It’s going to be hard to top UFC 100, but August promises a strong month of MMA cards.

The action begins Aug. 1 when top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko takes on Josh Barnett in the main event of Affliction’s Trilogy card. Also scheduled for the card are match-ups between Renato Sobral and Gegard Mousasi, Vitor Belfort and Jorge Santiago, Gilbert Yvel and Paul Buentello and Takanori Gomi and Rafaello Oliveira.

On Aug. 8, the UFC brings UFC 101 to Philadelphia. Among the featured bouts, Anderson “The Spider” Silva, perhaps the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will move up to light heavyweight and take on fan favorite Forrest Griffin and BJ Penn will defend his lightweight title against Kenny Florian. The next night, WEC comes with a live show on the VERSUS network featuring bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles.

On August 15, Strikeforce returns to Showtime with the most anticipated fight in the history of women’s MMA when Gina Carano takes on Cris “Cyborg” Santos to decide the company’s 145-pound women’s championship. Three other title bouts will be on the card: Josh Thomson versus Gilbert Melendez in a lightweight championship fight, Allistair Overeem will defend his heavyweight title against Fabricio Werdum and Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs will battle for the company’s welterweight title.

On Aug. 29, UFC 102 features the return of Randy Couture to the octagon as he headlines the card against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a battle of elite heavyweights. Other fights of interest include: Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva taking on one another in a light heavyweight fight, Chris Leben returning from a suspension to take on Jake Rosholt in a middleweight battle, middleweights Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia fighting and light heavyweights Matt Hamill and Brandon Vera taking on one another in a light heavyweight battle.

n Ortiz returning

to the UFC?

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz went on TapouT Radio on Thursday and said he had made “amends” with the UFC.

“I’m very thankful for Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta from the UFC and I’m glad that me and Dana (White) kind of got to brush each other off. We may not still like each other or whatever but we came to amends – which is awesome’” Ortiz said. “I gotta thank Strikeforce for giving me an opportunity and I want to thank Affliction for giving me an opportunity.”

Ortiz said not long ago that he would likely fight for Strikeforce in October, but now it seems that “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is set to return to work for the UFC, whose practices – especially when it comes to payouts – he’s been highly critical of in the past. Also, Ortiz and UFC President Dana White have engaged in a highly public feud for some time.

One rumor has Ortiz fighting Rich Franklin, who is currently negotiating a new contract with the UFC, at UFC 103.

n St. Pierre won’t

need surgery

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre won’t need surgery after injuring his groin in his UFC 100 victory over Thiago Alves. St. Pierre will undergo a brief rehabilitation and begin training to take on the winner of the upcoming Mike Swick/Martin Kampmann fight.

Faber likely won’t fight until 2010

Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber told MMA Fanhouse that he has “no idea” when he will return to action.

Faber injured both of his hands trying to regain his title from Mike Brown in July.

n Brock Lesnar

It you are still talking about Brock Lesnar and his antics, get used to it.

Lesnar appears too strong, his wrestling is too good, and his shots are too powerful for anyone of the UFC’s current crop of heavyweights, save Shane Carwin, to stop him. Carwin’s shot would be his heavy hands.. There’s a possibility he could catch Lesnar with a shot and drop him, but don’t be too quick to forget that Gabriel Gonzaga had Carwin rocked in his last fight before the former football player rebounded to get the win. None of Carwin’s fights have made it out of the first round. Do we know he has heavy hands? Yes. Do we know that he can hang with Lesnar on the ground, where the fight will likely end up? No. There’s a very good chance nobody can.

I believe that the vaunted Fedor Emelianenko would stand a good chance of failing against Lesnar.

Post UFC 100, Dana White said he was going to make Lesnar-Emelianenko happen. Since, Emelianenko has reportedly said that the UFC’s contract terms were unacceptable.

n T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. His column, MMA Monday, appears each Monday in the print edition of The Times and Democrat and can be viewed online along with his blog, MMA Takedown, at www.thetandd.com.

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