Signal to Noise: UFC on FOX 13"s, TUF 20 Finale"s best and worst

UFC on FOX 13 and The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale offered a lot to like. There were standout performances, a new champion was crowned, fighters showed tremendous development, a prospect proved his worth and more. Yet, there were fights with ugly health consequences, an overstatement of success and more.

It’s time separate the good from the bad, the winners from the losers and the signal from the noise from the UFC weekend.

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Signal to Noise: UFC on FOX 13"s, TUF 20 Finale"s best and worst

Ian McCall on attempting to fight despite blood disease: "I will die doing this"

LAS VEGAS — Ian McCall traveled to Brazil in November knowing he was under the elements. Ian still cut the pounds he wanted and successfully hit the flyweight 126-pound limit.

A few hours later, McCall was in the hospital with the illness in his blood. He needed to pull from his UFC Fight Night 56 co-main event fight with John Lineker in Uberlandia, Brazil. But it had been not by choice. If it were up to him, McCall said, he still would have fought.

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Ian McCall on attempting to fight despite blood disease: "I will die doing this"

Tonya Evinger to the UFC: "I believe they do not actually care about the girls"

Tonya Evinger is arguably the top women’s bantamweight fighter on the planet not now in the UFC. And that suits her just fine.

The vocal Missouri native cannot be any happier in Invicta FC and contains no actual designs on leaving the all-girls’s promotion any moment soon. Evinger will meet Cindy Dandois in the co-chief event of Invicta FC 10 on Friday night in Houston and foresees an busy, successful 2015 coming up. The fights will air live at 9 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.

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Tonya Evinger to the UFC: "I believe they do not actually care about the girls"

Morning Report: Dana White talks "liking" Rampage Jackson, being happy for Tito Ortiz and why Brock Lesnar would never sign with Bellator

UFC president Dana White had a bit of a rough start to the week.

Blaming the letdown of Monday’s ‘The Time is Now’ event on his public relations staff, White was then asked for his take on Bellator’s recent ratings success during an appearance on TSN’s On The Record.

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Morning Report: Dana White talks "liking" Rampage Jackson, being happy for Tito Ortiz and why Brock Lesnar would never sign with Bellator

Dennis Siver on Conor McGregor"s trash talk: "I don"t think it"s appropriate"

LAS VEGAS – Throughout Monday’s “The Time is Now” UFC press conference, the fighters on hand noticeably reacted to Conor McGregor’s witticisms. Anderson Silva laughed uncontrollably at one point. Ronda Rousey frequently turned around to get a look at the madness going on behind her. Several others unsuccessfully tried to hide their smiles.

One fighter at the event didn’t find this quite so humorous, however: McGregor’s opponent in Boston on Jan. 19, Dennis Siver.

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Dennis Siver on Conor McGregor"s trash talk: "I don"t think it"s appropriate"

WSOF 15 results: David Branch, Justin Gaethje pick up wins

David Branch successfully defended his World Series of Fighting middleweight title for the first time on Nov. 15.

Headlining the WSOF 15 card in Tampa, Florida, the 185-pound middleweight champion scored his fifth win under the promotion’s banner with a fourth-round finish over UFC veteran Yushin Okami.

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WSOF 15 results: David Branch, Justin Gaethje pick up wins

Morning Report: Dana White downplays talk of a Conor McGregor title shot, tells Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar to be concerned about each other

Finding Conor McGregor seated cageside at UFC 179 in Brazil could not have been much comfort to fellow featherweight competitors Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar.

The provocative Irishman stole the show in the lead up to featherweight champ Jose Aldo’s successful title defense to No. 1 competitor Chad Mendes, but Swanson maintained he had been ‘guaranteed’ the next opportunity with a triumph over Edgar Nov. 22 in Austin, Texas.

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Morning Report: Dana White downplays talk of a Conor McGregor title shot, tells Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar to be concerned about each other

Georges St-Pierre"s guidance to present headliners: "You should find out your career as a company"

Few elite mixed martial artists have managed to parlay their brand as successfully as former longtime UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

The Montreal native evolved to the sport’s biggest draw and brought mainstream sponsorships from top mainstream sports-related products like Gatorade and Under Armour along the way.

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Georges St-Pierre"s guidance to present headliners: "You should find out your career as a company"

Georges St-Pierre"s guidance to present headliners: "You should find out your career as a company"

Few elite mixed martial artists have managed to parlay their brand as successfully as former longtime UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

The Montreal native evolved to the sport’s biggest draw and brought mainstream sponsorships from top mainstream sports-related products like Gatorade and Under Armour along the way.

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Georges St-Pierre"s guidance to present headliners: "You should find out your career as a company"

Invicta FC 9 results: Barb Honchak defeats Takayo Hashi, keeps flyweight title

At some stage, Barb Honchak is likely to need to make a choice about which particular UFC division may be better for he future: Bantamweight or strawweight.

Until then, she is untouchable at 125 pounds. Honchak made her second successful defense of her Invicta flyweight title on Saturday night, scoring a unanimous decision victory within the match-but-coordinated Takayo Hashi. The judges’ scores were 49-46 as well as a set of 50-45s as Honchak kept her title in the main event of Invicta FC 9 in the River Center in Davenport, Iowa.

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Invicta FC 9 results: Barb Honchak defeats Takayo Hashi, keeps flyweight title

UFC featherweight Thiago Tavares calls out Max Holloway: "I understand I could overcome him"

If Max Holloway needs to attempt going 5-0 in 2014, Thiago Tavares is open into a featherweight battle.

Tavares, who successfully cut down to 145 pounds with entry triumph over Robbie Peralta in August, talked to MMAFighitng.com about his lately calling out Holloway on Twitter.

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UFC featherweight Thiago Tavares calls out Max Holloway: "I understand I could overcome him"

Wallid Ismail: "Jose Aldo saved Brazilian MMA"

Jose Aldo successfully defended his UFC featherweight title on Saturday night, and his triumph over Chad Mendes was tremendous for his nation.

Wallid Ismail, former MMA fighter and longtime MMA advocate as the president of Jungle Fight, told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour a loss in the primary event of UFC 179 would happen to be horrible for the future of the sport in Brazil.

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Wallid Ismail: "Jose Aldo saved Brazilian MMA"

Jose Aldo"s teammate Yan Cabral eyes Conor McGregor fight: "I need to beat him up one day"

RIO DE JANEIRO — Everybody needs a shot at Conor McGregor.

Yan Cabral, who made his successful 155-pound introduction having a second-round entry triumph over Naoyuki Kotani at Saturday night’s UFC 179 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is considering fighting Irish star Conor McGregor.

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Jose Aldo"s teammate Yan Cabral eyes Conor McGregor fight: "I need to beat him up one day"

UFC 179 forecasts

The UFC is back in Brazil, this time on pay per view with the last remaining Brazilian winner in the corporation in Jose Aldo placing his title up for grabs against Chad Mendes. Here is the 2nd meeting involving both, the primary taking place at UFC 142 in January of 2012, also in Rio. In the co-main event, top light heavyweight rivals Phil Davis and Glover Teixeira, both coming from losses, look to return to the winning track.

Will Aldo successfully keep his featherweight title? Who’ll emerge triumphant in the co-main event between Teixeira and Davis? I answer these inquiries and more with my forecasts for Saturday’s fights.

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UFC 179 forecasts

T.J. Dillashaw undergoes successful elbow operation

UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw underwent successful surgery on his left elbow Friday.

Dillashaw, who supported the news to MMAFighting.com, said he was suffering from bursitis, which, in accordance with the National Library of Medicine, is the swelling and irritation of a bursa, a fluid-filled sac, that functions as a shock absorber between a muscles, tendons, and joints.

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T.J. Dillashaw undergoes successful elbow operation

SB nation pound-for-pound rankings: "Mighty Mouse" squeaking his way toward top

Most of the chatter about UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson seems to revolve around his drawing power or lack thereof.

But for today, we’ll leave that sort of chatter for the strange little subset of the Internet audience that gets downright gleeful when an MMA event isn’t a ratings or ticket-selling success. You wonder why they even watch the sport to begin with.

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SB nation pound-for-pound rankings: "Mighty Mouse" squeaking his way toward top

Bellator 128 results: Joe Warren upsets Eduardo Dantas to claim bantamweight title

In an outcome few odds makers expected, former Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren became the new Bellator bantamweight champion after defeating Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 128 on Saturday. The event took place at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The main card aired live on Spike TV.

Warren opened the first round immediately clinching with Dantas, securing double underhooks and driving the champion into the fence. Warren switched to a double and even a single leg attempt against the cage, but without much success. Warren was able to separate, but still scored with two knees before the exit. It was actually Dantas who then initiated the clinch and cracked the American with a hard elbow on the exit.

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Bellator 128 results: Joe Warren upsets Eduardo Dantas to claim bantamweight title

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza undergoes successful surgery

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s second elbow surgery of the year was a success.

According to his manager Gilberto Faria, Souza underwent successful two-hour surgery on Tuesday, performed by Dr. Rickson de Moraes and Dr. Bruno Lobo Brandao (pictured) at Hospital São Lucas in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza undergoes successful surgery

UFC’s Thiago Tavares loses election to Legislative Assembly in Brazil

Thiago Tavares’s recent battles inside the Octagon couldn’t be any better. However, the Brazilian featherweight failed to turn this success into votes.

Born in Santa Catarina, Tavares ran for a seat at the State’s Legislative Assembly. Affiliated with the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Tavares came up short on his first attempt in politics.

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UFC’s Thiago Tavares loses election to Legislative Assembly in Brazil

Battlegrounds MMA results: UFC vet Roan Carneiro decisions Brock Larson to win eight-man, one-night tournament

In a finals match-up between UFC veterans, Roan Carneiro handily defeated an exhausted Brock Larson to emerge the winner of Battlegrounds MMA’s throwback one-night, eight-man tournament on Friday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Carneiro (20-9) overcame Larson, Trey Houston, and Randall Wallace in succession to win the night’s $50,000 grand prize.

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Battlegrounds MMA results: UFC vet Roan Carneiro decisions Brock Larson to win eight-man, one-night tournament