end the GOAT's reign.

Can MMA help veterans with PTSD? (Video)

Veterans like Brian Stann and Tim Kennedy have found a home in MMA, and it turns out they're not the only ones. HBO's "Real Sports" took a look at how wounded veterans use MMA to deal with their traumatic injuries. For one veteran, the camaraderie of the gym does more to help him deal with his PTSD than "sitting around talking about his feelings."

Miesha Tate to pose nude in ESPN the Magazine

UFC bantamweight Miesha Tate is joining the ranks of MMA fighters who have posed nude in ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue. The magazine announced today that Tate will appear in the yearly issue that shows off athletes' bodies. It will hit newsstands on July 12.

Tate's opposing coach on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter," UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, was on last season's cover. Both women appearing in the magazine will give them one more thing to trash talk about as they film the TUF that will air in September.

UFC president Dana White said the filming is filled with their squabbles every day.

"It's going exactly the way you thought it would be going: bad," White said. "Dead serious. Miesha and Ronda hate each other. It's literally crazy drama every day. It's irritating."

Other fighters who have been in the Body Issue include Jon Jones and Gina Carano.

Native American fighter Dan Hornbuckle brings hope to impoverished reservation in South Dakota (Yahoo! Sports)

Hornbuckle, a member of the Cherokee tribe, is embracing his role as a beacon of success.

Heavyweights Matt Mitrione, Brendan Schaub exchange nasty insults on Twitter

UFC heavyweights Matt Mitrione and Brendan Schaub were once teammates on "The Ultimate Fighter." Since they both have backgrounds in football, that common ground would make for a good friendship, right? Well, not so much. They are fighting at UFC on Fox 8, and they exchanged some nasty insults on Twitter on Monday night.

Here's a sampling of what they had to say each other:

Planned parenthood should stop giving out birth control & start giving out copies of @BrendanSchaub 's 15 min. dry humping of Lavar Johnson

— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) June 25, 2013

@mattmitrione my man remember when you pissed your pants on TUF and you said fighting wasn't for you. I do and Well it still isn't.

— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) June 25, 2013

@mattmitrione I didn't ask to fight you. Your being disciplined remember? Well.. joe silva thought of a terrible match up for you.

— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) June 25, 2013

Someone asked me if @BrendanSchaub is married. Seriously? I saw his Jiu Jitsu match. How you gonna get married when you refuse to engage?

— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) June 25, 2013

It got uglier, as they used language we're not fond of around here, as well as insults involving Mitrione's wife and comparing Schaub's looks to an actor with Down's Syndrome. The discipline Schaub is speaking of is Mitrione's short suspension for his comments about trans fighter Fallon Fox.

It's still a month out until they face off in the cage. Does this sort of trash talk make the fight more interesting to you? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.

Watch the trailer for Anderson Silva’s latest movie

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is in "Tapped," the latest movie to try to profit off of capture the beauty of MMA. The trailer shows Lyoto Machida and Krysztof Soszynski are in it, too. What the trailer does not show is what the movie is about, except for maybe punching bags and getting choked out by Silva?

For the plot of the movie, we turn to IMDB:

A disgruntled teenager, sent to do community service at a rundown Karate school, enters an MMA tournament to face the man who killed his parents.

Obviously. Here's the other part we learn from IMDB: It stars Martin Kove. If you don't recognize the name, perhaps you remember John Kreese, the terrifying sensei of Cobra Kai? The guy who ordered Daniel-San's leg swept at the All-Valley Karate Tournament? Yes, Silva got to work with the villain from "The Karate Kid."

In the past, Silva has worked with Steven Seagal. The movie star was even cageside for Silva's fights and took credit for teaching him the kick that knocked out Vitor Belfort. But with this movie and work with Kreese mean we'll be hearing Silva yell, "Cobra Kai, never die!" at UFC 162?

Thanks, With Leather.

The cruel tragedy of The Iron Sheik (Yahoo! Sports)

The Sheik's wrestling career left him with broken body and little to his name, but the icon would do it all again.

Is Chris Weidman the one to take out Anderson Silva?

When Anderson Silva fights Chris Weidman at UFC 162 next weekend, he will be putting his 17-fight win streak, consecutive wins record, and consecutive title defenses record on the line. Silva's last five fights have ended in a stoppage. He is the closest thing the UFC has to unbeatable.

But more and more MMA folks say Weidman is the guy who can take him out. He is undefeated, and has six wins by a stoppage. UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has trained with Weidman and said he will beat Silva. UFC commentator Joe Rogan said Weidman has the game to take out Silva. Frankie Edgar said he thinks Weidman will win, and noted BJJ expert Roger Gracie said Weidman can submit anyone, even Gracie.

Are you on board with the Weidman hypetrain? Will he win, or will it be Silva's 18th straight? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz not so sure that Stephan Bonnar should be a fellow Hall of Famer

When Forrest Griffin retired just months after Stephan Bonnar, the UFC said the two fighters would enter the UFC Hall of Fame together. Bonnar's banned substance violation and lackluster career mattered less than his part in the groundbreaking bout on the first "The Ultimate Fighter" finale.

Tito Ortiz, a current member of the UFC Hall of Fame, isn't so sure that Bonnar deserves to have the same honor as him.

"As far as Stephan, I have nothing against the guy, but you've got to be a world champion, I think, to be in the Hall of Fame ... That's a big honor to be in the Hall of Fame," Ortiz said to MMA Junkie. "It means you had a significance in the sport at one time or another. You look at that, and the Forrest and Stephan fight was a big step for the UFC, so do they deserve it? Possibly. But can one fight get you in the Hall of Fame? I don't know. I guess that's Dana's decision."

Griffin won the UFC light heavyweight championship with a win over Quinton Jackson in 2008, but then lost it to Rashad Evans. He finished with a record of 19-7. Bonnar announced his retirement after losing a non-title bout to Anderson Silva at UFC 153. He tested positive for a banned substance for the fight. His final record was 15-8, and he never fought for a UFC title.

Ortiz's comments bring to the forefront to the problems with the UFC Hall of Fame. The UFC's Hall of Fame has no open criteria or voting process, and is limited to just UFC fighters. As Ortiz notes, the decision appears to rest in the hands of UFC president Dana White.

It's totally within the UFC's rights to run their Hall of Fame as they see it, but it shouldn't be compared to say, the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Football's Hall of Fame in Canton has a clear criteria and voting process, and isn't limited to just NFL members.