Jeff Curran will fight Johnny Eduardo in Virginia on Tuesday as part of the UFC on Fuel event. The MMA pioneer spoke with Chicago’s MMA about an array of topics over the weekend.

On facing Eduardo:
“Even though Eduardo has been around for a long time like myself, I don’t know him and didn’t know much about him until I signed to fight him. But we watched some tape of him fighting, and we know how Nova Uniao guys fight. I’m very confident I’ll come out with a win on Tuesday.”

On his ground game:
“I think what people on the big stage have yet to see from me is my ground game when I have top position. That is where I am most dangerous and where I can really dominate fights. I think I have one of the better guards in the game, but most every fighter has excellent submission defense.

On TRT:
“I actually looked into TRT and had my doctor check my levels. My count is low due to my age and probably all the wars I’ve been in. But there’s so much that goes into using it that I would never take it. Because if you don’t do it right or have one failed test then you open yourself up to all the media scrutiny and it’s really not worth it.

“I don’t care if other guys take it, I personally don’t feel like (dealing with) all the stress and paperwork that would go into doing it so I avoid looking into it further. It all comes down to technique. I know that past steroid use is one of the reasons for low testosterone and it’s interesting that when the guys who were absolutely killing it in PRIDE came over here to fight in the states it was a totally different story. But for now TRT is legal and I don’t care that fighters do it. I just won’t.”

Watch Jeff Curran fight Johnny Eduardo tomorrow on Facebook. And if you’d like to train with Jeff and the rest of Team Curran, visit their new facility:

Team Curran MMA
110 W. Woodstock St. Unit E
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
815-356-0454

Listen closely and you might also hear what could have been an epic blooper.

Ben Askren retained his title with a win over Douglas Lima at Bellator 64, running his record to a perfect 10-0. But he hasn’t won over some MMA fans because of his fighting style. His last six fights have gone to decision.

When he took to Twitter tocall UFC president Dana White a “bold faced liar”, White struck back at Askren with this insult:

@Benaskren says @danawhite is a bold face liar for saying the #UFC doesn’t have the resources for random drug tests http://t.co/3MqQ5rYS

@danawhite
Dana White @thefightweek @benaskren when ambien can’t sleep it takes Ben Askren. The most boring fighter in MMA history. I would rather watch flys f—

White has a few fighters on his roster that have a very similar style to Askren. I wonder if he thinks the same about them? Either way, his tweet was still pretty hilarious.

As if you couldn’t get more excited for their upcoming UFC 145 championship fight, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones sit down with Jon Anik to talk about Jackson’s camp, how well they know each other and how each of them will win on April 21st.

The UFC is asking fans to vote for the fight they’d like to see on the main card of UFC on FX 3 in June. Chesterton native and former WEC bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland is asking for help to get his fight with Scott Jorgensen voted on to the main card.

Wineland and Jorgensen are up against Seth Baczynski vs. Lance Bendist and Mike Pierce vs. Carlos Rocha. Fans can vote by visiting http://hometownthrowdown.ufc.com.

Who knew that when UFC 90 hit the Allstate Arena back in October, 2008 that we’d be watching a future heavyweight champion in his first UFC fight. Such was the case as Junior Dos Santos entered the match as a huge underdog to BJJ specialist Fabricio Werdum.

‘Cigano’ not only got the dramatic, upset victory, he also took home ‘Knockout of the Night’ honors. He hasn’t lost a fight in the UFC, going 8-0 to date and taking the heavyweight title from Cain Velasquez last November on Fox.

There is finally an official date for the long-awaited rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva. And it’s going down in Brazil.

The UFC will return to Brazil for an epic sporting event as legendary fighters collide on the biggest fight card in UFC history at UFC 147 at Joao Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on June 23, 2012. The largest crowd ever is expected for the highly anticipated rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and American contender Chael Sonnen, a grudge match two years in the making. The event also features a live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil™, the showdown between two Brazilians and icons of the sport – coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva.

From the beginning of the negotiations for the UFC’s next event in the country, the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo both emerged as strong options to host the event. Engenhao, home to football club Botafogo and future venue for the 2016 Olympics, has hosted many legendary sports and entertainment events since its opening in 2007. The event marks the first time for a UFC event in a soccer stadium and the organization expects a record audience. The mark to beat is UFC 129, held in April of 2011 at Rogers Centre in Canada, which had a record attendance of 55,000 fans.

“This will be the biggest sporting event of the year” said UFC President Dana White. “Bigger than the NFL, the NBA, you name it – UFC 147 will be the biggest. The whole world wants to see this fight between Silva and Sonnen. We are broadcast in over 150 countries in 22 languages in half a billion homes. Wherever those fans are, they are going to be watching this fight.”

The rivalry between Anderson Silva (29-4-0) and Chael Sonnen (28-11-1) has produced the biggest grudge match in UFC history. The two bitter rivals first faced each other in August of 2010 at UFC 117 in Oakland, California. The battle featured arguably the biggest come-from-behind win ever; as Silva, who was being dominated from the beginning of the fight, submitted his American rival with a triangle choke in the last round. It was the seventh of nine title defenses for the Brazilian champion.

In what has been one of the long-awaited rematches in UFC history, Brazilian fans will also get a chance to witness Vitor Belfort (21-9-0) and Wanderlei Silva (34-11-1) square off in the Octagon®. In their first meeting in 1998 in São Paulo, Belfort knocked out Silva 44 seconds into their fight. Since then, MMA fans have eagerly waited for over 10 years to witness the rematch between two legends of the sport. Belfort is coming off of a win over American fighter Anthony Johnson in UFC Rio (UFC 142), while Wanderlei dramatically knocked out opponent Cung Le at UFC 139.

Animated Mike Goldberg FTW!

“I was doing ‘tuck jumps’ backstage,” says Loeffler. “My foot got caught in a crack in the warm-up mat, and it rolled over and snapped in half. Trevor Wittman and Urijah Faber were there…the whole locker room heard it pop.”

“Fortunately, the ankle’s not broken. It’s a 3rd degree fibula/tibia strain. There’s about a 50/50 chance I’ll have surgery, but we won’t know until after I get an MRI. I don’t know how long I’ll be out, but Joe Silva has told me that I am 100% a UFC fighter, and that I’ll be back with them.”

In a classy gesture, the UFC still paid Loeffler his ‘show’ money. “Yes, it’s true,” he says. “I very much appreciate that. I’d like to thank Dana White, Joe Silva, and the rest of the UFC for standing by me through this. They paid me my show money even though I got injured. I appreciate that so much, and I won’t forget it. And to the fans, I will be back, better than ever, as soon as possible. I’m in the UFC to stay, and even though the ankle injury sucked, it shows that everything I do will always be memorable…ha.”

As far as what’s next, no one can know for sure. Will Loeffler fight Buddy Roberts when he gets back? “As far as I know, Buddy is healthy, so I doubt they’re going to make him wait for me. I have no idea who the UFC wants for me next, but regardless, I need to get healthy and then we’ll deal with it. I was ready for Buddy, so if he’s next, I will be ready for him again.”

The Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez main event matchup on Fuel TV is a critical bout for both UFC fighters.

Ellenberger has moved up the ranks and into title contention, shocking the world with his first round KO of Jake Shields last September. He has won five straight fights, with his only loss coming to Carlos Condit in his UFC debut. But a loss to Sanchez will delay his title shot considerably.

For Sanchez, a win here keeps him in the mix for a title shot. A loss to Ellenberger likely changes his status from contender to gatekeeper, something that would be difficult for him to change going forward. He needs a win here more than Ellenberger. He’s changed nicknames, changed weight classes and seems like the Diego of old. But he needs to prove it tonight.

Sanchez already has an MMA legacy. He laid one of the best flying knees in MMA history on Luigi Fiorvanti, his battle with Clay Guida was epic and he was a winner on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter“. He’s one of the all-time warriors in the UFC, but he badly craves another title shot.

For the gamblers out there, betting odds for MMA have Ellenberger listed as -325 for this bout, which seems high considering Diego can grind out decisions and survive the bloodiest of wars. Ellenberger is riding high after two consecutive first round KOs, and he may be better skilled than Sanchez, but I wouldn’t bet on Ellenberger with those odds. Diego +250 seems like a better bet.

Here’s the video preview from the UFC: