Mixed martial arts is making headlines in major newspapers all across the country and we have a couple of those stories in today’s Daily Crunch. Also, Roger Huerta gives the UFC some bad publicity while a pair of WEC fighters are taking a one-day-at-a time approach to their upcoming bouts this Sunday at WEC 35. It’s time to get going with The Thursday Crunch.

Michael Brick of the New York Times takes a look at the badges of honor worn by mixed martial artists. Brick explains how the cauliflower ear has become part of the mma culture in what is a very interesting read.

Kye Stephenson of the Baltimore Sun debates whether or not Chuck Liddell deserves a title shot even with an impressive win over Rashad Evans at UFC 88.

Roger Huerta tells Fight Magazine that he doesn’t care if he ever fights in the UFC again. Mmapayout.com has the inside slant.

Carlos Condit may be one of the top ten welterweights in the world but he doesn’t make too much noise about it. Yahoo Sports columnist Kevin Lole dives in to Condit’s low profile world.

Undefeated Marcus Hicks is coming into Sunday night’s WEC lightweight title fight against Jamie Varner like it is just another fight. MMA Weekly caught up with Hicks as he gets set for the biggest fight of his career.

Sherdog gets an earful from Kala Hose who will be featured in ICON’s main event this Saturday when he faces Rolando Dominique in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hump day is finally here which means there is one less day to fight night. The WEC is in the spotlight this week as it gears up for its Sunday night event. Here at the crunch, we’re getting you started with everything you need to know while another weekend of action rapidly approaches.

James Irvin has tested positive for painkillers and after getting bludgeoned by Anderson Silva, he may have very well needed them. But Nevada officials might not see things in such a light.

A panel over at 411mania.com debates the issue of whether or not Andrei Arlovski is better competition for Fedor Emelianenko than Tim Sylvia. Could he really be any worse?

Sherdog follows Carlos Condit’s charge towards this Sunday’s welterweight title defense against Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35.

The San Fransisco Chronicle shows how mixed martial arts was able to convert a boxing town into a city that is now love with the sport of mma.

Also on the card at WEC 35 will be a match-up between David Terel and Blas Avena. Who, you might ask? WEC.tv answers that question.

The Vancouver Sun explains why the month of July was a banner time for the sport of mixed martial arts.

It looks as though mixed martial arts has hit the mainstream and is here to stay, although opinions on the subject vary. Urijah Faber is grabbing some headlines in today’s Crunch while Tito Ortiz just won’t go away. Let’s get you filled in with these stories and more on The Tuesday Crunch.

Could a Tiro Ortz vs Babalu Sobral match-up be in the works for October? Mmamania.com discusses the possibility.

Urijah Faber talked to Sherdog about chasing down Kid Yamamoto for a possible fight in the future.

Jake Shields is ready to do his Anderson Silva impression and jump up in weight class if need be. The EliteXC welterweight champion claims his rise is far from over.

The people at 411mania.com rank the top five best pound for pound fighters in the world with number one being no shocker.

Jamie Samuelson of The Detroit Free Press doesn’t seem to think mixed martial arts will be able to conquer mainstream America. He explains why.

Pat Muir of the the Yakima-Herald contends otherwise. Muir states that mixed martial arts has already hit the mainstream and is here to stay

Fights, fights and more fights. What else would we feature in the world of mma? The weekend saw it’s share of fights over in EliteXC and the future should see plenty more. See who got hit, who’s calling who out and and who will hit who in the future. The Monday Crunch welcomes you to a new week.

Larry Csonka grades each fight that took place on EliteXC’s Saturday night card at 411mania.com.

It turns out mma fighters are invicvible after all. A trio of mma fighters were attacked in an Edmonton hotel by a group of many as ten men, leaving one of those fighters in a coma. The Edmonton sun has the story.

Mma-live.com tries to ponder who Kimbo Slice should fight at EliteXC’s next big event. Does it really matter?

Per fiveouncesofpain.com, Scott Smith broke his hand in the first round of Saturday night’s fight and will undergo surgery on Wednesday.

The fight card has been set for Sengoku 4 as Frank Trigg will be on hand. Mmamania.com has the scoop.

UFC.com takes a look back, way back at UFC 1. Now, set to break the 100 mark by the end of next year, the UFC is bigger than ever.

The EliteXC is busy filling out headlines across the country after putting on a decent show last night in front of a national television audience. Its next date has been set while there is not much brewing today in the UFC. Here’s a look at what stories are crunching on Sunday.

EliteXC’s next edition of Saturday Night Fights on CBS will air on October 4th live from the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. No bouts have yet to be announced but Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano are slated to appear.

Sherdog explains that there’s not a long line of candidates in the EliteXC for Kimbo Slice. As of now, the organization has narrowed that line down to four or five fighters.

Wilson Reis may have moved one step closer to a tile shot with his win over Bryan Caraway according to mmajunkie.com.

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo Sports writes how the second time is a charm for Robbie Lawler who handled Scott Smith to retain his middleweight title.

A few of the fighters on last night’s EliteXC card made bloodyelbow.com’s most recent list of top 25 welterweights in the world.

MMamania.com talks about the Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote title fight that is set for UFC 90.

All is relatively quiet on the Affliction and UFC front, however the EliteXC is making plenty of noise this weekend. Tonight’s free telecast of EliteXC’s Unfinished Business is already grabbing headlines and hopes to end better than its last free television event. It’s time to get ready for fight night with The Daily Crunch.

Sherdog puts together the story of Robbie Lawler’s roller coaster ride through the world of mixed martial arts.

The folks over at Mmamania.com caught up with Chris Leben who is busy preparing for his UFC 89 main event match-up against Michael Bisping.

Check out how a South Florida mma organization is trying to help fighters make a name for themselves in this piece that appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo Sports looks at how the EliteXC might fare in tonight’s free telecast.

The latest scheme from those whacky Tapout guys involves Kimbo Slice. Apparently, Tapout will now sponsor the backyard brawler.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s name has sprouted up as he continues to recover from a knee injury. Mmajunkie.com reports that a Rua vs. Mark Coleman rematch could be in the works.

Friday’s finally here and we have some lists to get you ready for the weekend. Tito Ortiz has no plans to get back in the octagon any time soon, yet he highlights this edition of The Friday Crunch. EliteXC has some unfinished business to take care of Saturday night, but for now we’ll take care of business in the The Daily Crunch.

EliteXC has added a swing bout to its Saturday night fight card featuring Marlon Mathias against David Douglas according to mmamania.com

There have been more bouts added to Sengoku 4 which will take place on August 24th in Japan. Former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi is among those who will see action outside the fuirst round of the Sengoku lightweight tournament.

UFC legend Tito Ortiz spent some time this week organizing a blood drive and is now concerned with giving back to the community. The Arizona Republic has the story.

Ortiz remains in the news as 411mania.com runs down a list of the top ten fighters you love to hate.

Sherdog gets into the action with its own list of the top 7 non-UFC welterweight fights in the history of mixed martial arts.

Chuck Liddell takes some time to tell ESPN about his recent wedding proposal.

Test results, contact talks and future fights carry us through this edition of The Daily Crunch. Hear what GSP has to say and relive the drama of a fight that shouldn’t have ended. Hope all your tests were better than this Emelianenko’s as we get crunching.

There’s good reason why Aleksander Emelianenko was pulled from Affliction’s last fight card. Mmanews.com reports that Emelianenko has tested positive for Hepatitis B.

ProElite.com presents the previous Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith match-up in its entirety.

Ready to re-sign with the UFC, Georges St. Pierre comments on his contract status to mmapayout.com.

Affliction is entertaining thoughts of a Babalu vs. Tito Ortiz clash sometime in the future. Fiveouncesofpain.com brings you the scoop on this one.

UFC will air an event opposite of this week’s EliteXC: Unfinished Business fight card. UFC 84 “Penn vs. Sherk” will be televised Saturday night on SpikeTV at 9pm EST.

Casey Mancini of The Bleacher Report goes on to claim that Anderson Silva is the best pound for pound fighter in the world and compares him to the best of the rest.

The middle of the week has crept up like an unsuspecting left hook. As the weekend approaches, it is the EliteXC who is ready to throw the punches. But they’ll have to land some stiff shots to compete with all the hard-hitting action that took place last weekend. Let’s start swinging with the Wednesday Crunch.

Fightticker.com picked up the Q and A’s from the latest EliteXC conference call. See what Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith and company had to say about this weekend’s upcoming action.

MMA Weekly offers its updated world rankings throughout every weight class. Quinton Jackson and Tim Sylvia still are ranked way too high.

Robbie Lawler has built up quite a resume heading into this weekend’s EliteXC main event against Scott Smith. 411mania.com offers an extensive profile on Lawler as well as some highlights from his past fights.

Gina Corano will be signing autographs at the world famous Comic-Convention today in San Diego according to the Orlando Sentinel. GSP will be also be featured there later this week.

Kevin Lole of Yahoo Sports lauds Affliction’s debut event and explains why the UFC has reason to be worried.

Over on the WEC website, welterweight title holder Carlos Condit is portrayed as a champion in and out of the cage.

Bumps, bruises and broken bones are leftover from all this weekend’s action in the world of mma. Yet, new bones are waiting to be broken and more bumps and bruises are sure to follow. Now that Tuesday is upon us, let’s take a look at who might be giving and taking their share of bumps and bruises in the future. It’s time for the Tuesday Crunch.

Not only did Vitor Belfort defeat Terry Martin at Affliction: Banned, but he did it with a broken hand he suffered in the first round. Mmamania.com has the low down on Belfort’s break.

There are already whispers regarding a Fedor vs. Couture match-up some time in the future. Bloodyelbow.com examines whether this would be a super fight or a mismatch.

Following his Saturday night victory, Fedor Emelianenko should see plenty of intriguing offers come his way. Bryan Levick of fightticker.com looks at what is next for Fedor.
Bleacherreport.com takes a look at the life of an mma fighter as he tries to rise through the ranks. It’s an interesting take on the life and times of Cleburn Walker who is trying to break into the upper echelon of the mma circuit.

Could Jesse Taylor’s UFC career already be behind him? 411mania.com takes a look at the possibility of a one and done deal for Taylor.

Over at UFC.com, Jon Fitch takes readers on the road to a championship as his bout with Georges St. Pierre draws near.