(Jack Dempsey Associated Press)

Back when Lyoto Machida won the UFC LHW title, Joe Rogan uttered the fateful words: "Welcome to the Machida Era."  Unfortunately for Machida, that era didn't last very long, courtesy of an obliteration by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.  The Rua era never did get off the ground either, because Jon "Bones" Jones worked him over and took his crown.  Now, after a successful title defense against Rampage Jackson, Jones truly looks poised to begin a new era in the UFC.  The Jones era.

Jonny Bones looked amazing last night.  His physical attributes, coupled with his strong Greco wrestling skills and ever improving striking, make it seem a lock for him to dominate his division for years to come.  Rampage never could get anything started last night.  Jones kept him off balance with a wide variety of striking techniques, and then, when Jackson did manage to close the distance, he had to deal with Jones' ridiculously sick clinch game.  For Rampage it was like jumping back and forth between the frying pan and the fire.

In the forth round, Jones was able to get Jackson's back and the rear naked joke was not far behind.  After the fight Rampage said that he was in great shape and truly believed he'd beat Jones, but that the hype is real.

Next up for Bones is a guy who has been "raining on his parade."  That would be Suga Rashad Evans.  The drama of their once cozy but now soured relationship is sure to make the build up for upcoming fight a true Internet saga.  Let the hype begin!

And welcome to the Jon "Bones" Jones era.  Check out some Rampage vs. Jones pics after the jump.

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Either Ken Shamrock has another brother besides Frank that we don't know about, or he's moonlighting as a Russian motorcycle gang leader.  The above pic is 100 percent real, and it was taken at a Russian biker event, which was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin.  The guy on the left is the top dog in a Russian Biker gang and goes by the name Alexander Zaldostanov.  His nickname is The Surgeon, and honestly, I don't want to know why they call him that.

Putin is supposed to be a very charismatic leader, but in the pic, it's all eyes on Ken--I mean Alexander.  Even Putin himself seems star struck at meeting a guy who looks remarkably like the World's Most Dangerous Man. And probably is.  Turns out that Putin is a big fan of the biker scene, and after the jump you can check him out riding a three wheel monster bike.

The big question is: Has anyone ever seen Ken Shamrock and Alexander Zaldostanov in the same room at the same time?  I don't think so!

Here's the Putin pic

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Always interesting to see fighters' opinions on how a certain match might go.  For this Saturday's Rampage Jackson vs. Bones Jones championship fight, a few top UFC stars give their predictions.  Rashad Evans, Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort and Shogun Rua, all former UFC champs, give their opinions on who will win, and why.   Oddsmakers may be counting Rampage out, but these UFC stars are definitely not.  Enjoy the vid.

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Their fight is not until next week, but Rampage Jackson and Bones Jones have been ramping up the smack talk.  They took their war of words to the Jimmy Kimmel show last night, where they each scored with some jabs, but with nobody getting KTFO.  You can bet that in their real fight at UFC 135, the talk is going to be cheap while the kicks, punches and throws will be on the money.  Part 2 of the Kimmel interview after the jump.

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Charlie Sheen got roasted last night, and by roasted I don't mean stoned, drunk and high--although I'm sure that was on his to-do list--I mean roasted as in having comedians rip him a new asshole on Comedy Central.  The producers of the roast put together the finest team of celebrity B-list has-beens and never-was's that they could find on ten minutes notice and set them loose on each other and on Charlie.

Mike Tyson was on hand for the festivities and he appeared to be having a good ol' time dishing out and taking abuse from the other roasters.  A few of the comedians took jabs about his face tattoo, but the knockout blow on that subject was delivered by Amy Schumer, who compared Iron Mike's face tat to a tramp stamp and said that most guys didn't know whether to be afraid of it or come on it.

Steve-O was also on the dias, and the now drug-free Jackass star proved that he didn't need to get high to act like a complete moron.  Steve-O has made a career out of putting himself in dangerous situations and/or shoving objects up his own ass, and last night he sort of combined the two by taking his head out of his ass just long enough to launch it face first at Mike Tyson's waiting fist.  The first attempt was a dud, and Steve-O came away sadly unscathed. But he's no quitter and on the third attempt, he hit pay dirt--aka Mike Tyson's gnarly knuckles--shattering his nose and earning a smattering of applause.  The only way to describe the way the blood poured from Steve-O's nostrils is:  "Duh, winning!"

Does this mean we'll see Steve-O in the cage with some MMA gloves on?  Not likely, unless they change the Unified Rules to allow fighters to fight while having a live trout swimming in their colon.  But hey, you never know.

No, it's not a consolation that the MMA fighters, Chris Weidman of the UFC, Gian Villante of Strikeforce, former TUFer Andy Main, and former WEC champion Jamie Varner, can kick the pro gamers' asses in real life.  Because this wasn't real life.  It was cyberspace, on the virtual battlefields of Halo Reach, and the mixed martial artists proved that they were no match for true gamers.

It's obvious that the MMAers need to spend less time in the gym and more on the virtual battlefield if they want to hang with the pimple-faced geek squads that lay waste to to anyone foolish enough to challenge them on XBox or PS3.  Now and forever will the four hard fighters have to live with them shame of getting cyber-curb-stompped by the gamers.

Round 1 is above. If the humiliating defeat for the fighters in that round is not enough, rounds 2 and 3, plus a bonus round, awaits you after the jump. Warning: this material may not be suitable for non-gaming nerds.

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First thing I did after learning that Vitor Belfort was going to face Cung Le at UFC 139 was pick up my chin off the floor.  That's how hard my jaw dropped upon hearing this most shocking of MMA news.  Who knew that Cung Le was even still interested in fighting, let alone fighting one of the most feared strikers in UFC history?

Cung Le doesn't have milk.  He's got balls.  Monster balls.

In his first fight with Scott Smith, Le supposedly got "exposed" by a true mixed martial artist.  But in the rematch six months later, he was a wrecking machine and totally destroyed the man they call Hands of Steel.  He had successfully answered his critics and put his own doubts to rest.  But after that fight, which took place over a year ago, Cung went back to making movies and that was pretty much the last anyone ever heard from him.

Until now.

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Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett are on a collision course. The two frate trains will collide early next year in the finals of the SF HW GP.  In the semi-finals last night, Cormier and Barnett crushed their enemies and heard the lamentations of women.

For an Olympic wrestler, Cormier's boxing was fucking sweet.  He bobbed and weaved and came over the top to knock Big Foot down a few times, then went underneath and came up with a big uppercut to knock his man TFO.  All in the first round.

Then the fighter formerly known as the Baby Faced Assassin, Josh Barnett, lived up to his new "War Master" nickname by going blitzkrieg on Segei Kharitonov's ass.  At first Josh appeared content to stand and exchange with the feared Russian bomber.  But it was all a clever ruse, because just as Kharitonov started to press forward, Josh launched in.  He got the takedown and full mount all in one fell swoop.  From there he toyed with Sergei, eventually catching him catch can with an arm triangle.

Now Cormier and Barnett are on a collision course.  I hear the trains a-coming.

CHICAGO, September 1, 2011: Called "One of the best books ever written about the sport," by SBNation.com, "Big" John McCarthy's new memoir, Let's Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee (Medallion Press), officially hits bookstores today. 

With his signature phrase, "Let's Get It On!," "Big" John McCarthy has officiated the biggest and bloodiest fights in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and mixed martial arts. A sport that's grown into a multinational, multibillion dollar business, very few have been a part of it from its very first match. But with McCarthy's impressive 17-year history as the sport's top official, he became an integral voice in its regulation and as a firsthand witness to MMA's ongoing struggles to gain widespread public acceptance.

In his new memoir, Let's Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee (Medallion Press, September 1, 2011) by "Big" John McCarthy with MMA journalist Loretta Hunt and a foreword by former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten, McCarthy gives fans a rare view from inside the Octagon as he recounts the sport's initial tribulations and confronts his own legacy as its longstanding, legendary referee.

The son of a police officer, McCarthy inherited authoritative instincts that would prove invaluable both in his 22-year career in the LAPD and inside the fast-paced, intense arena of the cage. The first, full-length autobiography of the pop culture icon, Let's Get It On! traces McCarthy's childhood, his impressive police career and his initial forays into martial arts under the direction of UFC creator Rorion Gracie, who originally appointed McCarthy to referee. A fixture of the sport, McCarthy began refereeing in 1994 at UFC 2 and went on to officiate every major UFC event except two until 2007.

Let's Get It On! gives a no-holds-barred account of the UFC and the sport's early struggles and "Dark Ages," including McCarthy's involvement in naming the sport and creation of its original 17 rules; the stalwart efforts to legitimize the sport; and the purchase of the business by the sport's current owners—brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, co-owners of Zuffa LLC—just before UFC 30 which led to the sport's public revitalization.

An action-packed and riveting read, Let's Get It On! also includes a fight-by-fight account of the sport's greatest matches and rivalries: the feud of Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock; the trilogy of fights between Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell; the return of UFC great Royce Gracie at UFC 60; and the record-breaking UFC 68 which featured Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia. McCarthy also addresses his decision to retire from MMA refereeing in 2007, his highly anticipated return to the UFC in 2010 and his ongoing involvement in the expansion of MMA worldwide.

Let's Get It On! is available now. Buy it at IPG, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and nationwide wherever books are sold.

TOUR DATES FOR "BIG" JOHN MCCARTHY:

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