For more on the July 7 debut of “Countdown to UFC 100″ click here.

“Every time Joe Silva calls, you have an excitement but also an, ‘Oh (expletive), Joe Silva is calling. He asks you what you think, but he has a way of making you do it even when at the time you don’t want to do it. He’s got a knack of persuasion where you’ll be talking and then all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Wait, what did I just agree to?’ At (UFC 78), he asked me what I thought about two Ultimate Fighters fighting each other for the first time. And I thought, ‘Man, I’m going to fight Forrest Griffin.’ Then he said (Michael) Bisping. And nothing against Bisping, but I wanted to fight one of the top guys. He told me to think about it and I was like, ‘Fine, I’ll take the fight. He’ll persuade you where he’ll say, ‘Listen, you can do this and you can do that and your styles are like this,’ and eventually you’re like, ‘Yeah Joe, that does sound good. Let’s do it.’”

– Former UFC light heavyweight champion “Sugar” Rashad Evans dishes to the Las Vegas Sun on Zuffa’s mystery man Joe Silva. The high-profile but largely unknown matchmaker is one of the promotion’s biggest players but remains an enigma both inside the organization and out. With UFC 100 just a few days away, one thing fans aren’t complaining about is the quality of the card. So what’s the verdict? Does Silva earn a free pass and get to do his bidding behind the curtain? Or should the man with the plan be an open book? Opinions below.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem will return to the San Jose-based promotion after nearly two years of fighting overseas to defend his belt against former PRIDE and UFC heavyweight standout Fabricio Werdum at the “Carano vs. Cyborg” event from the HP Pavilion on August 15.

MMAmania.com confirmed the bout with Strikeforce officials earlier today.

Overeem captured the heavyweight title with a second round submission win over Paul Buentello back in 2007 after repeated knees to the body forced “The Headhunter” to call it quits. “Demolition Man” has since been employed in Japan, racking up a 3-0 record in MMA (1 NC) and a 1-1 record under the K-1 banner during that span.

His most recent mixed martial arts action was against 43-year old accomplished kickboxer and UFC veteran Gary Goodridge at a Glory MMA show in front of his own countrymen in Arnhem, Netherlands last November. Overeem won that bout via first round submission in yet another dominating performance.

Just how far Overeem has improved since his PRIDE days could ultimately be decided when he rematches Werdum on August 15. “Vai Cavalo” holds a second round submission win over the hulk from Holland when they tangled at PRIDE: “Total Elimination Absolute” in May 2006.

The Brazilian had gone 2-2 after joining the UFC in April 2007. After losing a cautious slapfest against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70, Werdum put together two straight TKO victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, only to get bounced from the promotion when he was upset (and uppercut) by out-of-the-blue bruiser Junior Dos Santos.

Now each man has a chance to erase some bad memories this August in what is sure to be an entertaining war between two very talented heavyweights.

Strikeforce: “Carano vs. Cyborg” will feature a 145-pound title fight between female fighting sensation Gina “Conviction” Carano and her nemesis Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos as well as a lightweight title unification bout between reigning champ Josh “The Punk” Thomson and interim champ Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez.

For all the latest on this still-developing fight card click here.

Team Nogueira’s Chris Wilson is preparing to lock horns with the venerable Mike Pyle at UFC Fight Night 19, which will serve as the lead-in for the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Sept. 16, according to MMA Fanhouse.

“The Professor” (14-5) is coming off a split-decision loss to John Howard at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ back in January. It was the lone bright spot on a rather uneventful card, bringing home co “Fight of the Night” honors.

He was scheduled to throw down with Brock Larson at UFC 98 until a last minute health issue prevented him from obtaining medical clearance from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

It was another setback for Wilson, who was also the victim of a frightening home invasion in his residence in Brazil heading into the May UFC pay-per-view.

Pyle (17-6-1), who’s fought just about everywhere including Elite XC, Strikeforce, Affliction and the IFL (among others), stepped up at the eleventh hour to replace Wilson against Larson.

“The Hurricane,” who trains alongside several of the best in the business at X-Treme Couture headquarters in “Sin City,” was quickly submitted by the WEC veteran and now has a chance to thank Wilson in person for being sent to the lions in his UFC debut.

Fight Night 19 will reportedly be headlined by former UFC lightweight contender Roger “El Matador” Huerta as he tries to stifle the rising star of undefeated wrestling machine Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

For more on Fight Night 19 click here.

Just days away from his UFC 100 main event title unification bout against Frank Mir, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will be our featured guest tonight at 9 p.m. ET on MMAmania.com’s exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio.

The champ will go in-depth about everything from his upcoming rematch with Mir, the challenges that await him in the UFC heavyweight division, fighting for respect as a mixed martial artist and much, much more.

Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names.

Pro MMA Radio recently celebrated its one-year anniversary and has consistently provided an inside look at the headliners and newsmakers in the world of combat sports on a weekly basis.

When you want to hear all the latest from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed.

See you tonight at 9 p.m. ET!

Former PRIDE FC lightweight champion Takanori Gomi (30-5) has agreed to make his Affliction debut against Rafaello Oliveira (8-1) at “Trilogy” from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 1, the organization today confirmed.

“The Fireball Kid” recently snapped a two-fight losing skid in the Sengoku promotion.

After dropping a split decision to Russian journeyman Sergey Golyaev (13-7) at Sengoku 6 last November, Gomi came up lame against Satoru Kitaoka at Sengoku “Rebellion” in January, tapping out to an Achilles lock just 1:41 into the very first round.

It was a major setback for a fighter as revered as he is. Gomi didn’t look like the same dominant fighter who once tore through PRIDE’s lightweight ranks with ease, which led to people questioning his heart and whether he still had what it takes to compete on an active level.

Gomi managed to silence some of his critics and get back to his winning ways by obliterating Takashi Nakakura with a barrage of strikes in an exciting showdown this past May when he went back to his roots and paid homage to the organization that kickstarted his career at Shooto “Final Tradition.”

Now with that victory it appears he’s refocused and motivated to once again climb up the lightweight ladder, continuing that journey when he clashes against Rafaello Oliveira at Affliction 3: “Trilogy.”

“The Tractor” has already competed three times in 2009, taking all three contests including a unanimous decision win over John Mahlow at Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) from the Thompson-Bowling Arena last April in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Oliveira, who’s only loss came to the up-and-coming Lyle Beerbohm at Sho XC in October 2008,  now faces the biggest challenge of his career against Gomi and a win would boost his stock considerably.

Affliction 3: “Trilogy” will feature a main event between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and top-ranked division player, Josh Barnett. Former Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi is also expected to make his fighting debut on American shores against Renato “Babalu” Sobral in a light heavyweight showdown.

To check out the latest fight card and rumours for Affliction 3: “Trilogy” click here.

Props: SI.com

Quoteworthy:

“I haven’t personally made a decision one way or the other. Hopefully my brain can heal over time. The shot last fight is something that normally wouldn’t hurt me. I think I need at least some time off from getting hit. I’m going to take time off sparring then. I’ll train still. Still gonna roll. I’ll probably do a little more jiu-jitsu than normal because I like it. It’s fun.”

Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell plans to take a year off to unscramble his brains before making a decision on retirement. “The Iceman” is coming off a technical knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 97: “Redemption” from the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, back in April. It marked the fourth loss in his last five fights. Company president Dana White has pressed his good friend and big time money-making machine to hang up the gloves, saying he has made a ton of cash and has nothing left to prove. Liddell — who will be 40 years old by the time April 2010 rolls around — clearly needs more time make up his mind. Sit tight, Maniacs, this one is far from over.

Former Pride FC star and grappling phenom Ricardo Arona (13-5) is set to make his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts competition against UFC veteran Marvin Eastman (16-9-1) at Bitetti Combat from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sept. 12, according to Super Latas.

The multiple-time ADCC Submissions wrestling champion Arona has not competed since April 2007, which was a losing effort to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Pride 34 “Kamikaze.” Arona was on the receiving end of a brutal knockout and, in the process, added to the hype of the young brash newcomer at the time.

He’ll attempt to erase that memory and get back on track with a win over Eastman and possibly look to move onto a bigger organization if he’s successful. In fact, he’s had his eyes set on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for a while and even claimed “the UFC rules were made for him.”

The promotion, however, hasn’t expressed any interest in picking him up just yet. He’ll likely have to rack up a few wins to clamber up the light heavyweight ladder to get noticed again. Or perhaps a return to “The Land of the rising Sun” is a more viable option, seeing as the country has hosted all of his previous 18 fights.

His opponent, Eastman, washed out of the UFC last June when he was victimized by Drew McFedries at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 7. He would then go on to lose his next bout after that to Denis Kang late last year. He managed to turn his luck around this year with an impressive technical knockout win over Aron Loft at MFC 21: “Hard Knocks.”

“The Beastman” now takes a step up in competition against the likes of Arona, in what should present an interesting styles clash with Eastman likely looking to brawl it out while Arona probably would like to get things to the mat quickly and work from there.