MMA Buzz: Brilz Steps In, Karo Coming Back & Fedor To Fight

(Does ‘Lil Nog have the skills to slay the Brilz?)

– After withdrawing due to injury, Forrest Griffin will be replaced on UFC 114 by Jason Brilz, says MMAJunkie. The fighter will get the pleasure of facing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who wrecked Luiz Cane in his UFC debut.

– Our buddy Ariel Helwani reported today that former UFC Welterweight contender Karo Parisyan is in talks with Strikeforce and could debut for the promotion as early as June 16. Let’s hope Karo has his personal affairs in order so that he can return to doing what he was put on this earth to do – drop fools on their heads.

– According to Loretta Hunt at Sherdog, Strikeforce champions Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Gilbert Melendez received letters of complaint from the Tennessee Athletic Commission for their role in the post-fight fight at Strikeforce: Nashville. Hunt reports that six people received letters; it’s not known if our dude Mayhem Miller was one of them, but the fracas likely cost him main event fight with Robbie Lawler on June 16.

(GSP weighs in on Canadian law.)

– UFC Welterweight Champion and Georges St-Pierre and UFC brass met with Canadian officials today in an attempt to amend the Criminal Code, under which MMA is considered illegal prizefighting. Apparently Canadian lawmakers think fighting without skates on is uncivilized.

– Fans love free fights – free in the sense that you don’t have to pay more than you already shill out for ESPN and endless Law & Order re-runs – and MMAJunkie is reporting that Spike TV will broadcast the UFC’s next offering from England in October. In other news from the distant future, Junkie reports that Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau is in the works for a yet-to-be-determined card.

– After seemingly endless quasi-public negotiations, Strikeforce announced that Fedor Emelianenko will in fact headline the next Strikeforce/M-1 Global show against UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum on June 26 in San Jose. Now that the question of if/when Fedor will fight again is answered, let’s move on to more pressing questions, questions like, will the winner of Fedor vs. Werdum get the winner of Overeem vs. Rogers? If Rogers wins the title and Fedor beats Werdum, can Strikeforce sell that fight? If Overeem wins and Fedor beats Werdum, can Strikeforce sell THAT fight? And last but not least, if Werdum wins and faces either guy will the general public care at all about the title fight? What’s your take?